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Congress

The House, the Senate, and the committee system through which the legislative branch writes law, controls spending, and checks the other two branches.

Conference Committees
Temporary House-Senate panels that negotiate a single final version of a bill, once called the third house of Congress
Congressional Black Caucus
The caucus of Black members of Congress, founded in 1971 and now one of the largest blocs within House Democrats
Congressional Caucuses
The informal groups of members organized around a party, an ideology, an identity, a region, or an issue
Congressional Committees
Where Congress actually works: the standing committees and subcommittees that write bills, hold hearings, and oversee the government
Congressional Member Offices and Staff
How a representative's or senator's office is organized, funded, and staffed in Washington and back home
Foreign Affairs and Foreign Relations Committees
The House and Senate committees that oversee diplomacy, foreign aid, and, in the Senate, treaties and ambassadors
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
The House's main investigative committee, with authority to examine any matter across the federal government
House Freedom Caucus
An invitation-only bloc of conservative House Republicans that votes together to pressure party leadership
Joint Committees
The four permanent committees made up of members of both the House and the Senate
Problem Solvers Caucus
A House caucus split evenly between Democrats and Republicans that tries to broker bipartisan deals
Select and Special Committees
Committees created for a particular purpose, often investigations, outside the regular standing committee system
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
The Senate's chief oversight committee, with jurisdiction over DHS and federal government operations
The Appropriations Committees
The House and Senate committees that write the spending bills funding every federal agency each year
The Armed Services Committees
The House and Senate committees that write the annual defense policy bill and oversee the Pentagon
The Capitol Complex
The Capitol building and the office buildings, tunnels, grounds, and support facilities around it where Congress works
The House of Representatives
The lower chamber of Congress: 435 members, two-year terms, and the sole power to originate taxes and impeach
The House Rules Committee
The traffic cop of the House: the committee that decides which bills reach the floor, for how long, and with what amendments
The House Ways and Means Committee
The oldest committee in Congress and the starting point for every tax bill, plus Social Security, Medicare, and trade
The Intelligence Committees
The House and Senate committees that oversee the CIA and the rest of the intelligence community, largely in secret
The Senate Finance Committee
The Senate committee for taxes, trade, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, the largest jurisdiction over federal money
The Senate Judiciary Committee
The committee that vets every federal judge and Supreme Court nominee and oversees the Justice Department
The United States Congress
The bicameral legislature that writes the laws, controls the money, and checks the other two branches
The United States Senate
The upper chamber: two senators per state, six-year terms, and the power to confirm, ratify, and try impeachments