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| | Article I of the U.S. Constitution defines and limits the powers of Congress. | | Article I of the U.S. Constitution defines and limits the powers of Congress. |
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| − | Congress has two entities: the House of Representatives and the Senate. | + | Congress has two entities: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Each is run by its own set of rules. |
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| − | == House of Representatives == | + | === House of Representatives === |
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| | The House of Representatives, or simply the "House", consists of 435 members and is led by the "Speaker of the House," who is currently the Democrat Nancy Pelosi. | | The House of Representatives, or simply the "House", consists of 435 members and is led by the "Speaker of the House," who is currently the Democrat Nancy Pelosi. |
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| | If the Republicans capture a majority of the House in the 2010 elections, then the new Speaker of the House will be a Republican rather than a Democrat. | | If the Republicans capture a majority of the House in the 2010 elections, then the new Speaker of the House will be a Republican rather than a Democrat. |
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| − | == Senate == | + | === Senate === |
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| | + | The Senate consists of 100 members - two for each State. It operates like a club, with individual senators holding a great deal of power to block a nominee by the president or [[filibuster]] a vote. If 41 senators agree to block a bill, then the bill cannot pass even though a big majority of 59 senators support it. In this case the bill fails to obtain "[[cloture]]". |
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| | + | The leader of the Senate is chosen by majority vote of the political party that is in the majority. Currently there are 59 senators who are Democrats (including two Independents who vote with the Democrats), so the Majority Leader of the Senate is a Democrat: [[Harry Reid]]. |
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| | ==IV. Legislative [[History]]== | | ==IV. Legislative [[History]]== |
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| − | The [[Constitution]] is a model of clarity compared with what [[Congress]] passes each year. Ambiguities pervade laws passed by [[Congress]]. Often the [[congressman|congressmen]] argue among themselves, and then pass [[language]] that is a compromise. They may not even agree what the [[language]] means at the [[time]] it is passed. | + | The [[Constitution]] is a model of clarity compared with what Congress passes each year. Ambiguities pervade laws passed by Congress. Often the [[congressman|congressmen]] argue among themselves, and then pass compromised language rather than clarity. They may not even agree what the language means at the time it is passed. |
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| | [[Senator]]s like [[Ted Kennedy]] make comments on the [[Senate]] floor and in [[committee]] reports about what they feel the [[statute]]s mean. Sometimes lengthy descriptions of intent are inserted by a few [[senator]]s into these reports. [[Court]]s then pick up on these comments to find meanings that may not have been shared by most of the supporters of the [[statute]]s. | | [[Senator]]s like [[Ted Kennedy]] make comments on the [[Senate]] floor and in [[committee]] reports about what they feel the [[statute]]s mean. Sometimes lengthy descriptions of intent are inserted by a few [[senator]]s into these reports. [[Court]]s then pick up on these comments to find meanings that may not have been shared by most of the supporters of the [[statute]]s. |