United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the United States federal government. The structure and responsibilities of Congress are defined in Article One of the United States Constitution.The United States Congress is bicameral, meaning that it has two houses, namely:
- United States Senate, the "upper house"
- United States House of Representatives, the "lower house"
The House of Representatives has 435 seats for voting Members. Additionally, there are non-voting "delegates" from the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico (known as "Resident Commissioner" and serving a double-length term) and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Members are directly elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms from Congressional districts. Only the non-voting delegate from Puerto Rico (known as "Resident Commissioner") is elected to a four-year term. The states with the very small populations—smaller than the population of a whole Congressional district elsewhere—are still guaranteed one whole seat. These seats are apportioned according to the population of each state, but the total number is fixed by statute at 435 (Public Law 62-5).
when George W. Bush delivered his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress.]]
History
During the American Revolutionary War and under the Articles of Confederation, the Congress of the United States was named the Continental Congress.
The first Congress under the current Constitution started its term in Federal Hall in New York City on March 4, 1789 and their first action was to declare that the new Constitution of the United States was in effect. The United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C hosted its first session of Congress on November 17, 1800.
Proceedings of the United States Congress were televised for the first time on January 3, 1947. Proceedings of the general Congress are now regularly broadcast on C-SPAN, as are newsworthy meetings of committeess and subcommitteess.
Specific powers held by the House and Senate
The powers of the Congress are set forth in Article 1 (particularly Article 1, Section 8) of the United States Constitution. The powers originally delegated to the Congress by the original version of the Constitution were supplemented by the post-Civil War amendmentss to the Constitution (Amendments 13, 14, and 15, each of which authorizes the Congress to enforce its provisions by appropriate legislation), and by the 16th Amendment, which authorizes an income tax.
Other parts of the Constitution—particularly Article 1, Section 9, and the first ten amendments to the Constitution (popularly known as the Bill of Rights)—impose limitations on Congress's power.
Each house of Congress has the power to introduce legislation on any subject, except for legislation dealing with gathering revenue (generally through taxes), which must originate in the House of Representatives (specifically the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means). The large states may thus appear to have more influence over the public purse than the small states. In practice, however, each house can vote against legislation passed by the other house. The Senate may disapprove a House revenue bill—or any bill, for that matter—or add amendments that change its nature. In that event, a conference committee made up of members from both houses must work out a compromise acceptable to both sides before the bill becomes the law of the land.
The impeachment trial of Bill Clinton in the Senate.
The Constitution provides that the vice president shall be President of the Senate. The vice president has no vote, except in the case of a tie. The Senate chooses a President pro tempore to preside when the vice president is absent.
The House of Representatives chooses its own presiding officer—the Speaker of the House. The speaker and the president pro tempore are always members of the political party with the largest representation in each house, aka the majority
At the beginning of each new Congress, members of the political parties select floor leaders and other officials to manage the flow of proposed legislation. These officials, along with the presiding officers and committee chairpersons, exercise strong influence over the making of laws.
Officers of the Congress
| Position | Senate | Current Office Holder | House | Current Office Holder |
| Presiding Officer | President of the Senate (symbolic) President pro tempore of the United States Senate (acting) | Dick Cheney Ted Stevens | Speaker of the United States House of Representatives | Dennis Hastert |
| Majority Leader | United States Senate Majority Leader | Bill Frist | Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives | Tom DeLay |
| Minority Leader | United States Senate Minority Leader | Tom Daschle | Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives | Nancy Pelosi |
| Majority Whip | United States Senate Majority Whip | Mitch McConnell | Majority Whip of the United States House of Representatives | Roy Blunt |
| Minority Whip | United States Senate Minority Whip | Harry Reid | Minority Whip of the United States House of Representatives | Steny H. Hoyer |
One of the major characteristics of the Congress is the dominant role that Congressional committees play in its proceedings. Committees have assumed their present-day importance by evolution, not by constitutional design, since the Constitution makes no provision for their establishment.
At present the Senate has 17 standing (or permanent) committees; the House of Representatives has 19 standing committees. Each specializes in specific areas of legislation: foreign affairs, defense, banking, agriculture, commerce, appropriations, etc. Almost every bill introduced in either house is referred to a committee for study and recommendation. The committee may approve, revise, kill or ignore any measure referred to it. It is nearly impossible for a bill to reach the House or Senate floor without first winning committee approval. In the House, a petition to release a bill from a committee to the floor requires the signatures of 218 members; in the Senate, a majority of all members is required. In practice, such discharge motions only rarely receive the required support.
The majority party in each house controls the committee process. Committee chairpersons are selected by a caucus of party members or specially designated groups of members. Minority parties are proportionally represented on the committees according to their strength in each house.
Bills are introduced by a variety of methods. Some are drawn up by standing committees; some by special committees created to deal with specific legislative issues; and some may be suggested by the president or other executive officers. Citizens and organizations outside the Congress may suggest legislation to members, and individual members themselves may initiate bills. After introduction, bills are sent to designated committees that, in most cases, schedule a series of public hearingss to permit presentation of views by persons who support or oppose the legislation. The hearing process, which can last several weeks or months, opens the legislative process to public participation.
One virtue of the committee system is that it permits members of Congress and their staffs to amass a considerable degree of expertise in various legislative fields. In the early days of the republic, when the population was small and the duties of the federal government were narrowly defined, such expertise was not as important. Each representative was a generalist and dealt knowledgeably with all fields of interest. The complexity of national life today calls for special knowledge, which means that elected representatives often acquire expertise in one or two areas of public policy.
The committee process
A House committee in session.