Government

       Overview     Constitution      Executive Branch      Judicial Branch
               Legislative Branch    State and Local Government

                                   Legislative Branch

The U.S. Senate
(U.S. Senate photo studio)
The legislative branch - the Congress - is made up of elected representatives from each of the 50 states. The Constitution sets up a bi-cameral body known as the U.S. Congress to raise and to spend national revenue and to draft laws. It is commonly said that Congress influences American policy by exercising the "power of the purse strings." It is the only branch of U.S. government that can make federal laws, declare war and put foreign treaties into effect.

Members of the House of Representatives are elected to two year terms. Each member represents a district in his or her home state. The number of districts is determined by the census, which is conducted every 10 years. Senators are elected to six year terms, staggered so that one third of the Senate stands for election every two years. The Constitution provides that the vice-president shall be president of the Senate. He or she 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.
©AP Images
The House of Representatives chooses its own presiding officer -- the speaker of the House. The speaker and the president pro tempore are members of the political party with the largest representation in each house.

To become a law, a bill must pass both the House and the Senate. After the bill is introduced in either body, it is studied by one or more committees, amended, voted out of committee, and discussed in the chamber of the House or Senate. If passed by one body, it goes to the other for consideration. Once both bodies have passed the the same version of a bill, it goes to the president for approval.

Online Reading

The Congressional Appropriations Process: An Introduction (CRS Report, updated Feb 22, 2007)(PDF file, 177KB)

The Committee System in the U.S. Congress (CRS Report, May 2, 2003)(PDF file, 36KB)
House and Senate Rules of Procedure: A Comparison (CRS Report, April 16, 2008)(PDF file, 118KB)
How Our Laws are Made (United States House of Representatives, June 30, 2003)
The Legislative Branch (Chapter 4, Outline of U.S. Government, Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State, Sept 2000)(PDF file, 61KB)
Senate Legislative Process (U.S. Senate)

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- Internet Links -

- Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress: 1774-Present (a search form to find biographies of congressmen)
- CapitolHearings.org
- Congressional Directory (U.S. Government Printing Office)
- Guide to House and Senate Members (U.S. Government Printing Office)
- Legislative Branch Resources on GPO Access
- THOMAS: Legislative Information on the Internet
- U.S. House of Representatives
- U.S. Senate

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Government

Overview Constitution Executive Branch Judicial Branch Legislative Branch State and Local Government

The U.S. Senate (U.S. Senate photo studio)

Overview Constitution Executive Branch Judicial Branch
Legislative Branch State and Local Government

The U.S. Senate
(U.S. Senate photo studio)