legislative branch

Why is US Congress so Powerful? 1) It is independent from the executive branch of government and cannot be controlled by it. Congress can and does ignore or over-rule presidential policies. 2) It controls the purse-strings, a particular function of the House of Representatives.

Legislative Branch

Congress has 535 voting members: 100 senators and 435 representatives. The Vice President of the United States has a vote in the Senate only when senators are evenly divided; the House of Representatives has six non-voting members.

Congress has the power to:

• Make laws.
• Declare war.
• Raise and provide public money and oversee its proper expenditure.
• Impeach and try federal officers.
• Approve presidential appointments.
• Approve treaties negotiated by the executive branch.
• Oversight and investigations.

For this reason, and in order to distinguish who is a member of which house, a member of the Senate is typically referred to as Senator (followed by “name” from “state”), and a member of the House of Representatives is usually referred to as Congressman or Congresswoman (followed by “name” from the “number” district of …

The United States House of Representatives is a part of the United States (U. S.) Congress. Congress is the legislature of the U. S. government and makes federal laws. The other part of Congress is the U. S. Senate. Sometimes the House of Representatives is informally called the House.

January 3, 2021: 117th Congress officially begins, with Democrats controlling the House, and Republicans in charge of the Senate.

First, a representative sponsors a bill. The bill is then assigned to a committee for study. If released by the committee, the bill is put on a calendar to be voted on, debated or amended. If the bill passes by simple majority (218 of 435), the bill moves to the Senate.