Senate House Controversy
Eric Haynes (Creative Commons)
Monday, October 27, 2015 – The Edward M. Kennedy Institute hosts ‘Across the Aisle’ a panel discussion moderated by WBZ’s Jon Keller with Governor Charlie Baker, Sen. Ed Markey, HHS Sec. Marylou Sudders and Sherif Koutoujian on the Opioid Epidemic in Massachusetts and the Nation. (© 2015 Eric Haynes)
For those of you who have not yet learned about US History, our government has 2 legislative bodies known as the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives proportionally represents each state based on its population by providing states from 1 to 53 seats, while the Senate represents each state equally by providing 2 seats per state. The most recent election was to vote in new or recurring members to enter the House and Senate, but more importantly to decide which party had the house majority: Republicans or Democrats. In past years, the Democratic Party has had a majority in both the Senate and the House; however, the tides seem to be turning as what was once considered to be a “wipeout” has instead become a close competitive battle. Currently, the Republicans have a House majority while the Senate remains “equal” if you consider the 2 seats not held by Democrats or Republicans to be more left-leaning.
With the Republicans receiving House majority, there are a number of things that the GOP pledged to put into motion, which sparked a lot of controversy between both sides. The House would be able to disband the January 6th committee, investigate Hunter Biden, and start many other investigations beneficial to their side. On the more extreme side, many officials even theorize that they could be able to impeach President Biden. Meanwhile, with the Democratic party having a very narrow majority in the Senate, there is not much they can do about the decisions of the House except to help out the president by confirming judges that Biden nominates.
Both sides are disappointed, either because it was not a total “red tsunami”, or that the Democrats were not able to “hold their ground”. What’s interesting is that we get to see these events put into motion during a time in which many controversial issues are being argued about. As the results are solidified and the events described come to fruition, it is important that we all understand the democratic process and the value of voting as we approach the age of adulthood.