How do the rules of the House and the Senate shape the legislative outcomes of these two bodies?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

STUDENTS SHOULD NOTE THAT THE RULES OF THE HOUSE TEND TO BE MUCH MORE RESTRICTIVE THAN THOSE OF THE SENATE. Any member of Congress may introduce a bill “into the hopper,” but all legislation dealing with taxation or spending must originate in the House. Much of Congress’s formal structure is based upon partisan leadership roles in both the House and the Senate. In the House, the most important representative is the Speaker of the House, who is elected by the majority party. In addition, both sides have majority and minority leadership as well as majority and minority whips whose job it is to keep members of congress in step with the actions and agendas of their party.
While the vice president is officially the president of the Senate (according to the constitution), the most important Senate member is the majority leader. Both the Speaker of the House and the Senate majority leader are responsible for assigning party members to chair committees and subcommittees, and these committees are generally made up of a bipartisan coalition of members, but the minority party has less of a leadership role than that of the majority party. In the House, strict rules of debate make for a more formal process of legislation, while in the Senate, the rules are less established and the body is more deliberative of legislation. One power that the Senate has that is not given to the House is the power of filibuster, which can indefinitely delay the vote on a bill as long as a member can hold the floor. Another formal power split between the House and the Senate is that of impeachment. The House has the power to vote for the drafting of an act of impeachment, which acts somewhat like an indictment, but it is the power and responsibility of the Senate to conduct a formal trial. Then, if convicted, the executive official may be removed from office. In addition to formal structures, less formal processes, called norms, can impact legislation. The norms of the House are based upon public representation, while the norms of the Senate tend to take a more national focus and are less focused on the constituency of a specific district. The Senate tends to represent the desires of the entire state and therefore takes a different look at legislation.