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A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.

Inside the Australian House of Representatives

Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power. The supremacy of the lower house usually arises from special restrictions placed (either explicitly by legislation or implicitly by convention) on the powers of the upper house, which often can only delay rather than veto legislation or has less control over money bills.

Under parliamentary systems it is usually the lower house alone that designates the head of government or prime minister, and may remove them through a vote of no confidence. There are exceptions to this however, such as the Prime Minister of Japan, who is formally selected with the approval of both houses of the Diet. A legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.

Common attributes[link]

In comparison with the upper house, lower houses frequently display certain characteristics:

• Greater power, usually based on restrictions against the upper house.
• Directly elected (apportionment is usually based on population).
• More members.
• Elected more frequently, and all at once.
• Has total or original control over budget and monetary laws.
• Able to override the upper house in some ways.
• In a presidential system, given the sole power to impeach the executive (the upper house then tries the impeachment).
• In a parliamentary system, can be dissolved by the executive.

Titles of lower houses[link]

Common names[link]

Many lower houses are named in the following manner: House/Chamber of Representatives/the People/Commons/Deputies.

• Chamber of Deputies
• Chamber of Representatives
• House of Assembly
• House of Representatives
• House of Commons
• Legislative Assembly
• National Assembly

See also[link]

• Representative democracy
• List of national legislatures
• Upper house

Steve Bridges
Bridges and George W. Bush at the White House Correspondents' Dinner
Born	(1963-05-22)May 22, 1963 Dallas, Texas[1]
Died	March 3, 2012(2012-03-03) (aged 48) Los Angeles, California
Nationality	American
Genres	Stand-Up, Impressionist

Steve Bridges (May 22, 1963 – March 3, 2012) was an American comedian, impressionist, and actor who "developed a repertoire of over 200 impressions, including TV characters Barney Fife and Homer Simpson, broadcasters Tom Brokaw, Paul Harvey and Rush Limbaugh ... and political leaders Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Arnold Schwarzenegger".^[2]

In 2006, he appeared alongside the real President George W. Bush at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, mimicking the president by voicing the president's inner thoughts during Bush's presidential speech.^[3]

Bridges was a Biola University alumnus.

Filmography[link]

• Nurses (1994) as Torrance
• The District (2000)
• ER (2001) as Leone
• Lange Flate Ballær 2 (2008) as General of the U.S. Navy

As George W. Bush[link]

• JAG episode "Dangerous Game" (2002)
• NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service episode "Yankee White" (2003)
• Whoopi episode "The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" (2003)
• George Lopez (2003)
• Comedy Central Roast of Jeff Foxworthy (2005)
• Merry F#%$in' Christmas (2005)
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
• White House Correspondents Dinner (2006)
• Blue Collar Comedy Tour: One For the Road (Yankee Doodle Dandy segment)
• The View (May 29, 2006)
• Larry King Live (2006)
• Lange Flate Ballær II (2008) (Norwegian movie)
• I Love the New Millennium (2008)

Death[link]

He was found dead on March 3, 2012, by his maid in his Los Angeles home, after he failed to return a call the day before. The cause of death was not immediately known, and an autopsy has been scheduled. According to his agent, Bridges had just returned from performing in Hong Kong and went to bed complaining that he felt "super-jetlagged". ^[4]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Steve Bridges at the Internet Movie Database
• Steve Bridges at AllRovi
• Comedy Central Bio
• Steve Bridges Official Site
• Bridges impersonates Bush with Bush
• Steve Bridges Profile Page - Video clip, speaking topics
• "George W. Bush impersonator Steve Bridges dies at 48"