Congress

Overview

In the US, one of the three branches of government is the legislative branch (the other two being executive (president) and judicial(courts)). The US Congress is another term for the legislative branch, and contains the House of Representatives and the Senate. The word "Congress" is used as a single word to describe both the House and Senate.

"Congress" is an all-encompassing term used to refer to the US law-making body.

The Senate

Is comprised of 2 members from each state in the U.S. (making a total of 100 senators). This is done to appease the idea of States' Rights. Basically, this chamber of Congress gives each state an equal say in matters.

A member of the Senate is usually addressed by the term "Senator", while a member of the House is addressed by the term "Congressman. All senators are congressmen, but not all congressmen are senators.

The Senate is considered the upper house of the U.S. Congress

The House of Representatives

Contains a number of representative from each state that is representative of each state's population. The higher population a state has, the more members of the House a state is given.

The word senate is derived from the Latin word senex for "old man", via the Latin word senatus (senate). The members or legislators of a senate are called senators. The Latin word senator was adopted into English with no change in spelling. Its meaning comes from a very ancient form of even simple social organization in which decision-making powers are reserved for the eldest men."

Loosely their powers include impeachment, nominations, treaties, and more, all of which center around law making. All laws must pass a vote from both houses of Congress, however.

The House of Representatives: Representative numbers are based on the state population. Hence, a small state with a huge number of residents has a larger representation than a huge state like Alaska with a smaller population. It was originally seen as the body of government that would best represent the common man, while the Senate was seen as a more elitist organization. members are elected directly by the people and enjoy exclusive authority to initiate tax and spending legislation. Members are elected for two-year terms and apportioned among the states according to population. Senators serve four year terms. Since they initiate money legislation, they obviously have a great deal of power, but for some reason most seem to view the Senate as being "higher." Who knows why?