<P> Voting traditionally lasts for, at most, fifteen minutes, but it may be extended if the leadership needs to "whip" more members into alignment . The 2003 vote on the prescription drug benefit was open for three hours, from 3: 00 to 6: 00 a.m., to receive four additional votes, three of which were necessary to pass the legislation . The 2005 vote on the Central American Free Trade Agreement was open for one hour, from 11: 00 p.m. to midnight . An October 2005 vote on facilitating refinery construction was kept open for forty minutes . </P> <P> Presiding officers may vote like other members . They may not, however, vote twice in the event of a tie; rather, a tie vote defeats the motion . </P> <P> The House uses committees and their subcommittees for a variety of purposes, including the review of bills and the oversight of the executive branch . The appointment of committee members is formally made by the whole House, but the choice of members is actually made by the political parties . Generally, each party honors the preferences of individual members, giving priority on the basis of seniority . Historically, membership on committees has been in rough proportion to the party's strength in the House as a whole, with two exceptions: on the Rules Committee, the majority party fills nine of the thirteen seats; and on the Ethics Committee, each party has an equal number of seats . However, when party control in the House is closely divided, extra seats on committees are sometimes allocated to the majority party . In the 109th Congress, for example, the Republicans controlled about 53% of the House as a whole, but had 54% of the Appropriations Committee members, 55% of the members on the Energy and Commerce Committee, 58% of the members on the Judiciary Committee, and 69% of the members on the Rules Committee . </P> <P> The largest committee of the House is the Committee of the Whole, which, as its name suggests, consists of all members of the House . The Committee meets in the House chamber; it may consider and amend bills, but may not grant them final passage . Generally, the debate procedures of the Committee of the Whole are more flexible than those of the House itself . One advantage of the Committee of the Whole is its ability to include otherwise non-voting members of Congress . </P>

How are members of the house of representatives and senate elected