House V. Senate

House

435 members;2 yr term

House

low turnover

House

speaker bill referral hard to challenge

House

Scheduling/ rules controlled by majority party; powerful rules committees

House

debate limited to 1 hr

House

members policy specialists

House

Emphasizes tax & revenue policy

House

More formal & impersonal

Senate

More informal & personal

Senate

Emphasizes foreign policy

Senate

Members policy generalists

Senate

Unlimited debate unless cloture invoked

Senate

Scheduling/ rules agreed to by majority & minority leaders

Senate

Referral decisions easily challenged

Senate

Moderate turnover

Senate

100 members ; 6 yr term