Legislative Branch Structure in the United States

Legislative Branch Structure

Introduction to Legislative Branch Structure

The most important part of the legislative branch is Congress, which includes a total of 540 elected members in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate has 100 members, two from each state. The House’s size has been fixed by law at 435 members since 1911. Five other representatives-from American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico-take part in House deliberations but cannot vote on legislation.

The main responsibility of the two chambers is to draft and pass laws. Proposed laws come from many sources-the president, executive agencies, interest groups (organized groups that pressure Congress), citizens, and congressional members themselves. These pressures combine to make a complex legislative process. Legislative tasks are divided among a large number of work groups-committees, subcommittees, task forces, party committees, and informal groups of lawmakers. The House has 22 full committees and about 90 subcommittees; the Senate has 20 committees and about 70 subcommittees. There are also 4 joint House-Senate committees. Altogether Congress has about 250 formal work groups, containing more than 3,000 seats overall. (Each senator and representative serves on several committees and subcommittees.) Outside the committee systems, scores of task forces, party committees, and informal caucuses allow members to involve themselves in policies that interest them or affect their constituents.

Also, many staff members are needed to assist senators and representatives in drafting laws and communicating with voters back home. Nearly 25,000 people are employed to support legislative activities. Of these, more than half work directly for the Senate or the House of Representatives, mostly in the offices of individual senators or representatives-either on Capitol Hill or in state or district offices. The rest are staff aides for Senate or House committees or for the chambers themselves (including clerks, legal specialists, and messengers).” (1)

Resources

Notes and References

• Information about Legislative Branch Structure in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Legislative Branch Structure