The responsibilities and powers of the U.S. House of Representatives fall into a handful of clear categories: writing federal law, originating all tax legislation and leading the appropriations process, impeaching federal officials, electing the President when the Electoral College produces no winner, confirming a new Vice President when that office goes vacant, proposing constitutional amendments alongside the Senate, overseeing how the executive branch carries out the law, and disciplining its own members. Several of those powers belong to the House alone.
Who Sits in the House
The chamber has 435 voting members, a number fixed by the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929.1History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives. The Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929 Seats are redistributed among the states after each decennial census, so more populous states get more representatives. That population-based allocation is what distinguishes the House from the Senate, where every state has two seats.
Members must be at least 25 years old, U.S. citizens for at least seven years, and residents of the state they represent.2Constitution Annotated. U.S. Constitution Article I Section 2 – House of Representatives Each one serves a two-year term, meaning every seat is on the ballot in both presidential and midterm election years.3USAGov. Congressional Elections and Midterm Elections Six non-voting delegates also sit in the House, representing the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. They can introduce bills, speak on the floor, and vote in committee, but they cannot vote on final passage of legislation.4Congressional Research Service. Delegates to the U.S. Congress: History and Current Status
Writing and Passing Laws
Article I of the Constitution vests all federal legislative power in Congress.5Legal Information Institute. U.S. Constitution Article I In the House, a bill starts when a member introduces it and it’s assigned to a committee. Committee staff and members study the proposal, hear testimony, and mark up the language before deciding whether to send it forward. Most bills die at this stage.
Bills that clear committee move to the floor for debate and amendment. Passing a bill takes a simple majority of members voting, with a quorum present. When every seat is filled, that threshold is 218 votes. A bill the House approves goes to the Senate, and if both chambers agree on identical text, it goes to the President for signature or veto.6Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution Article I Section 7 – Legislation
Tax and Spending Powers
The Constitution’s Origination Clause gives the House a job no other body shares: every bill that raises federal revenue must start there.7Congress.gov. ArtI.S7.C1.1 Origination Clause and Revenue Bills The Senate can amend a revenue bill after the House passes it, but the initial proposal has to come from the House. The clause applies to bills whose primary purpose is raising revenue, not to bills that happen to generate money as a side effect.8Legal Information Institute. Origination Clause
The House also leads the federal spending process through its Committee on Appropriations. That committee drafts the bills setting how much money each federal agency and program receives for the fiscal year. Because no federal activity can proceed without funding, appropriations decisions set the practical boundaries of what the government can do. Refusing to appropriate money for a program can shut it down as effectively as repealing the law that created it.
Impeachment
The House holds the sole power of impeachment, the formal charging of a federal official with serious misconduct.9Congress.gov. ArtI.S2.C5.1 Overview of Impeachment The authority covers the President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the United States, including federal judges. The grounds are treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
Impeachment usually begins in the Judiciary Committee, which investigates and drafts articles of impeachment. Each article states a specific charge. If a simple majority of the full House approves any article, the official is impeached. That vote does not remove anyone from office. It functions like an indictment, triggering a Senate trial where a two-thirds vote is required for conviction and removal. The House appoints managers who act as prosecutors during that trial.
Electing a President When the Electoral College Fails
When no presidential candidate wins a majority of electoral votes, the 12th Amendment hands the choice to the House.10Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Twelfth Amendment The procedure looks nothing like ordinary House business. Instead of each representative casting an individual vote, each state delegation gets one collective vote. A candidate needs a majority of all state delegations, currently 26 of 50. The House can only pick from the top three electoral vote recipients. This has happened twice, in 1801 and 1825.
If the same deadlock applies to the vice presidency, that selection goes to the Senate rather than the House.11Congressional Research Service. Contingent Election of the President and Vice President by Congress
Filling a Vice-Presidential Vacancy
Under the 25th Amendment, when the Vice President’s office becomes vacant, the President nominates a replacement who must be confirmed by a majority vote of both the House and the Senate.12Legal Information Institute. U.S. Constitution Amendment XXV The House’s role here is a straight majority confirmation vote, not the delegation-based procedure used in a contingent presidential election.
Proposing Constitutional Amendments
Under Article V, the House and Senate can propose a constitutional amendment when two-thirds of the members present in each chamber vote in favor, provided a quorum exists.13Congress.gov. ArtV.1 Overview of Article V, Amending the Constitution The two-thirds threshold applies to final passage, not to preliminary votes or amendments to the proposal itself. Once both chambers approve the resolution, it goes directly to the states for ratification. A proposed constitutional amendment is never sent to the President for approval.
Oversight of the Executive Branch
Writing laws is only half the job. The House also monitors how those laws are carried out. The Supreme Court recognized this oversight authority as essential to effective lawmaking in McGrain v. Daugherty (1927), reasoning that Congress cannot legislate wisely without the ability to investigate the conditions it seeks to change.14Justia. McGrain v. Daugherty, 273 U.S. 135 (1927)
House committees exercise this power through hearings, document requests, and formal investigations into agency spending, policy implementation, and potential misconduct. A committee can issue a subpoena compelling testimony or documents. Ignoring a subpoena can lead to a contempt of Congress vote, a federal misdemeanor carrying potential fines and imprisonment.15Congressional Research Service. Congress’s Contempt Power and the Enforcement of Congressional Subpoenas Enforcement of contempt citations has been uneven in practice, but the legal authority is well established.
Policing Its Own Members
Article I, Section 5 lets the House punish members for disorderly behavior and, by a two-thirds vote, expel a member entirely.16Legal Information Institute. Historical Background on Expulsion Clause Short of expulsion, the House can censure or reprimand a member by simple majority. Censure requires the member to stand in the well of the chamber while the Speaker reads the resolution aloud. Reprimand is a less severe rebuke that does not require the member to be physically present.