The House of Representatives

A house is a building made for people to live in, usually with family members. In the United States, houses are usually numbered and have names. A house can also be used to describe a collection of items, such as furniture or books.

A person who owns a house is called a homeowner. The owner can be male or female. Some houses are built of wood or other materials. Brick houses are often more durable than wooden ones, and can withstand extreme weather conditions. Houses are often designed to be energy efficient.

Most modern houses have separate rooms for cooking food, eating meals, sleeping and washing. They may also have additional rooms for other activities, such as a study or family room. Many houses have fireplaces and air conditioning. Some have basements, gardens and pools. Houses of historical interest are sometimes designated as historic landmarks.

The House of Representatives in the United States is one of the two bodies of Congress. The other body is the Senate. The Constitution gives the House much more power than the Senate, but the Constitution allows both bodies to overrule the House by a majority vote.

Each House has a Speaker, who leads the proceedings of the House and decides the rules of the house. The Speaker must have a high level of political skill to keep the House moving forward and to overcome opposition from Members. The Speaker is responsible for the conduct of the House and must be a person of high moral character.

The House has twenty standing committees, each with jurisdiction over a specific area of legislation. These committees review, amend and report bills to the House. They have extensive powers, including the ability to block legislation and oversee independent government agencies. The House also has a number of special and temporary committees, as well as joint committees with the Senate.

During the debate of bills, the House Speaker sets the tone of the debate by determining when to call for a recess and when to allow time for speeches. The Speaker is also responsible for calling for a vote on any amendments to bills that are passed by the House.

After a bill passes the House, it goes to a conference committee with representatives from both the House and the Senate. This committee tries to reach a compromise on the bill. The final version of the bill is then sent back to the House, where it becomes law.

The most important job of the House is to initiate all spending authorizations (appropriations bills). The Constitution says that the Senate cannot override this, but many legislative sleight-of-hand maneuvers get around this rule.