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6. Congress: The People's Branch?

What Congress can do, how party leadership and the committee system shape what it does, who serves in it, and how a bill becomes law.

6. Congress: The People's Branch?

The United States Capitol building, the home of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Congress makes laws. Despite promises made by presidentia…

6a. The Powers of Congress

In 1789, Federal Hall in New York City became the home of the first U.S. Congress. By 1790, Congress moved to the new capital of Philadelphia. At its creation…

6b. Leadership in Congress: It's a Party Matter

Republicans and Democrats in Congress continually battle each other on party lines, even though many claim that the parties are essentially the same. Is walkin…

6c. The Importance of Committees

A special committee investigated the government's actions in the 1993 tragedy involving a religious cult in Waco, Texas. Bills begin and end their lives in com…

6d. Who Is in Congress?

A paunchy, older, silver-haired man with no facial hair wearing an ill-fitting dark suit. This is the image evoked in the minds of many Americans when they try…

6e. How a Bill Becomes a Law

Creating legislation is what the business of Congress is all about. Ideas for laws come from many places — ordinary citizens, the president, offices of the exe…