The House and the Senate by T. Edwin Perry
Congress is separated into two distinctive bodies: The House of Representatives and the Senate. One question I always had in school, which was never answered in class, I might add, is “Why are there TWO houses?” I mean, really, what is the purpose of having two different groups of people who all share the job of writing and passing laws? It doesn’t make any sense…unless you actually take the time to READ the Constitution.
Congress was split into two bodies because each house is SUPPOSED to have DIFFERENT responsibilities, and they answer to different people! First, let’s talk about the House of Representatives. At the time of our Nation’s Founding, the House of Representatives consisted of 65 Representatives, with at least one representative from each of the original 13 States, but divided based upon the population of each state. Rhode Island, for example, only had one Representative, but Virginia, with the highest population at the time, had ten. The purpose was to ensure that the PEOPLE of the United States would have representatives in their Government, no matter where they lived, dedicated to those issues that were of importance to those people! After all, the issues affecting Rhode Island weren’t necessarily the same as those that were important in Virginia, but they all deserved to be heard. The Representatives were elected directly BY THE PEOPLE to serve those needs.
The Senate, on the other hand, consisted of 26 Senators, two from each of the 13 states. Each state was equally represented, regardless of its size, and they were elected by the STATE LEGISLATURES, not the PEOPLE, because they were intended to address the needs and desires of their individual STATES, not the PEOPLE! After all, the People and the States didn’t always share the same needs or desires, but both had needs and desires to be addressed at the Federal Level.
All laws relating to Government Spending were to be initiated in the House of Representatives, and then approved or ratified by the Senate before becoming law. This kept the FINANCIAL POWER of the Government in the hands of the People. The Senate, on the other hand, retained the power to declare WAR, keeping the MILITARY POWER of DEFENSE in the hands of the States. The Senate also retained the power to IMPEACH the President, something that was necessary to ensure responsible action in the Executive Branch.
Today, the House has 435 Representatives disbursed from the 50 states and Washington DC, and the Senate includes 100 Senators, still two per state. The 17th Amendment, passed in 1913, changed the power to select the Senators from the State Legislatures to the individual Voters, rendering both houses answerable to the Population, and limiting the representation of the STATES in our Federal Government. It was very much the result of the Progressive Policies of Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft, paving the way for Woodrow Wilson and eventually Franklin D. Roosevelt to centralize even more of our Federal Government, expanding the size and cost of Government to unheard of levels. (Forget Barack Obama for a moment: How’s THAT Hope & Change working out for you?!)
Today, we’re facing “Healthcare” legislation, “Cap & Trade” legislation, “Environmental” legislation and every other kind of legislation, all to the expressed goals of expanding Government involvement in our daily lives. The inevitable result with be higher taxes, higher costs and fewer freedoms, particularly when it comes to our choices and liberties. One key to resisting these legislations is the power of the States. The Tenth Amendment, which has not been modified since it was adopted in 1792, places those powers “not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the People.” In other words, if the CONSTITUTION doesn’t name the powers to the Federal Government, then those powers belong to the STATES! That includes, believe it or not, HEALTHCARE! It includes Energy Production (Cap & Trade). It includes Environmental Protection!
I propose that the States need to stand up and challenge the 17th Amendment to regain their representation in the Federal Congress. Much as the 18th Amendment (Prohibition) was repealed by the 21st Amendment, I think it’s time to support a 28th Amendment to repeal Number 17, restoring the representation of the States in Congress!
Just a little something to think about…
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