United States Congress

The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the United States of America. Its seat is the Capitol in Washington, D.C. It has consisted of the bicameral Senate and House of Representatives since the U.S. Constitution took effect on March 4, 1789. On January 3, 2021, the 117th Congress was constituted.

Each state sends two senators to the Senate, regardless of its population. Since 1913, these 100 people have been directly elected for six-year terms by the eligible voters of their state. Until 1913, they were sent to Washington by the parliaments of the individual states. Every two years, one-third of the senators are up for election.

The House of Representatives consists of 435 directly elected and voting delegates. In addition, there are six delegates from the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; however, these delegates only vote in committees. The number of representatives a state sends is determined by its population. A census is taken every ten years, after which the number of representative seats in each state is redetermined. Today, there is one representative for every 700,000 residents; each state sends at least one representative. The legislative period is two years.

Congressional elections are always held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November of every even-numbered year. So every four years they are held on the same day as the presidential election. Elections without the presidential election are called midterm elections. In many states, governors and state legislatures are also elected. The new Congress is always constituted on 3 January after the election.

The President of the United States does not have the right to attend sessions of Congress; therefore, no seat is provided for him. Once a year, he delivers a State of the Union Address to the House of Representatives. For this purpose, the entire Congress gathers in the House of Representatives, where the President is led. Immediately after the end of his speech, he leaves the Capitol again, without the deputies having the opportunity to ask questions.

Key Congressional responsibilities include:

History

The forerunner of today's Congress was the Continental Congress, which consisted of delegates from the 13 colonies of North America. Since the Continental Congress met between 1774 and 1789, its creation immediately preceded the War for Independence. Since the U.S. Constitution took effect on March 4, 1789, Congress has consisted of the bicameral Senate and House of Representatives. While New York City was initially the capital, Congress Hall in Philadelphia served as the seat of Congress from December 6, 1790 to May 14, 1800.

On June 11, 1800, Washington became the permanent capital of the United States. On November 17, 1800, Congress met for the first time in the new capital. The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801 brought the District of Columbia under the direct administration of the federal Congress. Since then, the United States Capitol has been the seat of Congress.

Built from 1793, the building was set on fire by British troops during the British-American War on 24 August 1814, but was restored by 1823. Extensively enlarged from 1851 to 1863, the building has since consisted of a rotunda with a cupola, to which the two parliamentary wings are attached. Several extensions were built in the 20th century. The new United States Capitol Visitor Center also opened on December 2, 2008.

The Capitol is 229 meters long, up to 107 meters wide and 88 meters high at its highest point. After the White House, the Capitol was the first major structure in Washington, D.C., around which the city was built. Directly around the Capitol is the Capitol Complex, which includes the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court buildings, among others.

In the 19th century, different majorities often prevailed in the House of Representatives than in the Senate on issues that were valued differently from region to region. Due to the larger population in the Northern states, they outnumbered the Southern states in the House of Representatives. In the Senate, on the other hand, with its equal representation of the states, there was no comparable dominance by the North. Repeated conflicts between the two houses arose, for example, over the issue of slavery. Disagreements continued until escalating into the Civil War (1861-1865). During the term of Republican Thomas Brackett Reed as Speaker of the House, the powers of the Speaker were significantly increased. Also playing an important role in political practice is the fact that since the 17th Amendment to the Constitution of 1913 not only the members of the House of Representatives are directly elected, but also the senators. In the 1970s, reforms strengthened the powers of subcommittees, while committee chairmen lost their power and could now be appointed by party leaders.

The storming of the Capitol on the afternoon of 6 January 2021 saw the violent storming of the Congress building by supporters of US President-elect Donald Trump. Their goal was to prevent the formal confirmation of the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Legislation

Bills introduced in Congress are discussed and voted on separately by the committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives. If the resolutions differ, an adjustment takes place in the Conference Committee, a kind of mediation committee. This committee is not a standing committee, but is reconvened for contentious bills each time. The President must sign bills into law for them to take effect. The President can only be controlled and limited in his power through legislation. The War Powers Resolution is a telling example of this, since under the Constitution the president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, but only Congress may declare war.

Responsibilities

The powers of Congress are set forth in Article 1 (specifically Article 1, Section 8) of the Constitution. These powers were expanded when the Constitutional Amendments came into effect as a result of the American Civil War (13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, which directly charge Congress with implementing the respective provisions contained in the Amendments) and the 16th Amendment, which governs the federal income tax.

Other sections of the Constitution - notably Article 1, Section 9, and the First Ten Amendments (commonly known as the Bill of Rights) - curtail the power of Congress.

The general responsibilities of Congress include:

• All laws necessary and appropriate to implement the Constitution
• Calling the militia to support the laws, suppress lawlessness and defend against invasions.
• Issuance and valuation of the US dollar
• Immigration and naturalisation laws
• Establishment of jurisdiction below the Supreme Court
• Laws for the seat of government
• Laws on weights and measures
• Laws regulating commerce between the states and other countries.
• Establishment of post offices and construction of postal roads
• Bankruptcy laws
• Declarations of War
• Patent and copyright laws
• Regulations related to the Indians
• Borrowing
• Tax collection and recovery
• Criminal law for pirates
• Maintenance of an army and navy

Some of these responsibilities are now obsolete, but remain in force.

Restrictions

The Tenth Amendment limits the powers of Congress by clarifying that areas of law not delegated to the federal government remain with the people and the states.

In addition, the Constitution prohibits certain laws. These include:

• The suspension of habeas corpus
• The sentencing of individuals without trial
• Laws making acts committed before a law came into force punishable after the event
• Levy of direct taxes without regard to census. Repealed by the 16th Amendment to the Constitution
• Collection of export taxes
• Preference of commercial ports of a state over others
• conferment of nobility

Congress also has exclusive jurisdiction in impeachment proceedings of federal officials.