The Legislative Branch

House committees, with this many subcommittees

23, 104

The House of Representatives is made up of

435 elected members, divided among the 50 states in proportion to their total population.

The Senate has sole power to

Confirm those of the President's appointments that require consent, and to ratify treaties. There are, however, two exceptions to this rule: the House must also approve appointments to the Vice Presidency and any treaty that involves foreign trade. The senate also tries impeachment cases for federal officials referred to it by the House.

Powers of Congress

Congress, as one of the three coequal branches of government, is ascribed significant powers by the constitution. All legislative power in the government that can make new laws or change existing laws. Executive Branch agencies issue regulations with the full force of law, but these are only under the authority of laws enacted by Congress.

The committees are not set in stone, but change in number and form with each new

Congress, as required for the efficient consideration of legislation.

When the bill comes up for consideration, The House has a very structured

Debate process

The Constitution grants Congress the sole authority to

Enact legislative and declare war, the right to confirm or reject many Presidential appointments and substantial investigative powers.

Members of the House are elected

Every two years and must be 25 years of age. and at least 7 years a resident of that state.

Each committee oversees a specific policy area, and the subcommittees take on specialized policy areas.

For example, the House Committee on Ways includes subcommittees on Social Security and Trade.

There are two other options that the President may exercise

If Congress is in session and the President takes no action within 10 days, the bill becomes law. If congress adjourns before 10 days and the President takes no action then the bill dies and Congress may not vote to override. This is called a Pocket Veto, and if Congress still wants to pass legislation, they must begin the entire process anew.

When receiving a bill from Congress, the President has several options.

If the President agrees substantially with the bill, he or she may sign it into law, and the bill is then printed in the Statutes at Large. If the President believes the laws to be bad policy, he may veto it and send it back to congress. Congress may override that act with a 2/3rds vote of each chamber, at which point the bill becomes law and is printed.

The House has several powers assigned exclusively to it

Including the power to to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the President in the case of a electoral college tie.

Government Oversight

Oversight of the executive branch is an important Congressional check on the President's power and a balance against his discretion in implementing laws and making regulations.

In the Senate, debate on most bills is unlimited

Senators may speak to issues other than the bill under consideration during their speeches, and any amendment can be introduced. Senators can use this to filibuster bills under consideration, a procedure by which a Senator delays a vote on a bill -- and by extension its passage-- by refusing to stand down. A super majority of 60 Senators can break a filibuster by invoking cloture, or the cession of debate on the bill, and forcing a vote. Once debate is over, the votes of a simple majority passes the bill.

Established by Article 1 of the Constitution, the Legislative Branch consists of?

The House of Representatives and Senate, which together form the United State Congress.

A bill must pass both houses of Congress before it goes and who else for consideration

The President.

Vice President

The Vice President of the United States serves as President of the Senate and may cast the decisive vote in the event of a tie in the Senate.

A bill is first considered in a subcommittee, where it may be

accepted, amended, or rejected entirely

After being introduced, a bill is referred to

the appropriate committee for review.

The Senate is composed of

*100 senators, 2 for each state. *Senators have been elected to 6 year terms by the people for each state. * Senators terms are staggered so that about 1/3 of the Senate is up for reelection every 2 years * Senators must be 30 years of age, U.S. Citizens for at least 9 years and residents of the state they represent.

There are this many Senate committees, with this many subcommittees

17, 70

If the members of that body agree to move forward, it is reported to the full committee, where the process is repeated again.

Throughout this stage of the process, the committees and subcommittees hold hearings to investigate the merits and flaws of the bill. They invite experts, advocates, and opponents to appear before the committee and provide testimony, and can compel people to appear using subpoena power, if necessary.

Through the Constitution requires that the two bills have the exact same wording , this rarely happens in practice.

To bring the bills into alignment , a conference committee is convened, consisting of members from both chambers. The members of the committee produce a report, which is intended as the final version of the bill. Each chamber then votes again to approve that report. Depending on where the bill originated, the final text is then enrolled by either the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate, and presented to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate for their signatures. The bill is then sent to the President.

Some important bills, such as the annual federal budget

are traditionally introduced at the request of the President.

During the legislative process, however, the initial bill can undergo

drastic changes

Anyone can write it, but only members of Congress can

introduce legislation

In order to pass legislation and send it to the President for his signature, both House and the Senate must

pass the same bill by majority vote. If the President vetos a bill, they may override his veto by passing the bill again in each chamber with at least 2/3rds of each body voting in favor.