Congress 101: U.S. Senate - Learn About The Inner Workings Of The Senate

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Although the Constitution says the two chambers of Congress are equal, senators rarely leave the Senate to run for the House of Representatives. Representatives, however, often decide to run for the Senate.

The two chambers share the tasks of legislating, overseeing the federal government, and representing their constituencies. But striking differences exist between the two legislative bodies and how they go about their work. The Senate, once known as the “world's most exclusive club,” projects an image of influence and prestige that the House does not match. The Senate has 100 members—two from each state—while the House has 435 members, allocated among the states according to population. Senators are elected for six years, House members for two. Senators have a broad, statewide constituency, while most House members represent districts within states. These differences have shaped the practices and procedures of the two chambers.

Thanks to its small size, the Senate is informal and flexible, in contrast to the highly structured House. It is also more individualistic, with power more evenly distributed among its members. The Senate shares certain executive powers with the president, which contributes to the chamber's prestige. With fewer members to share the limelight, senators enjoy more attention. But, by the same token, there are fewer members to share the workload, which is as heavy in the Senate as in the House. As a result, senators tend to be policy generalists, while representatives develop specialties. The Senate takes longer to consider legislation, in part because it sees its chief role as one of deliberation.

Representatives who move to the Senate feel a sort of political “culture shock” in their new environment. They welcome the Senate's tradition of deference to individual senators. But some look back with nostalgia on the efficient procedures of the House. Many miss the camaraderie of the House, though few wish to return to it. “Rules and tradition make it possible for every member of the Senate to play a significant role in legislating,” said Colorado Republican William L. Armstrong, who was elected to the Senate in 1978 after six years in the House. “It's possible even for a brand new member to jump right in.”

“A senator has greater access to virtually anyone inside or outside of government,” remarked Paul Simon, an Illinois Democrat who moved from the House to the Senate in 1985. “There are very few people who won't return a phone call from a U.S. senator.”
Origins

The differences between the two chambers were not an accident of history but the result of a carefully crafted plan of the framers of the Constitution in 1787. The Senate was born of compromise—one so significant it was called the “Great Compromise” of the Constitutional Convention. Without it, the convention would have collapsed. When it was decided that representation in the House would be proportional to a state's population, the small states sounded the alarm. Fearful of domination by the more populous states, they insisted that states have equal representation in the Senate. The large states resisted until agreement was reached that, in return for equality of state representation in the Senate, the House would be given sole power to originate money bills, which the Senate could accept or reject but could not modify. This last provision was changed in the final draft to allow the Senate to alter or amend revenue bills.

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