What is the Legislative Branch?

The legislative branch of United State government is the part of government that creates the laws. It consisits of the members of the House and the Senate.

                           The House of Representatives

The House is made up of 435 members. It is based on the state's population. Bigger populated states like California have 52 representatives and smaller populated states like Montana only have 1 representative. 

Each member services a 2 year term, then they are up for election again. This makes them more accountable to the people and likely to do what the people want.

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        Which is more likely to be a House Representative?

Chad Vega

Age: 34 years
Religion: Catholic
Born in: Spain
Lived in US for: 20 years

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John Jansen

Age: 61 years
Religion: Protestant
Born in: Russia
Lived in US for: 3 years

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The more likely of the two to be in the House would be Chad Vega. Why? Because even though he was not born in the United States, he has lived in the United States for 20 years. And even though John Jansen is older, he hadn't lived in the United States for more than 7 years. Below is a list of requirements to be in the House.

    - They must be 25 years of age or older
    - Citizen for 7 years
    - Must be a resident of the district that they are running for

                                   Leaders of the House

Speaker of the House

The Speaker of the House is currently John Beohner. He was voted the Speaker of the House by the Republicans because they are the majority of the house. Speakers of the House are often time considered the second most powerful person in the United States

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Majority/Minority Leaders

The job of the majority and minority leaders is to be the spokesperson for their party and to guide party favored bills through out congress.

Majority/Minority Whips

The majority and minority whips have a job to ensure that party members vote favorably for the party.

                                                The Senate

The Senate is the section of congress that has 100 members. 2 members for each of the 50 states. No matter how big or small, everyone has the same amount of members.

The Senate's term lasts 6 years long. It is the longest term out of the Presidency, House and Senate.

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                            Requirements of the Senate

To be in the Senate you can't just be anyone. You have to meet the qualifications below.

    - Must be 30 years of age
    - Must be a 9 year U.S. citizen
    - Must be a resident of the state of which they wish to represent

                                  The Leader of the Senate

The leader of the Senate is currently Joe Biden. Why? Because he is the Vice President and the Vice President always resides over the Senate. He can vote if there is a 50/50 tie in the Senate

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                                       Salary & Benefits

    - The salary for both is about $176,000 a year

Benefits include;
    - A private gym membership
    - Free parking
    - Can not be arrested on the way to, from or at work
    - Free postage
    - Can not be sued for things they say in congress
    - A top of the line retirement plane

                                Congressional Committees

Standing Committees

They are the permanent committees within the Senate and the House. The senate has 16 committees while the House has 22.

Subcommittees

They are standing committees that are broken down into even smaller sections.

Select Committees

They are committees that are made up to deal with a current issue. They are temporary.

Joint Committees

A committee composed of members from the House and the Senate.

Conference Committees

A joint committee created to reach a compromise when the House and the Senate pass simular versions of the same bill. These committees often abuse powers by tacking on expensive amendments to the bills.