The U.S. Constitution (Article 1, Sec. 7) states that:
All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.
Often times when discussing fiscal policy, political pundits from both parties will complain that the House needs to use the "power of the purse" to get things done.
But given that:
- The legislative process is the same as any other bill, and
- Both houses usually work on their own versions of bills and reconcile the differences anyway,
What difference does it make where the bill originates? What benefit/advantage does this give the House of Representatives over the Senate (since it's obvious that was the intent)?