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United States Congress

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Politics and government

   CAPTION: United States Congress


                 Type                Bicameral
                Houses               Senate
                                     House of Representatives
        President of the Senate      Dick Cheney, R, since January 20, 2001
         Speaker of the House        Dennis Hastert, R, since January 6, 1999
                Members              535
           Political groups
   (as of January 4, 2005 elections) Democratic Party
                                     Republican Party
             Meeting place           United States Capitol

   The United States Congress is the legislature of the United States
   federal government. It is bicameral, comprising the House of
   Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives has 435
   voting members (plus non-voting delegates from American Samoa, the
   District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin
   Islands), each representing a congressional district and serving a
   two-year term. The Northern Mariana Islands are not represented. House
   seats are apportioned among the states on the basis of population. Each
   state has two Senators, regardless of population. There are 100
   senators, serving staggered six-year terms. Both Senators and
   Representatives are chosen through direct election.

   The United States Constitution vests all legislative powers of the
   federal government in the Congress. The powers of Congress are limited
   to those enumerated in the Constitution; all other powers are reserved
   to the states and the people. Through Acts of Congress, Congress may
   regulate interstate and foreign commerce, levy taxes, organize the
   federal courts, maintain the military, declare war, and exercise
   certain other " necessary and proper" powers.

   The House and Senate are coequal houses. However, there are some
   special powers granted to one chamber only. The Senate's advice and
   consent is required to confirm presidential nominations to high-level
   executive and judicial positions, and for the ratification of treaties.
   Bills for raising revenue must originate in the House of
   Representatives, as well as any impeachment proceedings.

   Congress meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The term,
   "Congress" may also refer to a particular meeting of the Congress,
   reckoned according to the terms of Representatives. Thus, as of 2006,
   the 109th Congress is in session.
   The United States Capitol building
   Enlarge
   The United States Capitol building

History

   The Congress of the United States has its roots from the First
   Continental Congress, a meeting of representatives of twelve of Great
   Britain's eighteen North American colonies, in the autumn of 1774. On 4
   July 1776, the Second Continental Congress declared thirteen former
   colonies independent states, referring to them as the "United States of
   America." Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was a
   unicameral body in which each state was equally represented, and in
   which each state had a veto over most action. The ineffectiveness of
   the federal government under the Articles led Congress to summon the
   Convention of 1787. Originally intended to revise the Articles of
   Confederation, it ended up writing a completely new constitution.

   James Madison called for a bicameral Congress: the lower house elected
   directly by the people, and the upper house elected by the lower house.
   The smaller states, however, favored a unicameral Congress with equal
   representation for the states. Eventually, a compromise was reached;
   the House of Representatives to provide representation proportional by
   population, whereas the Senate would provide equal representation by
   states. In order to preserve further the authority of the states, it
   was provided that state legislatures, rather than the people, would
   elect senators.

   The post Civil War Gilded Age was marked by Republican dominance of
   Congress. Senate elections were tainted by corruption, bribery and
   gridlock preventing the election of a senator. These issues were
   addressed by the Seventeenth Amendment (ratified in 1913), which
   provided for the direct election of senators.

   The early twentieth century witnessed the rise of party leadership in
   both houses of Congress. In the House of Representatives, the office of
   Speaker became extremely powerful. Leaders in the Senate were somewhat
   less powerful; individual senators still retained much of their
   influence. In particular, committee chairmen remained particularly
   strong in both houses until the reforms of the 1970s.

   During the long administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt
   (1933–45), the Democratic Party controlled both houses of Congress.
   Both the Republicans and the Democrats were in control at various
   points during the next decade. However, after winning the elections of
   1954, the Democratic Party was the majority party in both houses of
   Congress for most of the next forty years. The Republicans returned to
   a majority position, in both houses of Congress, in the election of
   1994. The Republicans controlled both houses until 2006 except from
   2001 to 2003 when the Democrats held the Senate. In 2006, the
   Democratic Party regained control of the House of Representatives, and
   the results of the Senate elections yielded a Senate makeup of 49
   Republicans, 49 Democrats, and 2 independents. It is noted that in the
   110th Congress, the Democratic voting bloc will have a 51-49 Senate
   majority because the two Senators who ran and were elected as
   Independents, Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernard Sanders of
   Vermont, have pledged to align themselves with the Democratic Party.

Composition

   Congress in Joint Session.
   Enlarge
   Congress in Joint Session.

   The House of Representatives consists of 435 members representing the
   fifty states. Seats are apportioned among the states on the basis of
   population, but every state, regardless of size, is guaranteed at least
   one seat. Representatives are directly elected by single-member
   constituencies known as congressional districts. Each state may draw
   the boundaries of its districts, subject to certain legal requirements;
   for instance, districts must have approximately equal populations.
   Representatives serve for two-year terms.

   The Senate consists of 100 members, two representing each state
   regardless of population. A senator is elected not by a district, but
   by a state as a whole. Senators serve for terms of six years each; the
   terms are staggered so that approximately one-third of the Senate seats
   are up for election every two years and so that both seats from a given
   state are never contested in the same general election (except for the
   first election of Senators upon admission of a new state, or when a
   senator leaves office before their term expires). The District of
   Columbia and the territories are not represented in the Senate in any
   manner.

   The Constitution makes no provision for representation in Congress for
   citizens of the District of Columbia or the territories. Attempts to
   change the situation, regarding lack of District of Columbia voting
   rights, including the proposed District of Columbia Voting Rights
   Amendment, have been unsuccessful. Currently, the District of Columbia
   and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana
   Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are represented by a single
   delegate each, while Puerto Rico elects a Resident Commissioner.
   Delegates and Resident Commissioners may participate in debates and
   vote in committees, but may not vote on the floor of the full House.
   Delegates serve for two-year terms; the Resident Commissioner serves
   for a four-year term.

   Generally, the Republican and Democratic parties choose their
   candidates in primary elections. Ballot access rules for independent
   and third party candidates vary from state to state. General elections
   are held every even-numbered year, on the Tuesday that follows the
   first Monday in November ( Election Day). Special elections are held
   whenever vacancies arise; in the case of the Senate, however, the
   Governor of a state normally holds the power to temporarily appoint a
   senator until a special election can be held. In almost all cases,
   general and special elections are conducted by the plurality voting
   system. Louisiana, however, uses runoff voting for congressional
   elections.

Officers

   The Constitution authorizes the House of Representatives to elect its
   own Speaker. The Speaker's powers as presiding officer are extensive;
   he or she controls the course of debate and enforces the rules of the
   House. Normally, the Speaker does not personally preside over debates;
   instead, the task is delegated to other members. The Speaker is also
   the head of his/her party (which has always been the majority party) in
   the House, outranking the Majority Leader (or the Minority Leader if a
   member of the minority party, but this has never been the case).

   The Vice President of the United States is ex officio the President of
   the Senate; he or she has no vote except in the case of a tie. The
   Senate also elects a President pro tempore, or "temporary President",
   to preside when the Vice President is absent. The President pro
   tempore, by custom, is the most senior senator of the majority party.
   Neither the Vice President nor the President pro tempore regularly
   presides; instead, the duty is performed by other senators. The powers
   of the President pro tempore are much less extensive than those of the
   Speaker. He or she does not head the majority party in the Senate;
   rather, the Majority Leader is the full head of the Senate majority
   party.

Women, ethnic and racial minorities

Women

   While the Constitution has never explicitly excluded persons from
   membership in Congress on the basis of race, ethnicity, or sex; state
   rules on suffrage have varied. A person ineligible to vote is rarely
   considered eligible for public office. Today, 85% of Congress is male
   and 15% is female. As of 2006, the United States ranks 67th in the
   world in the number of women to hold seats in the national legislature.
   This puts the US just above Bangladesh and just below Cape Verde.

Ethnic and racial minorities

   African Americans served briefly as congressmen during the
   Reconstruction (post-Civil War) era. The ratification and enforcement
   of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments expanded the franchise to
   include former slaves and prohibited former members of the Confederate
   States of America from holding office as a congressmen.

   Political gains by African Americans were gradually reversed after
   Reconstruction ended and Southern states began disenfranchising blacks
   through the passage of the Jim Crow laws. The gains of the Civil Rights
   Movement of the 1950s and 60s led to the reenfranchisment of African
   American voters and the election of African Americans to serve in
   elected offices in Congress.

   Today the Senate has one African American and the House is roughly 9.2%
   African American. There are four Asians and Pacific Islanders in the
   House and two in the Senate. Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma's 4th
   Congressional District, is the only registered American Indian
   currently in the House.

Restrictions on office holding

   Article I, Section 6, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution prohibits
   members of Congress from also holding a federal civil office, thus
   differentiating the U.S. from parliamentary systems where cabinet
   members are usually, but not explicitly, drawn from and continue to sit
   in the legislature. The same section also prohibits members from being
   appointed to offices which were created or altered during the time for
   which they were elected.

   The Constitution does not prohibit Representatives or Senators from
   simultaneously holding a state post. During the eighteenth century,
   some members of Congress did also serve as state legislators and other
   state officials. Such cross-federal dual office holding is now
   prohibited by state constitutions or statutes, or by general custom. It
   also does not explicitly prohibit a particular person from serving in
   both the House and Senate at the same time or, for that matter, from
   simultaneously holding two or more seats in the House of
   Representatives. However, no person has ever done so; a member holding
   a seat in one house has always resigned that seat before being seated
   in the other house.

Powers

   Section 8 of Article One of the United States Constitution sets forth
   the powers of Congress. The most important powers are the powers to
   levy and collect taxes, borrow money, regulate commerce with foreign
   nations and among the states, coin money, establish post offices and
   post roads, issue patents and copyrights, fix standards of weights and
   measures, establish courts inferior to the Supreme Court, raise and
   maintain the armed forces, declare war, and "make all laws which shall
   be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing
   powers".

   There are additional powers other parts of the Constitution grant. For
   instance, Congress has the power to admit new states to the Union (
   Article Four). Other powers have been granted, or confirmed, by
   constitutional amendments.

   Congress has the power to break deadlocks in the electoral college. If
   no presidential candidate achieves an electoral majority, the House may
   elect the President from the three candidates with the highest numbers
   of electoral votes. Similarly, if no vice presidential candidate
   achieves an electoral majority, the Senate may elect the Vice President
   from the two candidates with the highest numbers of electoral votes.
   Several of the members of the Constitutional Convention expected that,
   while George Washington would be overwhelmingly elected as first
   President under the Constitution, selection by the House would be the
   normal method after him.

   The "necessary-and-proper" clause of the Constitution permits Congress
   to make "all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into
   Execution" its other powers and the rest of the Constitution. The
   Supreme Court has interpreted the necessary-and-proper clause broadly,
   which has permitted the Congress wide authority.

   One of the foremost non-legislative functions of the Congress is the
   power to investigate and to oversee the executive branch. This power is
   usually delegated to committees—standing committees, special
   committees, select committees, or joint committees composed of members
   of both houses. Investigations are conducted to gather information on
   the need for future legislation, to test the effectiveness of laws
   already passed, and to inquire into the qualifications and performance
   of members and officials of the other branches. Committees may hold
   hearings, and, if necessary, compel individuals to testify by issuing
   subpoenas. Witnesses who refuse to testify may be cited for contempt of
   Congress, and those who testify falsely may be charged with perjury.
   Most committee hearings are open to the public; important hearings are
   widely reported in the mass media.

   Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution places certain limits of
   congressional authority. For instance, Congress may not suspend the
   privilege of the writ of habeas corpus (except in extreme cases of
   rebellion or invasion), pass bills of attainder or ex post facto laws,
   or grant titles of nobility. Several other restrictions are specified
   by constitutional amendments, especially the Bill of Rights. The last
   clause of the Bill of Rights, the Tenth Amendment, provides that "The
   powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor
   prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States
   respectively, or to the people."

Checks and balances

   The constitution provides certain checks and balances among the three
   branches of the federal government. The influence of Congress on the
   presidency has varied from one period to another; it depends largely on
   the leadership and the political influence of the President. The
   authors of the Constitution expected the greater power to lie with
   Congress and that is one reason they are described in Article One.
   Under the first half-dozen Presidents, power seems to have been evenly
   divided between the President and Congress, in part because early
   Presidents largely restricted their vetoes to claims of
   unconstitutionality.

   Andrew Jackson (1829–37) dominated his Congresses; his successors were
   weaker men (excluding Abraham Lincoln (1861–65), and perhaps James K.
   Polk (1845–49) and Martin van Buren (1837–41)). Senators ruled,
   including Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun, Thomas Hart
   Benton, Stephen Douglas, and Thaddeus Stevens. The impeachment of
   Andrew Johnson completed this trend, making the presidency much less
   powerful than Congress. During the late nineteenth century, President
   Grover Cleveland aggressively attempted to restore the executive
   branch's power, vetoing over four hundred bills during his first term.
   The twentieth and twenty-first centuries have seen the rise of the
   power of the Presidency under Theodore Roosevelt (1901–09), Woodrow
   Wilson (1913-1921), Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–45), Richard Nixon
   (1969–74), Ronald Reagan (1981–89), and George W. Bush (2001–) (see
   Imperial Presidency). In recent years, Congress has restricted the
   powers of the President with laws such as the Congressional Budget and
   Impoundment Control Act of 1974 and the War Powers Resolution;
   nevertheless, the Presidency remains considerably more powerful than
   during the nineteenth century.

   The Constitution empowers the House of Representatives to impeach
   federal officials (both executive and judicial) for "Treason, Bribery,
   or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." The Senate is constitutionally
   empowered to try all impeachments. A simple majority in the House is
   required to impeach an official; however, a two-thirds majority in the
   Senate is required for conviction. A convicted official is
   automatically removed from office; in addition, the Senate may
   stipulate that the defendant be banned from holding office in the
   future. Impeachment proceedings may not inflict more than this;
   however, the party may face criminal penalties in a normal court of
   law. In the history of the United States, the House of Representatives
   has impeached sixteen officials, of whom seven were convicted. (Another
   resigned before the Senate could complete the trial). Only two
   Presidents of the United States have ever been impeached: Andrew
   Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1999. Both trials ended in
   acquittal; in Johnson's case, the Senate fell one vote short of the
   two-thirds majority required for conviction. In 1974, Richard Nixon
   resigned from office after impeachment proceedings in the House
   Judiciary Committee indicated he would eventually be removed from
   office.

   The Constitution entrusts certain powers to the Senate alone. The
   President may only appoint Cabinet officials, judges, and other high
   officers with the "advice and consent" of the Senate. The Senate
   confirms most presidential nominees, but rejections are not uncommon.
   Furthermore, treaties negotiated by the President must be ratified by a
   two-thirds majority vote in the Senate to take effect. The House of
   Representatives has no formal role in either the appointment of federal
   officials or the ratification of treaties.

   In 1803, the Supreme Court established judicial review of Federal
   legislation in Marbury v. Madison, holding, however, that Congress
   could not grant unconstitutional power to the Court itself. The
   Constitution does not explicitly state that the courts may exercise
   judicial review; however, the notion that courts could declare laws
   unconstitutional was envisioned by the founding fathers. Alexander
   Hamilton, for example, mentioned and expounded upon the doctrine in
   Federalist No. 78.

Legislative procedure

Term

   Under the Twentieth Amendment, congressional terms begin at noon on
   January 3 of every odd-numbered year. It is conventional to refer to
   each Congress by the ordinal number of its term. Thus, the current
   Congress (whose term lasts from 2005 to 2007) is known as the " 109th
   Congress"; the previous Congress (whose term lasted from 2003 to 2005)
   was the " 108th Congress," and so forth. Each Congress has a term of
   two years.

   At the beginning of each new term, the entire House of Representatives
   and one-third of the Senate (those who were chosen in the election the
   previous November) are sworn in. The oath taken is provided by statute:
   "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the
   Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and
   domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that
   I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or
   purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the
   duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God." The
   House of Representatives also elects a Speaker to preside over debates.
   The President pro tempore of the Senate, by contrast, holds office
   continuously; normally, a new President pro tempore is only elected if
   the previous one retires, or if there is a change in the majority
   party.

   A term of Congress is divided into two "sessions," one for each year;
   Congress has occasionally also been called into an extra, (or special)
   session. (The Constitution requires Congress to meet at least once each
   year.) A new session commences on January 3 (or another date, if
   Congress so chooses) each year. Before the Twentieth Amendment,
   Congress met from the first Monday in December to April or May in the
   first session of their term (the "long session"); and from December to
   March 4 in the second "short session". (The new Congress would then
   meet for some days, for the inauguration, swearing in new members, and
   organization.)

   The Constitution forbids either house from meeting any place outside
   the Capitol, or from adjourning for more than three days, without the
   consent of the other house. The provision was intended to prevent one
   house from thwarting legislative business simply by refusing to meet.
   To avoid obtaining consent during long recesses, the House or Senate
   may sometimes hold pro forma meetings, sometimes only minutes long,
   every three days. The consent of both bodies is required for Congress's
   final adjournment, or adjournment sine die, at the end of each
   congressional session. If the two houses cannot agree on a date, the
   Constitution permits the President to settle the dispute.

Joint sessions

   Joint Sessions of the United States Congress occur on special occasions
   that require a concurrent resolution from both House and Senate. These
   sessions include the counting of electoral votes following a
   Presidential election and the President's State of the Union address.
   Other meetings of both House and Senate are called Joint Meetings of
   Congress, held after unanimous consent agreements to recess and meet.
   Meetings of Congress for Presidential Inaugurations may also be Joint
   Sessions, if both House and Senate are in session at the time,
   otherwise they are formal joint gatherings.

   At some time during the first two months of each session, the President
   customarily delivers the State of the Union Address, a speech in which
   he or she assesses the situation of the country and outlines his or her
   legislative proposals for the congressional session. The speech is
   modeled on the Speech from the Throne given by the British monarch, and
   is mandated by the Constitution of the United States--though it is not
   necessarily required to be delivered each year or in the customary
   manner. Thomas Jefferson discontinued the original practice of
   delivering the speech in person before both houses of Congress, deeming
   it too monarchical. Instead, Jefferson and his successors sent a
   written message to Congress each year. In 1913, President Woodrow
   Wilson reestablished the practice of personally attending to deliver
   the speech; few Presidents have deviated from this custom since.

   Joint Sessions and Joint Meetings are traditionally presided over by
   the Speaker of the House. However, the Constitution requires the
   President of the Senate to preside over the counting of electoral
   votes.

Bills and resolutions

   A proposal may be introduced in Congress as a bill, a joint resolution,
   a concurrent resolution, or a simple resolution. Most legislative
   proposals are introduced as bills, but some are introduced as joint
   resolutions. There is little practical difference between the two,
   except that joint resolutions may include preambles but bills may not.
   Joint resolutions are the normal method used to propose a
   constitutional amendment or to declare war. On the other hand,
   concurrent resolutions (passed by both houses) and simple resolutions
   (passed by only one house) do not have the force of law. Instead, they
   serve to express the opinion of Congress, or to regulate procedure.

   Members of Congress often introduce legislation at the behest of
   lobbyists. Lobbyists advocate the passage (or rejection) of bills
   affecting the interest of a particular group (such as a corporation or
   a labor union). In many cases, the lobbyists write legislation and
   submit it to a member for introduction. Congressional lobbyists are
   legally required to be registered in a central database, and are
   employed by political organizations, corporations, state governments,
   foreign governments, and numerous other groups. In 2005, there are
   almost 35,000 registered Congressional lobbyists, representing a
   doubling since 2000. Some of the most prominent lobbyists are
   ex-members of Congress, others are family members of sitting members.
   As an example, Harry Reid, Dennis Hastert, Tom DeLay, and Roy Blunt all
   have immediate family members who are (or were) lobbyists.

   Bills (and other proposals) may be introduced by any member of either
   house. However, the Constitution provides that: "All bills for raising
   Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives." As a result,
   the Senate does not have the power to initiate bills imposing taxes.
   Furthermore, the House of Representatives holds that the Senate does
   not have the power to originate appropriation bills, or bills
   authorizing the expenditure of federal funds. Historically, the Senate
   has disputed the interpretation advocated by the House. However,
   whenever the Senate originates an appropriations bill, the House simply
   refuses to consider it, thereby settling the dispute in practice.
   Although it cannot originate revenue and appropriation bills, the
   Senate retains the power to amend or reject them.

   Each bill goes through several stages in each house. The first stage
   involves consideration by a committee. Most legislation is considered
   by standing committees, each of which has jurisdiction over a
   particular subject matter, such as Agriculture or Appropriations. The
   House has twenty standing committees; the Senate has sixteen. In some
   cases, bills may be sent to select committees (which tend to have more
   narrow jurisdictions than standing committees. Each standing and select
   committee is led by a chair (who belongs to the majority party) and a
   ranking member (who belongs to the minority party). Committees are
   permitted to hold hearings and collect evidence when considering bills.
   They may also amend the bill, but the full house holds the power to
   accept or reject committee amendments. After considering and debating a
   measure, the committee votes on whether it wishes to report the measure
   to the full house.

   A decision not to report a bill amounts to a rejection of the proposal.
   Both houses provide for procedures under which the committee can be
   bypassed or overruled, but they are rarely used. If reported by the
   committee, the bill reaches the floor of the full house. The house may
   debate and amend the bill; the precise procedures used by the House of
   Representatives and the Senate differ. A final vote on the bill
   follows.

   Central party discipline is not as strong in Congress as it is in
   parliamentary systems, and in the Senate it is weaker than in the
   House. However, the leadership does have certain powers to sway
   reluctant legislators to vote with the party. Party leaders derive most
   of their powers from the ability to fundraise, to control the flow of
   legislation, and to assign desirable positions; a rebel Congressman may
   be threatened with a cutoff of funds for his/her campaign, a reduction
   of pork for his/her district, thwarting of his/her pet legislation,
   and/or denial of a future committee chairmanship.

   The party leadership may use the " catch and release" strategy in order
   to ensure the passage of important legislation with the support of
   reluctant members. The leaders "catch" a member, pressuring him or her
   to vote in favour of the legislation even if it is unpopular in the
   member's constituency. Then, if the bill has sufficient support to pass
   anyway, the member may be "released," that is, permitted to vote as he
   or she pleases. Hence, members may avoid alienating influential special
   interest groups, while remaining loyal to the party.

   Once a bill is approved by one house, it is sent to the other, which
   may pass, reject, or amend it. In order for the bill to become law,
   both houses must agree to identical versions of the bill. If the second
   house amends the bill, then the differences between the two versions
   must be reconciled in a conference committee, an ad hoc committee that
   includes both senators and representatives. In many cases, conference
   committees have introduced substantial changes to bills and added
   unrequested spending, significantly departing from both the House and
   Senate versions. President Ronald Reagan once quipped, "If an orange
   and an apple went into conference consultations, it might come out a
   pear." If both houses agree to the version reported by the conference
   committee, the bill passes; otherwise, it fails.

   After passage by both houses, a bill is submitted to the President. The
   President may choose to sign the bill, thereby making it law. The
   President may also choose to veto the bill, returning it to Congress
   with his or her objections. In such a case, the bill only becomes law
   if each house of Congress votes to override the veto with a two-thirds
   majority. Finally, the President may choose to take no action, neither
   signing nor vetoing the bill. In such a case, the Constitution states
   that the bill automatically becomes law after ten days (excluding
   Sundays). However, if Congress adjourns (ends a legislative session)
   during the ten day period, then the bill does not become law. Thus, the
   President may veto legislation passed at the end of a congressional
   session simply by ignoring it; the maneuver is known as a pocket veto,
   and cannot be overridden by the adjourned Congress.

   Every Act of Congress or joint resolution begins with an enacting
   formula or resolving formula stipulated by law. These are:
     * Act of Congress: "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
       Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
       assembled."
     * Joint resolution: "Resolved by the Senate and House of
       Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
       assembled."

Quorum and voting

   The Constitution specifies that a majority of members constitutes a
   quorum to do business in each house. The rules of each house provide
   that a quorum is assumed to be present unless a quorum call
   demonstrates the contrary. Representatives and senators rarely force
   the presence of a quorum by demanding quorum calls; thus, in most
   cases, debates continue even if a majority is not present.

   Both houses use voice voting to decide most matters; members shout out
   "aye" or "no," and the presiding officer announces the result. The
   Constitution, however, requires a recorded vote on the demand of
   one-fifth of the members present. If the result of the voice vote is
   unclear, or if the matter is controversial, a recorded vote usually
   ensues. The Senate uses roll call votes; a clerk calls out the names of
   all the senators, each senator stating "aye" or "no" when his or her
   name is announced. The House reserves roll call votes for the most
   formal matters; normally, members vote by electronic device. In the
   case of a tie, the motion in question fails. In the Senate, the Vice
   President may (if present) cast the tiebreaking vote.

Privileges

   Under the Constitution, members of both houses enjoy the privilege of
   being free from arrest in all cases, except for treason, felony, and
   breach of the peace. This immunity applies to members "during their
   Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to
   and returning from the same." The term "arrest" has been interpreted
   broadly, and includes any detention or delay in the course of law
   enforcement, including court summons and subpoenas. The rules of the
   House very strictly guard this privilege; a member may not waive the
   privilege on his or her own, but must seek the permission of the whole
   house to do so. Senate rules, on the other hand, are less strict, and
   permit individual senators to waive the privilege as they see fit.

   The Constitution also guarantees absolute freedom of debate in both
   houses, providing, "for any Speech or Debate in either House, they
   shall not be questioned in any other Place." Hence, a member of
   Congress may not be sued for slander because of remarks made in either
   house. However, each house has its own rules restricting offensive
   speeches, and may punish members who transgress them.

   Obstructing the work of Congress is a crime under federal law, and is
   known as contempt of Congress. Each house of Congress has the power to
   cite individuals for contempt, but may not impose any punishment.
   Instead, after a house issues a contempt citation, the judicial system
   pursues the matter like a normal criminal case. If convicted in court,
   an individual found guilty of contempt of Congress may be imprisoned
   for up to one year.

   Aside from benefits directly facilitating their legislative work,
   members enjoy a number of other perks. As of 2005 rank and file
   Congressmen received a salary of $158,100. Congressional leaders are
   paid more. Members are granted several free Capitol parking spaces and
   are exempt from parking tickets through the use of special license
   plates. Members of Congress enjoy such facilities as private
   gymnasiums, low cost barbers, and subsidized dining areas (although
   this may not be the case in the 110th Congress ). They are also able to
   substitute their signature for postage allowing them to send large
   quantities of mail at a reduced cost ( franking).

   Another privilege is the use of the Library of Congress. The Library's
   primary mission is to serve the Congress and its staff. To do this, the
   Congressional Research Service provides detailed, up-to-date and
   non-partisan research for Senators, Representatives, and their staff to
   help them carry out their functions as national servants.

Comparison to Parliamentary system

   The vast majority of the world's democracies and republics operate not
   on the US Congress model but rather the Parliamentary system. The
   largest difference between a Parliamentary government and the US
   Congress is that a parliament typically encompasses the entire
   governmental regime, containing legislative, executive, and judicial
   branches within its structure (the executive organs are often referred
   to as "The Government"), as well as the monarch, if one exists, while
   the US Congress exercises only legislative powers, and is but one of
   three co-equal and independent branches of the larger Federal
   Government. In Parliament, the executive branch of the government is
   chosen from or by the representative branch. This generally comprises
   the Prime Minister and the governing Cabinet. In Congress, the
   executive leaders merely administrate the "Parliamentary Functions" of
   Congress itself, while it is in session, and not the functioning of the
   national government as a whole. So, while in structure the Speaker of
   the House of Representatives resembles a Prime Minister, in substance
   and practice he only moderates the functioning of Congress, while the
   wholly separate executive branch of government administrates the daily
   functioning of the federal government.

   Parliamentary democracies are generally characterized by a single
   effective and representative body: In Commonwealth countries, the House
   of Commons serves as the equivalent to the entire Congress, and the
   Upper House (Britain - House of Lords, Canada - Senate, etc.) has
   generally become subservient to the Lower House, whereas in the US
   Congress the Senate and House of Representatives have generally equal
   powers.

   In the US Congress, members are generally elected from one of two
   parties, but its members are free to vote their own conscience or that
   of their constituents. This has been less notable in the last few
   sessions of Congress due to the greater polarization between
   Republicans and Democrats, but nonetheless this trend remains
   prevalent. In a Parliamentary system, members may be compelled to vote
   with their party's bloc, and those who vote against are often cast out
   of their respective caucuses and become less influential independents.
   This allows US Congressmen to more faithfully represent their
   constituents than members of parliament can. The system may however
   encourage increased spending designed to win votes at home.

   One of the advantages of the US Congress is that it strikes a balance
   between giving all areas of the nation a say in government through the
   Senate, while balancing that with the population-based representative
   system in the House of Representatives. A problem in some parliamentary
   democracies, especially Canada, is regional alienation, which is
   generally not present in the United States, as a Senator from Montana
   could in fact have more power than a senator from New York.

   A major criticism of the Congressional system however is that influence
   in Congress is courted only over long periods of service. Thus a
   Senator with 30 years in office has considerably more power than a
   Senator in his/her first or second term. This causes the electorate to
   increasingly favour incumbents, as dislodging one's Congressman or
   Senator after 20 years, even if one does not support his/her party, can
   be viewed as hurting one's district financially, the thought being that
   the new freshman would be unable to "bring home the bucks."

Member groups

   Some, but not all of the self-defined unofficial caucuses of members
     * Congressional Black Caucus
     * Congressional Hispanic Caucus
     * Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
     * Democratic Freedom Caucus
     * Congressional Progressive Caucus

   For a full list of caucuses, see main article at Congressional caucus.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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