The composition and powers of the House are established by Article One of the United States Constitution. The House is composed of representatives who sit in congressional districts which are allocated to each of the 50 states on a basis of population as measured by the U.S. Census, with each district entitled one representative. Since its inception in 1789, all representatives are elected popularly. The total number of voting representatives is fixed by law at 435. Each U.S. state is represented in the House in proportion to its population but is entitled to at least one representative.

According to the Constitution the U.S. House of Representatives has the following powers:

i. Power to set in motion impeachment proceedings (it is up to the Senate to bring those proceedings into a trial setting). For example, had Richard Nixon not resigned his position as president for his role in Watergate, the House would likely have voted (a majority) to impeach him, at which point any formal proceedings would have moved to the Senate.

ii.Power to elect the President of the United States. This would only happen if electoral votes were tied. The Senate has the power to do the same with the office of Vice President. Of course it cannot choose randomly, but must select from candidates with the most electoral votes.

iii.  Power to introduce laws and legislation that specifically deal with revenue and taxes. Because revenue and taxes are issues closely related to their constituents or the people that voted for them, the House is granted the power to introduce these.

iv. Power to introduce laws and legislation other than revenue-related, but this is also a power shared with the Senate.

v. Power to participate in Joint Committees alongside senate members, such as the Joint Committee on Taxation or Joint Economic Committee.