Front:
BICENTENNIAL
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
25
HOUSE
OF
REPRESENTATIVES
XII
RINGTO
APR
1989
20515
***
DC
Back:
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
First Day of Issue: April 4, 1989
First Issue Location: Washington, D.C.
The stamp featured on this Maximum Card celebrates the
Two Hundredth Anniversary of the House of Representa-
tives. Following ratification of the Constitution, the House
first convened in 1789 with sixty-five members. By 1913,
membership had grown to four hundred thirty-five. The
House has remained at that number since, with the
exception of a temporary expansion in 1959 to four
hundred thirty-seven members when Hawaii and Alaska
were admitted to the Union. The number of Representa-
tives from a state is based on population, and is reappor-
tioned after each census to maintain fair distribution.
Representatives conduct business in committees and
subcommittees, the most important of which are Ways
and Means, Appropriations, and Rules. The House pro-
cesses ten to fifteen thousand bills yearly, and enacts a
large number of public and private laws. It also has the
power to elect the President, should the electoral college
fail to do so, and the House alone has the power to
impeach the President and other high-ranking officials.
CONSTITU
No. 89-13
*UNITED STATES
The the
People
ma* 1621-2821
1987
*1661-2861.
SCENTENNIA
©1989 The Maximum Card Collection
A Division of Unicover Corporation • Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007
Original painting by David K. Stone
An Official Maximum Card of
the Commission on the Bicentennial
of the United States Constitution
