Roll Call Votes

The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday comes from Article I.5.3: “If one-fifth of those present desires to have a recorded vote of each member on a particular issue, the presiding officer will ask for a roll call and the vote of each member will be shown in the journal.” One-fifth of the members present in either house have the right to demand a recorded vote of every person present and voting on a designated issue.

Roll call votes take more time that routine matters require, but they are critical on important issues. This record shows exactly how an incumbent voted on a certain issue – information that is desirable to know during an election.

The time-consuming roll call vote in the House of Representatives was replaced with an electronic voting system in 1973. Using this system, a representative can insert his computer card into a voting box and push one of the three buttons – “Yea,” “Nay,” or “Present.” Sometimes representatives do not want to support or oppose a matter and simply vote “Present.” This practice may or may not help them during an election.

The individual votes are displayed on a large screen before the House, permanently recorded, and then printed in the Congressional Record. This is how the American public can judge the voting record of any member of Congress.

Changing of the Guard

A historical event took place in Washington, D.C., on January 5, 2011, when Representative John Boehner of Ohio took the oath for the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives. This is the first time in four years that Republicans have been in control of the House. The election of Boehner as Speaker of the House makes him the most powerful Republican in Washington because he is just behind the Vice President in the line of presidential succession. This fact alone should make Americans feel a little more comfortable.

Boehner promised that the House makeover, GOP-style, is just beginning: "We will dispense with the conventional wisdom that bigger bills are always better; that fast legislating is good legislating; that allowing additional amendments and open debate makes the legislative process `less efficient' than our forefathers intended." He also admitted that there is "a great deal of scar tissue" "built up on both sides of the aisle" that will need to be dealt with.

The House Republicans are embarking on a plan to undo major aspects of President Obama's agenda before the President presents his State of the Union address later in January. The first item of business for the House is to begin the process of dismantling the new health-care law as they introduce a two-page bill to repeal it. They will quickly begin the identification of proposed spending cuts amounting to billions of dollars as well as regulations that burden American businesses.

Even though their work will be mainly symbolic because Democrats control both the Senate and the White House, House Republicans want to establish a bulwark against a government that is out of control. The House controls the purse strings of the government; therefore, they can cease to give financial support to any program.

I hope that the incoming freshman class of Congress will remember that they represent the American people and that they were elected because they promised to do their part to return our nation to the Rule of Law. I hope they remember that they can be voted out of office as easily as they were elected if they fail to keep their promises.

Disorderly Behavior

The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday comes from Article I.5.2: “The House and the Senate shall each have the authority to punish its own members for disorderly behavior.” This principle allows both the House and the Senate to discipline their own members for bad behavior.

The presiding officer of either chamber has the right to order the sergeant at arms to quiet any disorder or even to make arrests for any disturbance.

This provision is especially interesting at this time because Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY), a forty-year veteran of the House, was censored on December 2, 2010, for eleven counts of violating ethics rules. The vote was 333-79. Being censored is the steepest form of punishment short of expulsion. Rangel is the 23d lawmaker to be censored in history of House and the 5th in last 100 years. He was once one of the most powerful members of the House but had to experience the humiliation of standing in the well of the House while being censored.

Determine Own Rules

The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday comes from Article I.5.2: “The House and the Senate shall each determine the rules and proceedings by which it will carry out its responsibilities.” This principle sets forth the right of the House and the Senate to be independent from each other in how they perform their duties.

Under this provision either chamber may criticize the rules of procedure in the other chamber but neither has power to do anything about it. One such difference in rules is that the members of the Senate can filibuster but members of the House cannot.

Majority Required

The topic for this Constitution Monday comes from Article I.5.1: “A majority of the Senate and a majority of the House of Representatives shall be required in order to constitute a quorum to do the business of these houses.” This principle gives the people the Right to have laws passed by a majority of their representatives. This provision prevents small groups of Senators or Representatives taking over and passing laws.

The Founders knew that a requirement for the attendance of the whole body of Senators or Representatives would present the situation where the non-attendance of a few people could prevent the completion of a particular business. They wanted the business of the people to be performed by a quorum of the majority of their representatives without transferring power to a minority.

Sole Judge

The principle for discussion for this Constitution Monday comes from Article I.5.1: “Each House shall be the sole judge of whether or not an elected Senator or Representative has the required qualifications.” This principle provides both the Senate and the House the right and the responsibility to question the qualifications of the people who go to Washington to represent the states.

It is not a common occurrence for either the Senate or the House to refuse to seat elected representatives, but there have been a few instances. A Wisconsin socialist named Victor L. Berger was refused a seat in the House in 1919 because he had agitated against the United States participating in World War I. The House also refused to seat Adam Clayton Powell in 1967 because of “gross misconduct,” but the House was later overruled by the Supreme Court on this action. Frank Smith of Illinois was refused a seat in 1928 because part of the donations for his campaign came from a questionable source.

Credentials

The principle for discussion on this Constitution Monday comes from Article I.5.1: “The Senate and the House of Representatives shall each judge and determine whether or not its members have been properly elected to represent their respective constituencies.” This principle protects the integrity of the Senate and House of Representatives by giving the members of each body the Right to determine the credentials of their fellow members.

The House or Senate assumes its constitutional role of judging whenever a member is suspected of being elected illegally. Congress can issue a subpoena to compel a witness to appear before them or warrants for arrest of witnesses who are hostile and don’t respond to a subpoena.

The House or Senate retains the authority to investigate irregularities or illegal election procedures even if they refuse to allow a newly elected member to take the oath of office. Any state that allows a Senator or Representative to be elected illegally has no right to claim they are not being represented equally.

Choose Own Leaders

Our study of the Constitution continues on this Constitution Monday. The United States Constitution provides that the "House of Representatives shall choose its own clerks, sergeant at arms, and all other officers needed to function efficiently" (Article I.2.5). this provision is much like the one from last week in that it says that the House of Representatives has the Right to organize itself. The majority party carries this right. The officers in the House of Representatives include committee chairmen, party whips, the House clerk, floor leaders, the sergeant at arms, doorkeeper, parliamentarian, chaplain, postmaster, and pages.

Filling Vacancies

The writers of the United States Constitution provided in Article I.2.4, "If the seat of a Representative becomes vacant because of death, resignation, or some other cause, the governor of that state shall call for a new election to fill the vacancy." This provision insures that the states have the Right to fill vacancies as soon as possible. In comparison, a vacancy in the Senate gave the governor the authorization to appoint an interim Senator to serve until the next election. (See Article I.3.2.)

At Least One Representative

The Founders provided in Article I.2.3 of the United State Constitution, "Each state shall be entitled to have at least one Representative even if it is disproportionate to the rest of the states." This provision in the Constitution is a result of the Great Compromise, which took place during the Constitutional Convention. It gives each state the Right to be represented in Congress without any regard to its population. Each Congressman today represents approximately 500,000 people. This provision insures that states with fewer residents are represented by one Congressman. Alaska is one of a handful of states with only one Representative.

Taxes and Population

Provision seventeen of the United States Constitution is found in Article I.2.3: "Direct taxes (levied against the property of private individuals) shall be apportioned among the states according to population." This provision means that citizens have the Right to be taxed equally no matter where they live. The discussion on this provision was about whether population was the best measure to use to decide taxes. If population was chosen, should slaves be counted? The delegates to the Constitutional Convention determined that population was the most equitable measurement to determine taxes. There was a problem when discussing the slavery issue. The Southern states wanted to count slaves when determining their population for representation but not count them when determining their population for taxes. As a compromise, the delegates agreed that each slave would be weighted at three-fifths in determining population for both representation and taxation. This was merely a compromise deal and not intended as an insult to slaves. Representation and taxation would counter balance each other and made for a more honest and reliable census. States wanted the highest numbers of representatives as possible and therefore would count as many people as possible. At the same time, they wanted the lowest amount of taxes as possible and therefore would keep population numbers as low as possible. Parents could divide family into two groups and assign "taxes." Any item - jelly beans, cheerios, whatever - could be used as taxes. Each group could be assessed a certain number - maybe twenty - items. If a group has only two members, each member of that group would have to pay ten items, but in a group of five each member would pay only four items. This would not be equal taxation.

Representatives Decided by Population

The sixteenth provision of the United States Constitution is found in Article I.2.3: "The number of Representatives from each state will be apportioned according to population." This provision means that every citizen has the Right to be represented in Congress at the same ratio as every other citizen in the country. This provision caused a lot of problems at the Constitutional Convention. The smaller states thought that each state should have one vote. The larger states thought they should have more votes because they had more people. The problem was solved when the Founders decided that all states would be represented equally in the Senate but apportioned their representation in the House according to population. Senators were originally elected by state legislatures, and Representatives elected by a popular vote. Thus, the citizens of each state would be represented both as individuals and as a group. If possible, parents could divide the members of the family into two groups - males and females might work for demonstration purposes. Then "elect" representatives and discuss the number of people each representative actually represents and the lack of equal representation.

Inhabitant of State

Provision 15 of the United States Constitution is found in Article I.2.2: "A person cannot be elected to the House of Representatives unless he is an inhabitant of that state which he will be representing." This provision says that people had the Right to be represented by someone who lives in the same state. When Robert Kennedy of Massachusetts and later Hilary Clinton of Arkansas wanted to run for office in New York, they each had to become an "inhabitant" of New York to be qualified. Apparently, the original word was resident, and it was changed to "inhabitant" in order to cause less "misconstruction." In the beginning, Representatives from each state were to be elected by a state-wide vote. In 1842 the state legislatures were required by Congress to divide their states into congressional districts. They anticipated that this requirement would bring better and fairer representation because people would have a greater voice as to who should represent them. The thought was that the Representatives should be as much like the people they represent as possible. I think that a simple explanation would suffice to teach this principle to your family. It is fairly easy to understand that a Texas would understand better the needs of Texans than someone from Alaska or Virginia would.

Age of Representatives

First of all, Happy Presidents Day to all of you! One of my nephews sent me an email, reminding that I have a family connection with Abraham Lincoln. If you want to know what that connection is, please return to my post on Lincoln. Thanks, Larry, for the reminder! The thirteenth provision of the United States Constitution is found in Article I.2.2: "In order to be a member of the House of Representatives, a person must have reached twenty-five years of age by the time he is sworn into office." This means that Americans have the Right to be represented by a person who is at least twenty-five years old. The age of twenty-five was selected arbitrarily. Most of those men attending the Constitutional Convention were younger men who apparently thought that twenty-five was an adequate age. This provision means to me that the Founders thought it was important to clearly define who could run for the office and who could not. Parents could teach this provision by mentioning other activities that take place at a certain age, such as the age to start school, the age to be baptized, the age to obtain a driver's license, and the age to vote. It is obvious that we need to reach a certain age in order to be physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually mature to do certain tasks.

Elected Every Two Years

Provision 12 of the United States Constitution is located in Article I.2.1: "Elections for the members of the House of Representatives shall take place every two years." This means that we haves the Right to confirm or replace our representatives every two years. The Constitution does not limit the number of terms a representative can serve. The reason that this provision was put in the Constitution was to insure that the representatives had to return home and face the voters at regular times. "The fact that the representatives were to be chosen `by the people' of the several states created a `national' Congress of the people instead of a Congress representing the federated states (as was the case under the Articles of Confederation). The people thereby acquired a dual citizenship, being citizens of a `national' government and also citizens of their respective states (to which they likewise elected representatives)" (W. Cleon Skousen, The Making of America - The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution, 269). The Founders wanted the term of office to be long enough that the representative could know what he was doing and yet limited enough that he would remain faithful to the people who elected him. They thought that two years was the right length of time. Parents can talk about how students are elected each year to serve as class officers. This is to insure that the students have the leaders they desire.

Qualified to Vote

Provision 11 in the United States Constitution is found in Article I.2.1: "Any citizen of a state who is qualified to vote for a representative in the state legislature shall be considered qualified to vote for a Representative in the United States Congress." This provision says that, if a person is qualified to vote in state elections for representatives to state legislatures, the same person has a Right to vote for his representatives in Congress. "This was a major concession to the states to allow them to decide who could vote in a federal election. What if a state allowed women to vote? What if a state allowed eighteen-year-olds to vote? Or slaves? This was a risk the members of the Convention were willing to take. Each state would decide who could vote. Eventually four amendments to the Constitution settled all three of these questions. 1) The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery. 2) The Fifteenth Amendment prohibited the states from denying any citizen the right to vote because of `race, color, or previous condition of servitude.' 3) The Nineteenth Amendment prohibited the states from denying a person the right to vote because of sex. 4) The Twenty-sixth Amendment reduced the voting age of citizens to 18" (W. Cleon Skousen in The Making of America - The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution. 267). The Founders did not want the right to vote for Congressmen to be limited to the rich, learned, famous or owners of land. They wanted the electors to be the people of the United States. They were concerned that any other arrangement would create divisions among the people, and particularly, make enemies of those excluded. A parent could make some arbitrary rules for their family council, such as girls cannot vote, any male under age ten (or whatever age) cannot vote, etc. After those who are excluded realize what happened to them, discuss how they feel about the situation and what would be more fair and equal.

House of Representatives

Provision 10 of the United States Constitution (Article I.2.1) is that the members of the House of Representatives shall be elected by qualified voters in each of the states. The people had the Right to vote for their own representatives. This provision made the United States a democratic republic. A democracy involves all the citizens participating in the way government runs. When the people elect representatives to do the work of government, it is called a republic. We have a democratic republic because the masses of qualified voters elect their own representatives and then the representatives pass the laws and run the government. The Founders of our nation had great confidence in the American people. At the time our Constitution was written, there was no government on earth where the people elected their own representatives. They apparently understood that a pure democracy could not last. "Two hundred years ago a noted historian Alexander Tyler explained, `A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until [a majority of] the voters discover they can vote themselves largesse [gifts] from the public treasury. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy [taxing and spending], always followed by a dictatorship. The average life of the world's greatest civilizations has been two hundred years'" (quoted in The Making of America - The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution by W. Cleon Skousen, p 265). The Founders wanted to have a government "of the people, by the people, for the people" without the problems caused by a true democracy. Skousen explained, "A people's `constitutional' republic is sometimes called a `federal' republic or `democratic' republic, This system is based on the supreme will of the people, which is expressed in a written constitution. It was invented by the American Founding Fathers. This American system divides power vertically and horizontally and assigns to each level of government those responsibilities which can be most efficiently and economically administered there. It proved to be the soundest system of government ever devised by man" (The Making of America, p 265). Skousen lists the following advantages of a republic with quotes from the Founders to support them: 1) "Wise representatives can benefit the public more than the public can benefit itself;" 2) "In a Republic, a majority rule is the first principle;" 3) "A Republic is the only means of securing equal rights;" 4) "Every citizen has a voice and a vote" (Making of America, p 266). The Founders hoped that by founding our nation as a democratic republic that the country could grow bigger without becoming divided. An easy way to explain this principle would be to compare a family council with father, mother and children discussing family concerns with a council for an extended family where only the representatives of each group come together to make decisions.

Two Legislative Bodies

Provision 9 of the United States Constitution, from Article I.1.1, is "The Congress shall consist of two separate legislative bodies - one to be called a Senate and the other to be called a House of Representatives." American citizens have a Right to be subject only to laws approved by both houses of Congress. There was a huge debate at the Constitutional Convention over the best method for representation. Under the Articles of Confederation, each state sent delegates to the House of Representatives, but there was no upper house or senate. Most of the states had both an upper house and a lower house in their state legislatures at the time of the convention. After much debate about how Congress should be organized, a compromise was reached to have both an upper house and a lower house in the national government. The lower house or House of Representatives would represent the population with the number of representatives from each state being determined by the number of citizens in the state and the states divided into congressional districts. Representatives would be selected by popular vote and would represent the people who elected them. The upper house or Senate would be comprised of equal representation (two senators) from each state. The senators were to be appointed by their respective state legislatures and would represent their state and insure that the state's rights and interests were protected. After the Seventeenth Amendment was adopted in 1913, Senators were also elected by popular vote just like Congressmen. Senators now represent the people "at large" or all the people in their particular state. There is no one in Washington with the specific responsibility to guard the rights of the state. The Seventeenth Amendment changed an important part of the system invented by the Founders. Their system was founded on an idea put forth by political scientists for centuries, an idea that combined the advantages of "the one, the few, and the many." The work of the Founders established a system for this idea for the very first time in history. "The one," represented by the President, would administer the law and direct wartime efforts. "The few," represented by the Senate, would guard property and wealth and establish order. "The many," represented by the House, would represent the will of the people. The federal government as well as most of the states adopted this arrangement of government. The idea to have two branches in the legislative body gives the people double protection in that a majority of each house must be in favor of a bill before it becomes a law. The Founders set up a system of government that provided a measure of permanency. All members of the House of Representatives run for re-election every two years. A President serves for four years before seeking re-election for a second term of office. Senators serve for six year terms with one-third of the Senate running for re-election every two years. This system insures that there are experienced leaders in office at any given time. The idea of "the one, the few, and the many" is also apparent in successful families. "The one" is represented by a father, who is the head of the family. "The few" is represented by father and mother working together for the good of the family. "The many" is represented by the entire family in family council.