Our Government: Local, State, and National: Idaho Edition Part 7

POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE SEPARATE HOUSES.

I. IMPEACHMENT.

Article II, Section 4. _The President, Vice-President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors._

Article I, Section 2, Clause 5. _The House of Representatives shall ...

have the sole power of impeachment._

Section 3, Clause 6. _The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside; and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present._

Section 3, Clause 7. _Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States; but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment according to law._

There have been but seven impeachment trials in the history of our government. Section 4 of Article II declares who may be impeached. The expression "civil officer" does not include military and naval officers.

They are subject to trial by court-martial. Members of Congress may not be impeached, since the Const.i.tution authorizes each house to bring to trial and punish its own members. Clause 5 of Section 2, and Clauses 6 and 7 of Section 3, Article I, give the method of procedure against an officer who may be charged with "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." The articles of impeachment preferred by the House of Representatives correspond to the indictment in a criminal trial. The manner of conducting an impeachment trial, in the Senate, resembles also a trial by jury.[19] That the "Chief Justice shall preside" during the trial of the President of the United States is a wise provision, because it is easy to presume that a Vice-President might be personally interested in the conviction of a President.

[Footnote 19: See "Government in State and Nation," p. 159.]

II. THE QUORUM, JOURNAL, AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

Determination of Membership and Quorums.--Section 5, Clause 1.

_Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall const.i.tute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as each house may provide._

In 1900 the right of a senator to a seat in the Senate was challenged by the citizens of his State on the ground that his election was secured through bribery and corruption. In a memorial of the citizens forwarded by the governor, the matter formally came before the Senate. The case was referred to the Committee on Privileges and Elections, which unanimously reported, after careful deliberation, that the senator was not duly and legally elected by the legislature of his State. The committee found that he had obtained through illegal and corrupt practices more than eight votes which would otherwise have been cast against him and changed the result. Before a vote was taken in the Senate on this resolution the senator resigned his seat.

In the House the name of the person possessing the certificate of election signed by the governor of his State is entered on the roll of the House, but the seat may still be contested. Many cases of contested elections are considered by each new House. There were thirty-two seats contested in the 54th Congress. Such cases are referred to the Committee on Elections, which hears the testimony, and presents it to the House for final decision. Each of the cases when presented to the House consumes from two to five days which might otherwise be used for the purposes of legislation. The law provides that no more than $2000 shall be paid either of the contestants for expenses, but even then, it is estimated, these contests cost the government, all told, $40,000 annually. When the decision is rendered by the House, the vote is, in most cases, strictly on party lines, regardless of the testimony. In view of these facts, it has been suggested that the Supreme Court decide all contested elections.

How a Quorum is Secured.--If it appears, upon the count of the speaker, or upon the roll-call of the House, that a majority is not present, business must be suspended until a quorum is secured. Fifteen members, including the speaker, may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members. This is accomplished as follows: the doors of the House are closed, the roll is called, and absentees noted. The sergeant-at-arms, when directed by the majority of those present, sends for, arrests, and brings into the House those members who have not sufficient excuse for absence. When a quorum is secured, business is resumed.

Rules and Discipline.--Section 5, Clause 2. _Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member._

The Journal.--Section 5, Clause 3. _Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings and from time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house on any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal._

Our Knowledge of Congressional Proceedings.--As citizens in a republican government, it is our duty to keep informed on the problems which our representatives are called upon to solve. Means of gaining information are not wanting. The public galleries of both houses are usually open to visitors. The official record of the proceedings of Congress is made known to the public through the Journal, which is read at the opening of each day's session. Reports of the debates do not appear in the Journal, but are published each day in the _Congressional Record_.

Another means of keeping const.i.tuents informed on the position of their representatives is through the recording in the Journal of the vote of each member when demanded by one-fifth of those present. In voting by the "yeas and nays," the clerk calls the roll of members and places after each name, "yea," "nay," "not voting," or "absent." The Senate rules specify this as the only method of voting. (Other methods of voting in the House are indicated on page 77.)

Power to Adjourn.--Section 5, Clause 4. _Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting._

If there is a disagreement between the two houses with respect to the time of adjournment, the President may adjourn them to such a time as he thinks proper. This right has never yet been exercised.

Compensation and Freedom from Arrest.--Section 6, Clause 1. _The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the sessions of their respective houses, and going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place._

Should the members of Congress be paid a salary, or should the office be regarded as exclusively one of honor? These questions were discussed at length in the Const.i.tutional Convention. Some of the delegates favored the English custom, by which members of Parliament receive no salary. It was finally concluded to adopt the provisions as given, in order that men of ability, though poor, might become members of the National Legislature.

By a law of 1789 the compensation of senators and representatives was fixed at six dollars per day and thirty cents for every mile traveled, by the most direct route, in going to and returning from the seat of government. Prior to 1873 this amount was changed several times by act of Congress. The compensation then agreed upon and until 1907 was $5000 per year, with mileage of twenty cents, and $125 per annum for stationery. The speaker received $8000 a year and mileage. The president _pro tempore_ received the same amount while acting as president of the Senate.

To many people $5000 seemed a large salary, but the great expense of living in Washington renders the salary quite inadequate.

Members have been known to pay more than their salaries for house-rent alone. Accordingly, in 1907, the salary of senators and representatives was increased to $7500 and that of the speaker and president _pro tempore_ of the Senate to $12,000.

To Hold Other Offices. Disqualification.--Section 6, Clause 2. _No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he is elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased, during such time; and no person holding any office under the United States shall be a member of either house during his continuance in office._

The purpose of this provision seems to have been to remove the temptation on the part of Congressmen to create offices, or to increase the emoluments of those already existing, in order to profit by such legislation. The exclusion of United States officials from seats in Congress was due to the desire of appeasing State jealousy, which a.s.serted that the National government would in this way secure an undue influence over the State governments. It is advocated, with good reason, that members of the Cabinet should be privileged to take part in the discussion of measures in Congress which pertain to their own departments. Alexander Hamilton asked for this privilege. It was refused because of the belief that he would exert too great influence over the members. The precedent thus established has always been retained.

But since executive officers are often invited to present their views before committees of Congress, they may, in this way, exert great influence upon legislation.

CHAPTER IX.

HOW LAWS ARE MADE BY CONGRESS.

Methods of Procedure Developed by Custom.--Very little can be learned directly from the Const.i.tution concerning the actual methods employed in the enactment of laws by Congress. In both houses the ways in which business is conducted have been developed by custom; and they have changed from time to time according to circ.u.mstances. These methods of procedure are different from those in use when the government was new. The princ.i.p.al reason for this is found in the growth of the amount of business that Congress must consider; this, in turn, has been caused by the growth of population and wealth, and by the expansion of business relations throughout this country and with other nations.

I. _The Committee System._--An understanding of this system is necessary in order that we may follow the steps taken in the making of laws. Two facts made the committee system necessary in the houses of Congress. (1) The number of members, especially in the House of Representatives, is so large that business cannot be transacted quickly by the entire body. (2) The number of bills introduced is so very great that it is impossible for either house to consider all of them; hence it is necessary that committees shall examine the bills and decide which are worthy of consideration.

In the long session of the 61st Congress more than 33,000 bills were introduced into the House. The number of committees in the House was 61, the membership varying from 5 to 19. The most important House committees are those on Ways and Means (which has charge of all bills for raising revenue), Appropriations, Banking and Currency, Foreign Affairs, and Military Affairs. In the Senate of the 61st Congress there were 72 standing committees. The number of members on a committee was in most cases 9 or 11. A few of the Senate committees are those on Finance (corresponding to the Committee on Ways and Means in the House), Agriculture, Commerce, and Foreign Relations.

Both in the House and in the Senate every member is on some committee, and some members have places on several committees. In both houses the committees are elected. The chairman and a majority of the members of each committee are from the members of the party that has a majority in the house.

Steps in the Progress of a Bill.--(1) The first step in the progress of a bill is its _introduction_. This is done in the House by merely placing the bill in a basket on the clerk's desk. In the Senate the member introducing a bill rises and asks leave to introduce it.

(2) The bill is next _referred_ to a committee.

(3) If the committee decides that the bill should go further they _report it_ back to the house.

The house will in a great majority of cases pa.s.s or reject it according to the committee's recommendation. Few bills are debated in either house, and in the most of these cases the discussion has no influence upon the fate of the bill--it is meant merely to be heard or to be printed. Hence, it is in that intermediate stage between the reference of the bill to a committee and the report on it that the real work of legislation is accomplished.

The Power of Committees over Bills.--A committee may exercise the utmost freedom with respect to the bills referred to it. The greater number of bills receive no consideration whatever from the committees; these may never be reported if the committees see fit to ignore them.

Other bills are amended by the committees, or new bills are subst.i.tuted for them. Such is the power intrusted to Congressional committees.

However, if a majority of the house wishes, it may take up for discussion a bill which one of its committees has decided not to report back.

Many of the important committees have separate rooms where their meetings are held. Here the members may confer in secret, or they may hold public hearings; i.e., persons are invited to give testimony or to make arguments. Frequently the majority members of a committee hold separate meetings, determine their policy, and then adhere to it regardless of the wishes of the minority members.

The latter may present a separate report called the _minority report_ of the committee.

Consideration of Bills.--(4) In the next step, the bill is brought before the house for consideration. How is it determined which bills shall be thus favored? In some measure this depends upon the importance and the merits of the bill; but it depends more upon the skill and influence of the member (generally the chairman of the committee reporting the bill) who is particularly interested in seeing it enacted into law. In the House of Representatives this important matter is most often decided by the Committee on Rules, which is composed of ten members, six being of the party that has a majority in the House. In most cases this committee decides which bills shall be considered, and how much time shall be given to the discussion of each one. So it is necessary for the chairman of a committee to make a previous arrangement with the speaker to be recognized before he can bring up his bill. But on Wednesday of each week the chairmen of committees may call up their bills in the order in which they secure recognition. And the Committee on Rules does not control the bills which the House takes out of the hands of committees.

II. _The Power of the Speaker._--The speaker is the executive officer who sees that the decisions of the Committee on Rules are carried out.

In most important matters it is necessary for a member to make an arrangement with the speaker in order to secure recognition when he wishes to address the House.

In exercising the power of _recognition_, the speaker will, of course, give both the sides a fair opportunity to debate upon important measures. He will not permit members to make motions or lengthy speeches merely for the sake of delaying some action to which they are opposed.