It reflects our regional idiosyncrasies, our ethnic, religious, and racial diversity, our multitude of professions, and our shadings of opinion on everything from the value of war to the war over values. Several academics described Congress:Ĭongress reflects us in all our strengths and all our weaknesses. Congress is the "heart and soul of our democracy", according to this view, even though legislators rarely achieve the prestige or name recognition of presidents or Supreme Court justices one wrote that "legislators remain ghosts in America's historical imagination." One analyst argues that it is not a solely reactive institution but has played an active role in shaping government policy and is extraordinarily sensitive to public pressure. Hamilton asserted that the "historic mission of Congress has been to maintain freedom" and insisted it was a "driving force in American government" and a "remarkably resilient institution". Members of the Senate are referred to as senators members of the House of Representatives are referred to as representatives, Congressmen, or Congresswomen. Since the adoption of the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the Congress has started and ended at noon on the third day of January of every odd-numbered year. A Congress covers two years the current one, the 118th Congress, began on January 3, 2023, and will end on January 3, 2025. The term Congress can also refer to a particular meeting of the legislature. A two-thirds vote of the Senate is required before an impeached person can be removed from office. The House initiates impeachment cases, while the Senate decides impeachment cases. In 1868, this committee of representatives prosecuted President Andrew Johnson in his impeachment trial, but the Senate did not convict him. Members can also switch parties at any time, although this is quite uncommon. In the case of the latter, the lack of affiliation with a political party does not mean that such members are unable to caucus with members of the political parties. Although not legally mandated, in practice since the 19th century, Congress members are typically affiliated with one of the two major parties, the Democratic Party or the Republican Party, and only rarely with a third party or independents affiliated with no party. Constitution and first met in 1789, replacing the Congress of the Confederation in its legislative function. Members in both chambers may stand for re-election an unlimited number of times. for seven (House) or nine (Senate) years, and be an inhabitant of the state which they represent. Constitution requires that members of Congress must be at least 25 years old (House) or at least 30 years old (Senate), have been a citizen of the U.S. Each state, regardless of population or size, has two senators, so currently, there are 100 senators for the 50 states.Īrticle One of the U.S. Each senator is elected at-large in their state for a six-year term, with terms staggered, so every two years approximately one-third of the Senate is up for election. census results, provided that each state has at least one Congressional representative. It is also required that the Congressional districts be apportioned among states by population every ten years using the U.S. The Reapportionment Act of 1929 established that there be 435 representatives, and the Uniform Congressional Redistricting Act requires that they be elected from single-member constituencies or districts. The members of the House of Representatives are elected for the two-year term of a Congress. Elections are held every even-numbered year on Election Day. The sitting of a Congress is for a two-year term, at present, beginning every other January. The House of Representatives has six non-voting members. vice president has a vote in the Senate only when senators are evenly divided. Congress has 535 voting members: 100 senators and 435 representatives. Senators and representatives are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a governor's appointment. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. For the building, see United States Capitol. For the current Congress, see 118th United States Congress.
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