While the House of Representatives is the "
lower house" of the
bicameral legislative branch of the
United States government, it has certain
special powers assigned to it based on the presumption of the framers of the
United States Constitution that it would be the body nearest to
the will of the people:
raising money,
spending money,
impeachment of the president, and
selection of the president in the event of a failure of the
electoral college to do so.
In addition, the House has equal power to the United States Senate in many matters of the approval of legislation and overriding of presidential veto.
Representatives are elected to two-year terms from the several states...each state elects a minimum of two representatives, and the District of Columbia elects one. The remaining 334 are apportioned to the states according to their populations (ascertained by way of the official census taken every ten years).
The House transacts its legislative business through several standing committees: Agriculture, Appropriations, Armed Services, Banking and Financial Services, Budget, Commerce, Education and the Workforce, Government Reform, House Administration, International Relations, Judiciary, Resources, Rules, Science, Small Business, Standards of Official Conduct, Transportation and Infrastructure, Veterans Affairs, Ways and Means, Joint Economic Committee, Printing and Taxation. A number of ad hoc committees exists from time to time, and these major committees are further decomposed into subcommittees. Committee chairpersons are selected strictly on the basis of party control and seniority which can lead to weird results.