[20201130]IN11547_美国众议院的规模.pdf

CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i Size of the U.S. House of Representatives November 30, 2020 The size of the U.S. House of Representatives is set by federal statute at 435 Representatives (excluding nonvoting seats held by Delegates and the Resident Commissioner). This number has been constant since the start of the 63rd Congress in 1913, aside from a temporary increase to 437 seats to accommodate the additions of Alaska and Hawaii as states in 1959 (see P.L. 85-508, July 7, 1958; P.L. 86-3, March 18, 1959) until the apportionment that followed the 1960 census. Requirements Affecting House Size Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, as amended by Section 2 of the 14th Amendment, provides that representation in the House is based on state population size. In order to determine the population of each state, Article I, Section 2 requires that the national population be counted at least once every 10 years through what is known as the decennial census. Article I, Section 2 also contains broad parameters for House size, stating that there can be no more than one Representative for every 30,000 persons, provided that each state receive