The Senate and the House of Representatives

Paper Summary:

This paper claims that because of the constitutional structure of the legislative branch of the federal government, United States senators are generally considered to exercise more power and have more prestige than members of the House of Representatives. It explains that essentially, senators have more power and prestige because the constitution grants them six-year terms in office and limits representatives to brief, two-year terms. Furthermore, the smaller size of the Senate compared to the House of Representatives confers more power, influence and prestige upon senators, for there are only one hundred of them compared to more than four hundred representatives.

From the Paper:

"Because of the Constitutional structure of the legislative branch of the federal government, United States senators are generally considered to exercise more power and have more prestige than members of the House of Representatives. Essentially, senators have more power and prestige because the Constitution grants them six-year terms in office and limits representatives to brief, two-year terms. Furthermore, the smaller size of the Senate compared to the House of Representatives confers more power, influence, and prestige upon senators, for there are only one-hundred of them compared to more than four-hundred representatives. (Manin 48) In addition to these factors, House and Senate legislative rules, committee procedures, and control of legislation are different."

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