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-Bicameral legislature: made up of two houses (House of Representatives and the Senate)
-Plays central role in formulating national policies (it initiates and approves laws)

Congressional Sessions
-Each term begins on January 3 in years ending in an odd number and lasts for two years
-Each term lasts for two sessions
-One session lasts one year and includes breaks for holidays/vacations
-Congress remains in session until its members vote to adjourn
-Neither house can adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the other house

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-Members set their own salary
-Amendment 27 states Congress cannot give itself a raise; the raise would become active starting after the next election

Benefits:
-Stationary
-Postage for official business (franking privilege)
-Medical clinic
-Gymnasium
-Large allowances to pay for staff, trips home, telephones, newsletters
-Entitled to an income tax deduction
-Upon retirement, they may be eligible for pensions of $150,000 per year or more for life

Privileges
-On the way to of from Congress, they are free from arrest in "all cases except treason, felony, and breach of peace"
Cannot be sued for anything the say on the House or Senate floor
May judge qualifications of new members and decide whether to seat them (majority vote)
-Each house may punish its own members for disorderly behavior by a majority vote, and expel a legislature by a two-thirds vote
-Censure: vote of formal disapproval of a member's actions

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Membership
-Composed of two senators from each state
-Each state is represented equally
-Total of 100 members (two members from each 50 states)
-Elections are held in Novembers of years ending in an even number
-Each term begins on January 3 in years ending in an odd number

Qualifications
-Established by the Constitution
-Must be at least 30 years of age, citizens of the US for nine years before election, and legal residents of the state they represent
-Elected at-large (statewide/senators have no particular district)
-Serve six-year terms
Only one-third of senators run for reelection every two years
-If a senator dies or resigns, the state legislature can appoint a person to fill the vacancy before the next election or the governor can call a special election

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General
-435 total members
-Constitution does not limit the size of the House, but states it must give proportionate members to each state according to population (minimum number of members is one per state)
-Elections are held in Novembers of years ending in an even number

Qualifications
-Established by the Constitution
-Must be at least 25 years of age, be citizens of the US for seven years, and be legal residents of the state they represent
-On average, more than 90 percent of all representatives are reelected every two years
-If a member dies or resigns, a special election is held to refill the vacancy

Representation
-Census Bureau takes a national census every ten years to count the population to keep track of the number of representatives for each state (called reapportionment)
-House originally had 64 members
-Each representative represents one district from their state
-Gerrymandering: drawing district boundaries to give one party an electoral advantage (cheating)