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Congress is the federal legislative body of the United States, which is responsible for passing federal, or nationwide, laws.

In the United States, Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government. Only it can create and pass federal laws.

Congress is divided into two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate is commonly referred to as the “upper house” and consists of 100 members (called senators), two from each of the 50 states. The House of Representatives (often shortened to “the House”) has 435 voting members, known as representatives. The size of a state’s population determines how many representatives that state gets. All members of Congress are elected by the citizens of the state they represent.

Congress has many powers, such as to introduce new taxes, to admit new states to the United States, and to declare war. Most of ��DzԲ��������’s work is creating and passing federal laws.

Because all US federal laws are created by it, Congress plays a huge role in Americans’ lives, even if most Americans don’t pay close attention to ��DzԲ��������’s daily activities.

Congress was established by the US Constitution, the document that serves as the fundamental law of the country. Written in 1787 and accepted in 1788, the Constitution specifically uses the word Congress in Article I, Section 1, stating “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.”

The Constitution also specifically states which powers and responsibilities Congress would have. Due to the limited time Congress has to do its work, both houses have numerous smaller committees that spend time creating and debating bills before introducing them to the larger house. Despite this, Congress still often takes a long time to agree on the final version of a bill.

The United States Congress resembles the United Kingdom’s Parliament. This is on purpose. In fact, Senators used to be appointed by state legislatures, similar to how members of the House of Lords are appointed by the English monarch and the nobility.

This photo depicts the United States Capitol Building, where both houses of Congress perform their daily responsibilities.

​Most Americans know about Congress and its ability to make laws. Today, Congress is often frequently and passionately talked about by Americans on social media.

Also, no, all it would take is a simple act of Congress, as has been done with other states before.

— David Langum (@DaveLangum)

Today champions in Congress introduced the Real Education and Access to Health Youth Act (), which would make essential investments in honest & inclusive sex ed programs!! Thank you to , , , & !

— Sex Ed with DB (@SexEdwithDB)

• legislative branch
• legislation
• United States Senate
• House of Representatives
• law
• bill
• branches of government
• executive branch
• judicial branch

True or False?

In the United States, Congress has the power to make state laws.