The House of Bureaucrats

The United States of Quentin House of Bureaucrats
Flag Coat of Arms
Motto: "Justice in Balance"
Composition
Members	110 Bureaucrats
Demonym	Bureaucrat of the USQ
History
The Constitution of the United States of Quentin Ratified:	January 31st, 1834
First Session Held:	February 7th, 1834
Leadership
Location	Mechanicsburg Bureaucratic Orthotope
Type	Upper House
Head Bureaucrat	Pete Fischer
Majority Party Leader	Tim Follingworth
Minority Party Leader	Avanti Athavale
Minority Party Leader	Sally Bwhacka
Elections
Last Election	January 1st, 2016
Next Election	January 1st, 2022
Party Composition	62% Fundamentalist, 31% Mild RePublican, 7% Environmentalist
Requirements
Minimum Age	21 years
Election Requirement	Elected by Nationwide Majority
Website	houseofbureaucrats.nwd.gov [1]

The House of Bureaucrats is one of the two Houses which make up the United States of Quentin Congress, a branch in the federal government of the USQ. The House is made up of Bureaucrats from each of the 10 states in the USQ, totaling 110 Bureaucrats.

The House's powers include approving laws created by The Quentinian House of Representatives and sending them to the President of the USQ, along with approving numerous decrees, appointments to certain government positions (Including the Cupboard and Supreme Council of the USQ), and other things. The House meets in a special chamber of The Capitol Building of the United States of Quentin, The Bureaucratic Orthotope, which is in Mechanicsburg.

History

Created in 1834 by The Constitution of the United States of Quentin for the new nation that had declared independence from the Republic of Megatridimensional Order 11 years earlier, the House of Bureaucrats was created to balance out the other house, The Quentinian House of Representatives. The signers of the document created the House of Representatives to represent the people, and carry out that will by making laws and regulations that the people wished to be in place. The House of Bureaucrats was created to approve these laws, and the nationwide voting (See Election and Qualifications) represented the want for the Bureaucrats to be a national institution of politicians, who could ensure the bills from the people weren't too rash or unnecessary.

First convened on February 7th, 1834, the House of Bureaucrats' name comes from the word Bureaucrat, which means a politician or official of the government. The first session established numerous housekeeping issues, including officials that weren't stipulated in the Constitution, the power of the parties, and the procedures of carrying out their Constitutional responsibilities and powers.

While the Bureaucrats are elected by a nationwide vote, there are still specific Bureaucrats for each state, and unlike the House of Representatives, this number varies every 20 years, and is decided by Supreme Council of the USQ on the basis of population, GDP, population growth, density, and others. The current amount, 110, has been in place since 1974, as the last time the Council didn't change the total, but changed the distribution through the states.

Powers and Constitutional Responsibilities

The House of Bureaucrats' powers and responsibilities come directly from The Constitution of the United States of Quentin. One of the first responsibilities the Constitution gives them is the responsibility to analyze, debate, and vote on bills and possible resolutions passed by The Quentinian House of Representatives. After the House debates the bill and discusses positives, negatives, and outlines the bill, along with analyzing it, they will vote on whether to pass the bill or not. The Constitution gives the House the responsibility, then, of either rejecting or passing the bill on to the President, with each requiring a simple majority of votes.

If the House chooses this route, they must also send back to the House of Representatives a list of explanations and possible changes. This requirement led to some sometimes humorous incidents in the past, most notably The Frauglin-Rau Incident in the early 1900's and The 1992 Knocking Bull Incident, and despite numerous attempts to amend the requirement, it has persisted. Alternatively, the House also has the ability to pass the bill with a majority vote (Today a passing vote would be at least 56-54). This sends the bill on to the President for their approval. If the President then rejects the bill, it is also the House of Bureaucrats' responsibility, as well as the House of Representatives', to meet in The Unity Chamber of the Capitol to decide whether they want to override the rejection. This needs an overall 75% of both Houses combined to pass.

There are also several smaller responsibilities of the House, and the first of these is approval of the appointment of several different government officials. This includes all Secretaries of the Cupboard after chosen by the President of the USQ, and a Supreme Decider of the USQ after the President has chosen them. Impeachment is another large power, with the House having the power to impeach the President and other executive officials for crimes, as long as they follow the Second Amendment, which includes a 3/4 vote for the resolution. Another one of these small powers is deciding the national budget for the year, in a combined session of Congress along with the GTNEC of the USQ.

Membership

A map of all the states in the USQ, and the majority parties of each

Requirements

In The Constitution of the United States of Quentin, there are numerous requirements listed for a person to be able to become a Bureaucrat of the USQ. These are: 1) A candidate must be 30 years or older on Quentinian Inauguration Day, January 1st, 2) They must have been a USQ citizen for their entire life, 3) They must have both been born in and live in the state that they would like to represent, and 4) They need to have passed The Quentinian Suffrage Test.

The enforcement of these policies is much stricter than other nations, and the examination and enforcement of the requirements is left up to The Supreme Council of the USQ, who look at numerous statistics such as birth certificates, residence, past prison time, and the completion of the Suffrage Test. This report, called The Pia Report, compiles all these statistics, even some that are not required to become a Bureaucrat, and is released to the public before election day. Depending on the contents of this report, the Bureaucrat could be simply not voted for, or disqualified completely from their candidacy.

Election and Term

The election of the Bureaucrats is a very unique and different process compared to other election processes, including that of The Quentinian House of Representatives. Because the signers of the Constitution wanted the House of Bureaucrats to be a more political house, filled with knowledgeable experts who at the same time represented the people, they decided the best way to do that would be to have a nationwide vote, even though there would be a certain amount of Bureaucrats representing each state.

This nationwide vote is accomplished by having every citizen eligible to vote fill out a ballot with a total of 110 spaces, or whatever number the total is that year, all arranged so that each state has its required number of Bureaucrats. The voter will then fill out each and every line with a candidate running in each state, regardless of where they are from. The Bureaucrats then get by what line they got the most votes. The top line of each state is special, because that represents the lead Bureaucrat for each state. The topmost line above all the states is the line to put which candidate you want to become The Head Bureaucrat of the USQ, who has extended voting power and influence.

The term of a Bureaucrat runs for a total of 6 years, from the day they are inaugurated to the day the new Bureaucrat is inaugurated. The Constitution stipulates that a Bureaucrat, like other positions in the country, cannot serve more than 7 terms, or in the case of a Bureaucrat, 42 years.

Oath of Office and Traditions

Oath

Another requirement to become a Bureaucrat is that the candidate take the USQ Congressional Oath of Office, which asserts the Bureaucrat's loyalty to the country, and makes several promises, both to uphold the Constitution and not betray the country. The entire oath is below.

I, ____ _____, do solemnly swear (not affirm) to faithfully serve my home country, the United States of Quentin, as a Congress(man/woman) in the House of Bureaucrats, in the defense of the Constitution, the upholding of justice and tranquility, and the maintenance of the balance of government by the people; I swear on this oath freely, and swear to honor this oath on the threat of death as well as a far worse punishment at the hands of God; and I swear to be loyal to this country and no other, on the threat of death as well as a far worse punishment at the hands of God, forever.

This oath is usually followed, traditionally, by a Quentinian Respect Gesture by the oath taker, as well as a Quentinian Salute. You only need take the oath once, even if you are reelected, however numerous others have chosen to take the oath of renewal each term they're reelected, which just replaces swear with renew my oath.

The Bureaucratic Orthotope, the meeting chamber of the House of Bureaucrats

Traditions

There are numerous traditions for a Bureaucrat of the USQ to go through after they are inaugurated, some voluntary but expected, and some mandated by the House of Bureaucrats Regulatory Document. The first voluntary traditions is for new Bureaucrats to have a meeting with some of the older Bureaucrats that have been reelected for a while in Chancey's Bar in Baltimore. Another one of these involuntary but expected traditions is the tradition of writing the year of your election and initials on a piece of wood inside each desk.

In the Bureaucratic Regulatory Document, it is stipulated that each new Bureaucrat wear a small Flag of The United States of Quentin on their suit while in the House, as well as wearing some article of clothing that is colored to signify their party, whether a red shirt, tie, etc, for Mild RePublican, green for Environmentalist, and blue for Fundamentalist. If you belong to any other party, you are expected to wear the Official Quentinian Party Colors of that party.

Officers

There are numerous special Bureaucrats and officials in the House of Bureaucrats. These officials have different benefits, responsibilities, and powers. The main position in the House, and the one with the most power, is the Head Bureaucrat of the USQ. The official, which is currently Pete Fischer, is chosen by the one with the most votes on the top line of the ballot. The head is very respected in the House, and has the extra power of 2 total votes, as well as sitting up at the front of the room. Finally, the head decides who gets the floor to speak, based on the rules in the Regulatory Document, but when it is uncovered or two people of the same status wish to speak, the head decides who gets to speak.

The second large position in the House are the party leaders. The Quentinian Bureaucratic Majority Leader is the most powerful of the party leaders, and they are chosen by their respective party, on parameters such as vote amount or seniority. The party majority leader sits in the front row, however not up front with the head, and have special advantages when speaking, getting the priority from the head.