Congress of the United States was established under the constitution of 1789. The national parliament in the U.S. consists of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The two chambers of Congress are separate, but mostly, they have an equal role in enacting legislation. Congress must meet at least once a year to agree on the date for adjourning and convening. The House and the Senate vote on the date for adjournment.
Congress has committee system to consider the various business items. Each House of Congress has many permanent standing committees and select special and temporary committees. In addition, the two chambers of Congress form joint committees to have a common interest. Therefore, a bill should receive the most votes in both chambers for legislation to be passed in the United States.
The Senate
You must be at least 30 years old to be a member of the Senate and should be a citizen of the U.S. for a minimum of 9 years. Elected Senators, who are about 100 in number, serve a term of six years. Elections in the Senate are held every two years, and only 1/3 of them come forward for re-election each time. Hence, every state has two elections in six years for the Senate.
Being elected as a Senator in the Presidential election is a long process. Most of the candidates represent any of the two major parties. In the primary election, it becomes evident that either a member of Republican or Democrat will have a strong emphasis on some states to be the winner.
House of Representatives
The candidate must be at least 25 years old to run the office. They should have U.S. citizenship for a minimum of 7 years. House of Representatives consists of 435 members, out of which each state has a certain number of representatives based on the population. Unlike the Senate candidates, the House of Representatives members come forward for re-election each time. They serve the term only for two years. Additionally, the candidate who received the maximum votes in the district will get to represent that district in the House.
Power of Congress
The ability of Congress to enact law is the road to sanction its other actions. The legal authority is delegated to the President and the agencies that are legally responsible for their actions. Actions performed by a delegated authority will be reviewed by Congress, which approves specific plans before they go into effect. Congress also has the right to terminate legislation by the Senate and House of Representatives joint action.
Congress has the power to levy and collect taxes, allowing the authority in fiscal matters. Although the President has the initial responsibility, the power to determine and estimate for the next fiscal year is given to Congress. Several departmental bills are passed during the first six months of a session.