The congress of the usa

Supreme legislative power in the American government lies with Congress, which consists of two chambers or houses - the Senate (the upper house) and the House of Representatives (the lower house). Each state has its own government, following the Washington pattern - State Assemblies or Legislatures with two chambers.

According to the Constitution of the USA, all citizens of both sexes over 18 years of age have a right to vote. There are different demands put to the voters - in some states the voter must be a resident of the state where he votes; he must have paid taxes before voting, etc. Thus in reality the number of voters is much smaller and often even those who can vote do not participate in the election as they do not want to deal with politics.

The main task of Congress is to make laws. The US Constitution also gives Congress the power to impose taxes, to make rules for trade with foreign countries and between states, to coin money, to organize the Armed Forces, to declare war, etc. Another power possessed by Congress is the right to propose amendments to the Constitution whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall consider it necessary.

Under the Constitution, the US Senate has some special powers, not given to the House of Representatives. The Senate approves or disapproves major Presidential appointments of such high officials as ambassadors, Cabinet members, and federal judges. The Senate must also ratify, by a two-third vote, treaties between the USA and foreign countries.

The House of Representatives has a special power of its own. Only a member of the House can introduce a bill to raise money, but it must be passed by the Senate before it can become a law.

The Senate is composed of 100 members, two from each of the 50 States, who are elected for a term of six years. Although Congressional elections take place every two years, only one-third of the Senate is re-elected, thereby ensuring continuity.

The Constitution says that a Senator must be at least 30 years old, a citizen of the US for nine years and a resident of the state from which he is elected. The individual seats in the Senate are numbered. Democrats sit in the western part of the chamber - on Vice President’s right. Republicans sit on his left. Vice-President presides over the Senate and he conducts debates. The Senate is stabler and more conservative than the House of Representatives, as many Senators are re-elected several times and often they are more experienced politicians.

The House of Representatives, at the present time, has 435 members. The number of Representatives which each state sends to the House depends on its population. The Constitution says that each state, no matter how small in population, must have at least one Representative.

A representative must be at least 25 years of age, a US citizen for several years and live in the state from which he is elected. Congressmen of the House of Representatives do not have individual seats, by tradition Democrats sit on the Speaker’s right, Republicans - on his left. The Speaker presides over the House, he conducts debates. The Speaker may vote, but usually he does not do it, except in case of a tie-vote.

Almost all the Congressmen are members of the two big parties. Among Representatives more than 40% are lawyers (Senators - 62%). More than 30% are businessmen and bankers, with a small number of journalists, scientists, landowners, a few trade union representatives.