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United States Congress

The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. It meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Members of Congress are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a governor's appointment. Congress has a total of 535 voting members, a figure which includes 100 senators and 435 representatives; the House of Representatives has 6 additional non-voting members. The vice president of the United States, as President of the Senate, has a vote in the Senate only when there is a tie.

Congress convenes for a two-year term, commencing every other January. Elections are held every even-numbered year on Election Day. The members of the House of Representatives are elected for the two-year term of a Congress. The Reapportionment Act of 1929 established that there be 435 representatives, and the Uniform Congressional Redistricting Act requires that they be elected from single-member constituencies or ''districts''. It is also required that the congressional districts be apportioned among states by population every ten years using the U.S. census results, provided that each state has at least one congressional representative. Each senator is elected at-large in their state for a six-year term, with terms staggered, so every two years approximately one-third of the Senate is up for election. Each state, regardless of population or size, has two senators, so currently, there are 100 senators for the 50 states.

Article One of the U.S. Constitution requires that members of Congress be at least 25 years old for the House and at least 30 years old for the U.S. Senate, be a U.S. citizen for seven years for the House and nine years for the Senate, and be an inhabitant of the state which they represent. Members in both chambers may stand for an unlimited number of times.

Congress was created by the U.S. Constitution and first met in 1789, replacing the Congress of the Confederation in its legislative function. Although not legally mandated, in practice members of Congress since the late 18th century are typically affiliated with one of the two major parties, the Democratic Party or the Republican Party, and only rarely with a third party or independents affiliated with no party. Members can also switch parties at any time, though this is uncommon. Provided by Wikipedia