#Legislative Branch

110 entries

Branches (34)

The agency, and the official who leads it, responsible for maintaining the Capitol and the buildings and grounds around it

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

Government Publishing Office

The legislative-branch agency that produces the official text of federal laws, regulations, and the Congressional Record, and prints U.S. passports

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

Medicare Payment Advisory Commission

The independent commission that advises Congress on how much Medicare should pay doctors, hospitals, and other providers

Office of Congressional Ethics

The independent, nonpartisan House office that reviews misconduct allegations against members and staff and refers cases to the Ethics Committee

Office of Congressional Workplace Rights

The office that applies federal workplace laws to Congress and handles complaints from legislative-branch employees

Office of Legislative Affairs

The White House office that lobbies Congress for the President's agenda and nominees

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

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 Congressional Budget Office

Congress's nonpartisan scorekeeper: the official estimates of what bills cost and where the budget is headed

The Congressional Research Service

Congress's in-house think tank: confidential, nonpartisan research and legal analysis for members and committees

The Government Accountability Office

Congress's auditor and investigator, often called the watchdog of the federal purse

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 Library of Congress

The largest library in the world, the research arm of Congress, and home of the U.S. Copyright Office

The Office of the Vice President

The only office with a foot in two branches: president of the Senate and first in line for the presidency

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

United States Botanic Garden

A living plant museum at the foot of Capitol Hill, run by Congress through the Architect of the Capitol

United States Capitol Police

The federal police force that protects Congress, its members, and the Capitol complex

Agencies (1)

Office of Technology Assessment Dissolved

The congressional agency that gave lawmakers nonpartisan analysis of science and technology from 1972 until Congress defunded it in 1995

Offices & Roles (16)

Clerk of the House of Representatives

The elected officer who keeps the official records of the House, runs its votes and legislative paperwork, and presides at the start of each new Congress until a Speaker is chosen

Committee Chairs and Ranking Members

The majority members who run congressional committees and the minority members who lead the opposition on each

Comptroller General of the United States

The head of the Government Accountability Office, appointed to a single 15-year term and removable only by Congress, who audits federal spending for the legislative branch

Dean of the House

The informal title given to the longest continuously serving member of the House of Representatives, who by custom swears in the Speaker at the start of each Congress

Delegates and the Resident Commissioner

The six nonvoting members of the House who represent the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and four U.S. territories, with power to serve on committees but not to vote on final passage of bills

House and Senate Sergeants at Arms

The chief law enforcement and protocol officers of each chamber of Congress, who keep order, oversee security, and can compel absent members to attend

House Majority and Minority Leaders

The floor leaders of the two parties in the House: the Speaker's chief lieutenant and the leader of the opposition

Librarian of Congress

The head of the Library of Congress, appointed by the President to a 10-year term, who oversees the national library, the Copyright Office, and the Congressional Research Service

Majority and Minority Whips

The party officers in each chamber who count votes, keep members in line, and tell leaders whether a bill will pass

Members of Congress

The 535 elected senators and representatives: their constitutional qualifications, terms, pay, privileges, and the rules that discipline them

President pro tempore of the Senate

The Senate's constitutional presiding officer in the Vice President's absence, by custom its most senior majority member, and third in line to the presidency

Secretary of the Senate

The elected chief administrative and legislative officer of the Senate, who keeps its records, manages its clerks and finances, and receives public disclosure filings

Senate Majority Leader

The leader of the majority party in the Senate, who controls the chamber's agenda through the right of first recognition

Senate Minority Leader

The leader of the minority party in the Senate, with more power to obstruct than any counterpart in the House

Speaker of the House

The presiding officer and leader of the House of Representatives, second in line to the presidency

The House and Senate Parliamentarians

The nonpartisan experts who advise the presiding officers of the House and Senate on rules and precedents, and whose rulings can decide what may pass by simple majority

Processes (39)

Amendments and Riders

How members change bills on the floor and in committee, the rules on which amendments are allowed, and riders, the provisions attached to must-pass bills

Authorization vs. Appropriation

The two-step process in which Congress first authorizes a program and sets its rules, then separately appropriates the money to pay for it

Bill Introduction and Sponsorship

How legislation formally enters Congress: who may introduce a bill, how it is numbered and referred, and what sponsors and cosponsors do

Blue Slips

The Senate Judiciary Committee tradition that lets home-state senators approve or block nominees for federal judgeships and U.S. attorney posts in their state

Budget Reconciliation

The fast-track procedure that lets tax and spending bills pass the Senate by simple majority, immune from filibuster

Budget Resolutions

The concurrent resolution in which Congress sets overall spending and revenue targets for the year and can unlock the fast-track reconciliation process

Censure and Expulsion

How the House and Senate discipline their own members, from reprimand and censure by majority vote to expulsion by a two-thirds vote

Certification and the Electoral Count

The steps between Election Day and Inauguration Day: state certification, the meeting of electors, and the counting of electoral votes in a joint session of Congress on January 6

Committee Markup

The committee meeting where members debate, amend, and vote on a bill line by line before deciding whether to report it to the full House or Senate

Congressional Elections

How the 435 representatives and 100 senators are chosen, every two years, and how vacancies are filled

Congressional Hearings

The public sessions in which committees take testimony to consider legislation, oversee agencies, investigate wrongdoing, and review nominations

Congressional Review Act

The 1996 law that lets Congress overturn recently issued agency rules by a simple-majority joint resolution and bars agencies from reissuing substantially the same rule

Discharge Petition

The House procedure that lets a majority of members, 218 signatures, force a bill out of committee and onto the floor over the objections of leadership

Earmarks

Provisions in spending bills that direct money to specific projects requested by individual members of Congress, banned in 2011 and restored with new rules in 2021

Ethics and Financial Disclosure

The rules that require members of Congress, senior officials, and judges to report their finances, limit gifts and conflicts of interest, and the bodies that enforce them

House Floor Procedure

How the House debates and passes bills: special rules from the Rules Committee, suspension of the rules, the Committee of the Whole, and majority control of the floor

House vs. Senate Rules

Why the House runs on majority control and the Senate on consent, and how that shapes everything Congress does

How a Bill Becomes Law

From introduction to committee to the floor to the President's desk, and the many places a bill can die along the way

Impeachment of Judges

The constitutional process for removing federal judges, used 15 times in the House and eight times leading to removal, almost always for corruption or criminal conduct rather than rulings

Lame-Duck Session

The period after a November election and before the new Congress convenes in January, when outgoing members, including those who lost, still vote on legislation

Midterm Elections

The federal elections held halfway through a presidential term, when every House seat, about a third of the Senate, and most governorships are on the ballot

Omnibus Bills

Large bills that package many separate measures, often several or all of the annual spending bills, into a single vote, along with smaller minibus packages

Pocket Veto

The President's power to kill a bill by not signing it when Congress's adjournment prevents its return, a veto that Congress cannot override

Political Parties

The organizations that recruit candidates, run campaigns, and organize government, unmentioned in the Constitution but central to how American politics works

Public Laws and the U.S. Code

What happens to a bill after it becomes law: slip laws, the Statutes at Large, and the 54 titles of the United States Code

Recesses and Pro Forma Sessions

How Congress takes breaks, the constitutional limits on adjourning, and the brief pro forma sessions held to block recess appointments and pocket vetoes

Senate Floor Procedure

How the Senate takes up and passes legislation and nominations: the motion to proceed, unlimited debate, cloture, amendments, and agreements by unanimous consent

Senate Holds

The informal practice by which a senator notifies party leaders of an intent to object to a bill or nomination, effectively delaying it by denying unanimous consent

Sequestration

Automatic, across-the-board spending cuts triggered when Congress exceeds budget limits, used as an enforcement mechanism since 1985

Sessions of Congress

How Congress's calendar is organized into numbered two-year Congresses, each with two regular sessions, and the rules on when Congress meets, adjourns, and can be called back

Simple, Concurrent, and Joint Resolutions

The three kinds of resolutions Congress uses besides bills: simple resolutions for one chamber, concurrent resolutions for both chambers, and joint resolutions that can become law

State of the Union

The President's annual report to Congress required by the Constitution, now delivered as a televised address to a joint session in the House chamber

The Byrd Rule

The Senate rule that bars extraneous provisions from budget reconciliation bills, limiting what a majority can pass without facing a filibuster

The Filibuster and Cloture

How unlimited Senate debate became a sixty-vote requirement for most legislation, and the exceptions carved into it

The Nuclear Option

The Senate tactic of changing how its rules apply by simple majority vote, by overruling the chair to set a new precedent, rather than amending the rules with a supermajority

The Senate Confirmation Process

The path from nomination to confirmation: paperwork, background checks, hearings, committee votes, and the floor

The Twelve Appropriations Bills

The annual spending bills, one for each Appropriations subcommittee, that fund the discretionary operations of every federal agency

Unanimous Consent

The practice by which Congress, especially the Senate, sets aside its rules and moves business quickly when no member objects, and the power it gives any single member to slow things down

Vacancies in Congress

What happens when a seat in the House or Senate becomes empty through death, resignation, or expulsion, how it is filled, and how vacancies affect narrow majorities

Principles (11)

Bicameralism

Why Congress has two chambers, one based on population and one on equal state representation

Divided Government

When one party holds the presidency and the other controls at least one chamber of Congress, the usual condition of American government since 1969

Gridlock

The inability of Congress and the President to act on major national issues, its causes in polarization and institutional rules, and the debate over whether it is a flaw or a feature

Incumbency Advantage

The electoral edge enjoyed by officeholders seeking reelection, which makes most members of Congress very hard to defeat

Jurisdiction Stripping

Congress's use of its power over federal court jurisdiction to remove certain kinds of cases from the courts, and the constitutional limits on doing so

Lobbying and Interest Groups

How organized groups try to influence government decisions, the constitutional right to petition behind it, and the disclosure laws that regulate it

Partisanship and Polarization

The growing ideological distance between the two major parties since the 1970s, in Congress and among voters, and its causes and consequences

Pork-Barrel Spending

Federal spending on local projects that benefits a lawmaker's home district, and the vote-trading and distributive politics that surround it

Sunset Provisions

Clauses that make a law, program, or agency expire on a set date unless lawmakers act to renew it

The Necessary and Proper Clause

The final clause of Congress's enumerated powers, which lets Congress pass all laws necessary and proper for carrying out its other powers, the source of most implied federal power

Think Tanks and Policy

Independent research organizations that develop policy ideas, staff administrations, and shape debates in Washington, from Brookings in 1916 to Project 2025

Documents & Cases (9)

Article I: The Legislative Branch

The longest article of the Constitution, creating Congress, listing its powers, and limiting both Congress and the states

Article V: The Amendment Process

The article that sets the two-step process for amending the Constitution, requiring supermajorities in Congress or the states and ratification by three-fourths of the states

Electoral Count Act and the 2022 Reform

The 1887 law governing how states certify and Congress counts presidential electoral votes, and its 2022 overhaul after the disputes of 2020 and January 6, 2021

Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946

The law that modernized Congress after World War II by consolidating its committees, creating professional committee staffs, and requiring lobbyists to register

NLRB v. Noel Canning (2014)

The case that limited recess appointments, holding that the Senate is in session when it says it is and that breaks under ten days are presumptively too short

Powell v. McCormack (1969)

The case holding that the House cannot exclude a duly elected member who meets the Constitution's age, citizenship, and residence requirements

The Seventeenth Amendment

The 1913 amendment providing for the direct election of senators by the voters of each state, replacing election by state legislatures

The Twentieth Amendment

The 1933 Lame Duck Amendment, which moved Inauguration Day to January 20 and the start of Congress to January 3, and set rules for a President-elect's death

The Twenty-seventh Amendment

The amendment barring a congressional pay change from taking effect until after the next House election, proposed in 1789 and ratified in 1992

All Tags

Executive Branch 148 Legislative Branch 110 Separation of Powers 110 Economy 108 Cabinet Department 105 Constitution 94 Budget 80 Supreme Court 77 Elections 76 Federalism 75 States 70 Judicial Branch 65 National Security 62 Law Enforcement 59 Administrative State 58 Oversight 49 Military 45 Foreign Policy 40 Health 39 Environment 36 Independent Agency 35 Statute 31 Civil Service 30 Data & Statistics 29 Regulatory Commission 28 Former Agency 24 Emergency Management 24 Transportation 24 Intelligence 22 Education 22 Immigration 22 Taxation 21 Government Corporation 15 Territories 12 Veterans 9 Tribal 8