APPendIx B • The ConSTITUTIon of The UnITed STATeS 349
arrested for things they say during speeches and debates
in Congress. This immunity applies to the Capitol Building
itself and not to their private lives.
Clause 2: Restrictions. No Senator or Representative
shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be
appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the
United States, which shall have been created, or the
Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during
such time; and no Person holding any Office under the
United States, shall be a Member of either House during
his Continuance in Office.
During the term for which a member was elected, he or she
cannot concurrently accept another federal government
position.
Section 7. Legislative Powers: Bills and
Resolutions
Clause 1: Revenue Bills. All Bills for raising Revenue
shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the
Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on
other Bills.
All tax and appropriation bills for raising money have
to originate in the House of Representatives. The Senate,
though, often amends such bills and may even substitute
an entirely different bill.
Clause 2: The Presidential Veto. Every Bill which shall
have passed the House of Representatives and the
Senate, shall, before it becomes a Law, be presented to
the President of the United States; If he approve he shall
sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections
to the House in which it shall have originated, who
shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and
proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration
two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it
shall be sent together with the Objections, to the other
House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if
approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a
Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall
be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the
Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered
on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill
shall not be returned by the President within ten Days
(Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to
him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he
had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment
prevent its Return in which Case it shall not be a Law.
When Congress sends the president a bill, he or she can
sign it (in which case it becomes law) or send it back to the
chamber in which it originated. If it is sent back, a two-
thirds majority of each chamber must pass it again for it
to become law. If the president neither signs it nor sends
it back within ten days, it becomes law anyway, unless
Congress adjourns in the meantime.
Clause 3: Actions on Other Matters. Every Order, Resolution,
or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and
House of Representatives may be necessary (except onQualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each
shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller
Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be autho
rized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in
such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House
may provide.
Each chamber may exclude or refuse to seat a member-elect.
The quorum rule requires that 218 members of the
House and 51 members of the Senate be present to conduct
business. This rule normally is not enforced in the handling
of routine matters.
Clause 2: Rules and Discipline of Members. Each House
may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish
its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the
Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.
The House and the Senate may adopt their own rules to
guide their proceedings. Each may also discipline its mem-
bers for conduct that is deemed unacceptable. No member
may be expelled without a two-thirds majority vote in favor
of expulsion.
Clause 3: Keeping a Record. Each House shall keep a
Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish
the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment
require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members
of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of
one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.
The journals of the two chambers are published at the end
of each session of Congress.
Clause 4: Adjournment. Neither House, during the
Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the
other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other
Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.
Congress has the power to determine when and where to
meet, provided, however, that both chambers meet in the
same city. Neither chamber may recess for more than three
days without the consent of the other.
Section 6. Rights of Members
Clause 1: Compensation and Privileges. The Senators and
Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their
ser vices, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the
Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases,
except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privi
leged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session
of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning
from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either
House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.
Congressional salaries are to be paid by the U.S. Treasury
rather than by the members’ respective states. The original
salaries were $6 per day; in 1857 they were $3,000 per year.
Both representatives and senators were paid $165,200 in
2007.
Treason is defined in Article III, Section 3. A felony is
any serious crime. A breach of the peace is any indictable
offense less than treason or a felony. Members cannot be9781285436388_em_appb_347-362.indd 349 10/22/13 7:03 AM
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