04 January 2007

The U.S. Congress

An overview of the United States’ legislative branch

Article I of the U.S. Constitution establishes the legislative (law-making) branch of government with a bicameral (two-chambered) Congress – the House of Representatives and the Senate. The bicameral system is intended to provide checks and balances within the legislative branch.

The U.S. Congress is part of the legislative branch, which also includes agencies that support Congress, such as the Government Printing Office, the Library of Congress, the Congressional Budget Office, the Government Accountability Office and the Office of the Architect of the Capitol.

The primary duty of Congress is to write, debate and pass bills, which are then sent to the president for approval. Congressional powers include coining and printing money, maintaining military forces, declaring war, regulating interstate and foreign commerce, and rarely used powers to impeach federal officials and to initiate amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Congress controls federal taxing and spending policies, and has the authority to investigate and oversee the executive branch and its agencies. As part of that oversight responsibility, Congress can summon senior officials to answer questions, order audits of agencies and hold hearings to air citizen grievances, to identify needs for new laws or to raise public awareness of an issue.

In addition, Congress shares powers with the president in matters such as framing U.S. foreign policy and controlling the military. For example, the president has the power to negotiate treaties, but treaties only come into effect after Senate approval. Also, Congress can declare war and approve funds for the military but the president is the commander-in-chief of the military.

REPRESENTATION AND ELECTION

In the late 18th century, when the United States’ founders were debating the form U.S. government would take, a major point of contention was how to determine the representation each state would have in the new Congress. Delegates to the Constitutional Convention from populous states argued for a scheme based on state population, while delegates from smaller states supported equal representation for each state, regardless of population. The bicameral legislature, proposed by Connecticut’s Roger Sherman, called for two houses, with representation based on population in one chamber (the House of Representatives) and equal representation in the other (the Senate).

Currently, all members of Congress are elected by a direct vote by the citizens of the state they represent. Prior to the 17th Amendment to the Constitution in 1913, members of the House of Representatives had been elected directly by voters, but senators had been chosen by state legislatures.

Every two years, voters elect or re-elect all 435 representatives and one-third of the senators. A new Congress begins the January after the November national elections. Since the First Congress, which met from 1789 to 1791, all Congresses have been numbered in order. The 110th Congress convened January 4, 2007, for the first of two sessions, one in each of the two succeeding calendar years. It is rare for Congress to remain in session for the entire year, especially in election years.

The House and Senate usually meet in separate chambers in the U.S. Capitol but sometimes convene in a joint session of Congress. Such occasions include the counting of electoral votes for presidential elections, the president’s annual State of the Union Address, and speeches by visiting heads of state.

THE SENATE

There are 100 U.S. senators. The Constitution assigns the vice president formal control over the Senate and gives him the additional title of the president of the Senate. As a practical matter, the vice president presides over the Senate only for important ceremonies or to cast a tie-breaking vote. The president pro tempore, typically the most senior member of the majority party in the Senate, is elected by the Senate and presides over the day-to-day operations of the Senate. In the 110th Congress, Senator Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat, holds this post.

Powers reserved to the Senate include:

• Confirming or rejecting treaties;

• Confirming or rejecting presidential appointments to office, including the Cabinet, other officials of the executive branch, federal judges, including Supreme Court justices, and ambassadors;

• Trying a government official who commits a crime against the United States.

Senators are elected for six-year terms, must be at least 30 years old, have been citizens for at least nine years, and legal residents of the state from which they are elected.

THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

There are a total of 435 members in the House of Representatives. Each member represents an area of a state, known as a congressional district. The number of representatives is based on the number of districts in a state. Each state is guaranteed at least one seat in the House of Representatives. Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau counts the population of the states to determine the number of districts in each state.

The House of Representatives is led by the speaker of the House, chosen by the House members of the political party that holds the most seats in the House of Representatives. In the 110th Congress, Representative Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, holds this post. She is the first woman to do so in the history of the Congress.

Representatives, elected for two-year terms, must be at least 25 years old, citizens for at least seven years, and residents of the state from which they are elected. Five additional members -- from Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia -- represent their constituencies in the House. While these representatives may participate in the debates, they currently cannot vote.

Powers reserved to the House include:

• Initiating appropriation and taxation legislation; and

• Determining whether a government official should be put on trial before the Senate for crimes against the United States.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)