Representatives
HOUSE OF, one of the branches of the Congress, also known as the Lower House and the Popular House. The members of this branch are elected directly by popular vote. In it is vested by the National Constitution the sole right to originate laws concerning the finances of the country. The Committee on Ways and Means of the House is the original source of all tariff legislation, and all bills providing for the raising or expenditure of public moneys have their origin in the House.
In each of these two forms of legislation the House has the limited co-operation of the Senate, viz., the Senate may amend a tariff bill or resolution appropriating public moneys in the line either of in-- creasing or decreasing specific amounts.
The House has the privilege of passing on these Senate amendments, and if it declines to accept any part of such changes, it is customary to appoint a Conference Committee consisting of an equal number of members from the House and Senate, to whom the disputed subject is referred, and the report of this committee is generally accepted in the light of a compromise by both houses.
The membership of the House is based on the population of the country as ascertained decennially by the census, and therefore changes every 10 years.