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Bills are legislative proposals to laws. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that they are only suggested by members of Congress. Just about anyone can suggest a bill and ask for a draft bill be presented on the floor by their local representative.

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Once the bill is proposed by congressmen on the floor (ALL bills relating to money start in the House of Representatives), they are then approved by said floor, and the bill is taken into a committee designed specifically for bills like the one proposed to be discussed.

The bill is then voted on in committee. If the bill passes, the whole house votes on it. If the bill is discarded in committee, it is know as a "pigeon-hole bill".

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The bill needs a 51% majority of votes in order to be passed onto the next house, which means that the House of Representatives needs 218 votes minimum, and the Senate 51 votes minimum. If it's disapproved, it will either die or be sent back to the committee for revision. Once the bill reaches the next house, it goes through the same process again - approval, committee, then a whole house vote.

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Once both houses approve of the bill, the bill goes to the president. The president can either approve the bill, making it a law, or veto it. The president can also use a "pocket veto", which is when the president leaves the bill alone for 10 days, and if Congress is not in session, then the bill dies.

When the president vetoes a bill, Congress can either decide to let the bill die, or attempt to override the veto by gaining a 2/3 majority vote in both houses of Congress. This means 290 votes in the House of Representatives, and 67 in the Senate! Although not common, this has happened before - and it's not at all easy to do.

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To become a representative, you must have certain requirements and be elected by the people in the district/state you reside. Below are the specifics for members of the Senate and House of Representatives.

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-30 years old
-Citizen of the United States for 9 years
-Reside in the state they represent

Remember that 1/3 of the senators are up for reelection every even year (like 2014 and 2016), and that a senator's term is 6 years.

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-25 years old
-Citizen of the United States for 7 years
-Reside in the district they represent

Remember that representatives for districts are up for reelection every even year, and that a representative's term is 2 years.

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A legislature that is made up of two houses.

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The person responsible for getting party members to vote with the party on key issues.

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The one who presides over the Senate when the vice-president is not there.

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A member of Congress elected by the majority party, of which they're representing, and acts as a spokesman for their party's position on issues.

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A member of elected of Congress by the minority party, of which they're representing, and acts as a spokesman for their party's position on issues.

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The lower chamber of Congress that can draft legislatures to be reviewed by the Senate, or go over legislatures that have been approved by the Senate already. They can also formally accuse a federal officer of wrongdoing.

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The upper house of Congress that can review draft legislatures to be reviewed by the House of Representatives, or go over legislatures that have been approved by the House of Reps already. They are also the main check on the executive branch, with the power to hold an impeachment trial and formally remove the President.

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Districts that are based on populations by a census. Each district is entitled to one representative for their district in the House of Representatives.

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The process of drawing new district boundaries in order for the state legislature to have more seats in Congress.

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A principle of government where each branch of government has some influence over the others in order to make sure one branch of government doesn't overpower the others.

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Permanent committees formed in either house of Congress, of which are assigned a specific task.

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Temporary committees formed in either house of Congress, of which usually discuss current issues and/or not draft any legislation for any topics.

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Temporary joint committees that includes members of both houses. The committee is formed to discuss compromises on the bill.

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A draft for a proposed law that is presented to a legislation to be voted on.

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A vote that consists of more than 50% of a house in Congress that is done when Congress wants to pass legislation or exercise another one of their congressional powers.

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Congressmen have several duties in both the Senate and House of Representatives. Below is a list of all their duties.

They are required to...

-Introduce bills and resolutions
-Serve in committees
-Offer amendments
-Serve as a jury in impeachment trials (Senate)
-Vote to formally accuse a federal officer of wrongdoing (House of Representatives)
-Help their constituents in the hopes of getting reelected

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Enumerated powers are powers that are directly stated in the Constitution. The powers given to Congress are listed below.

The power to...

-Collect taxes
-Borrow money
-Coin money
-Punish counterfeiters
-Create federal courts below the Supreme Court
-Regulate commerce
-Create a national system of weights and measures
-Draft legislation
-Declare war
-Raise and support an army
-Establish post offices
-Set qualifications to become a citizen of the U.S
-Hold an impeachment trial on federal officers & the President (Check on the Executive Branch) (Senate)
-Approve Presidential appointments (Check on the Executive Branch) (Senate)
-Propose amendments
-Vote to pull troops out of combat (This is a check on the Executive Branch. This power given to Congress was a result of the War Powers Resolution of 1973)
-Approve treaties (Check on the Executive Branch)

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Article I, Section 8 creates the "Necessary & Proper" clause to give Congress the power do exercise any other power to carry out the enumerated powers. These are called the implied powers.

Examples of implied powers:

-Establishing military drafts (Power to raise & maintain an army)
-Creating a national bank (Power to regulate commerce & coin money)
-Setting a minimum wage (Power to regulate commerce)
-Limit the number of immigrants coming to the country (Power to set naturalization rules)

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Congress is barred from doing many things that infringe on the people's liberties. These include:

-Suspending writ of habeas corpus (Right to trial by jury)
-Passing bills of attainder (Singling out individuals or groups to be punished without trial by jury)
-Passing ex post facto laws (Laws that make certain acts illegal when they were once legal, and punishing individuals for it)
Example of an "ex post facto law" situation:

A man smokes cigarettes outside on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Congress passes a law that makes cigarettes illegal. The man is arrested on Thursday for something that was legal on Tuesday.

Congress cannot take away the powers given to the states as well. For example, they cannot:

-Establish a national school system
-Give out marriage licenses
-Set rules for local governments
-Give out driver's licenses