Why the Senate is Powerful

New Zealand Listener, Volume 4, Issue 90, 14 March 1941, Page 5

Why the Senate is Powerful

T is a rather remarkable fact that of these two chambers, the Senate is the more powerful and the more important. I say it is "rather remarkable " because normally in democratic countries you find it is the other way round. We know that in Britain the House of Commons is more powerful than the House of Lords; and in New Zealand our House of Representatives is certainly far stronger than the Legislative Council. Why is it, then, that in the United States, the Senate has come to count for more than the Lower House? One reason is that a Senator is elected for six years, that is even two years longer than the President himself. But a Representative has only two years in office, and must then face another election. The six-year term of the Senator gives him greater security and greater independence. Moreover, when Representa-

tives are chosen every two years, the whole House is dissolved and must be entirely re-elected. But, the Senate is never dissolved in a single body. Every two years one-third only of the Senators are elected. Consequently the Senate is a continuous body, which can defend the same policy over a period of years. The House is more liable to suddenly shifting majorities. Yet another reason gives the Senate its preponderance over the House, The Senate is a small body; it has only 96 members. But the House is a much larger assembly of 435. Naturally a group of under 100 can develop a corporate spirit and a sense of unity much more easily than a group of over 400.-(" The Political System of the United States: Congress," by Professor Lipson, 2YA, February 23.)