United States Congress
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
The United States Congress is the legislative, or law making branch of the United States government.
It has two houses (parts): The United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. This two house system is known as a bicameral (bi is an old word for "two", and camera is an old word for "chamber" or "room") legislature.
The primary duty of Congress is to write, debate, and pass bills (laws they want), which are then sent to the president. If the President agrees the bill should be a law he or she signs the bill. If the bill is not signed, it does not become a law, and people say the President did a veto of the bill.
Most U.S. states make laws the same way, except the State House and Senate together are called a legislature instead of a congress, and the bills are sent to the state governor, since states do not have presidents.
| United States Congress House of Representatives, Senate — 110th Congress |
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|---|---|
| Members | House: Current, Former, Districts (by area) | Senate: Current (by seniority, by age), Former (expelled/censured), Classes |
| Leaders | House: Speaker, Party leaders, Party whips, Dem. caucus, Rep. conference, Dean | Senate: President pro tempore (list), Party leaders, Assistant party leaders, Dem. Caucus (Chair, Secretary, Policy comm. chair), Rep. Conference (Chair, Vice-Chair, Policy comm. chair), Dean |
| Groups | African Americans, Asian Pacific Americans, Hispanic Americans, Caucuses, Committees, Demographics, Senate Women |
| Agencies, Employees & Offices | Architect of the Capitol, Capitol guide service (board), Capitol police (board), Chiefs of Staff, GAO, Government Printing Office, Law Revision Counsel, Librarian of Congress, Poet laureate | House: Chaplain, Chief Administrative Officer, Clerk, Doorkeeper, Emergency Planning, Preparedness, and Operations, Historian, Page (board), Parliamentarian, Postmaster, Reading clerk, Recording Studio, Sergeant at Arms | Senate: Chaplain, Curator, Historian, Librarian, Page, Parliamentarian, Secretary, Sergeant at Arms |
| Politics & Procedure | Act of Congress (list), Caucuses, Committees, Hearings, Joint session, Oversight, Party Divisions, Rider | House: Committees, History, Jefferson's Manual, Procedures | Senate: Committees, Filibuster, History, Traditions, VPs' tie-breaking votes |
| Buildings | Capitol Complex, Capitol, Botanic Garden | Office buildings– House: Cannon, Ford, Longworth, O'Neill, Rayburn, Senate: Dirksen, Hart, Russell |
| Research | Biographical directory, Congressional Quarterly, Congressional Record, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, The Hill, Roll Call, THOMAS |
| Misc | Mace of the House, Power of enforcement, Scandals, Softball League |
