Jump to main content. Jump to navigation. Learn more about the powers of the Legislative Branch of the federal government of the United States. The Constitution grants Congress the sole authority to enact legislation and declare war, the right to confirm or reject many Presidential appointments, and substantial investigative powers. The House of Representatives is made up of elected members, divided among the 50 states in proportion to their total population.
In addition, there are 6 non-voting members, representing the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and four other territories of the United States.
The presiding officer of the chamber is the Speaker of the House, elected by the Representatives. He or she is third in the line of succession to the Presidency. Members of the House are elected every two years and must be 25 years of age, a U. The House has several powers assigned exclusively to it, including the power to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the President in the case of an electoral college tie.
The Senate is composed of Senators, 2 for each state. Until the ratification of the 17th Amendment in , Senators were chosen by state legislatures, not by popular vote. Since then, they have been elected to six-year terms by the people of each state. Senator's terms are staggered so that about one-third of the Senate is up for reelection every two years.
Senators must be 30 years of age, U. The Vice President of the United States serves as President of the Senate and may cast the decisive vote in the event of a tie in the Senate.
The Senate has the sole power to confirm those of the President's appointments that require consent, and to ratify treaties. There are, however, two exceptions to this rule: the House must also approve appointments to the Vice Presidency and any treaty that involves foreign trade.
The Senate also tries impeachment cases for federal officials referred to it by the House. In order to pass legislation and send it to the President for his signature, both the House and the Senate must pass the same bill by majority vote.
If the President vetoes a bill, they may override his veto by passing the bill again in each chamber with at least two-thirds of each body voting in favor. The first step in the legislative process is the introduction of a bill to Congress. Anyone can write it, but only members of Congress can introduce legislation. Some important bills are traditionally introduced at the request of the President, such as the annual federal budget.
During the legislative process, however, the initial bill can undergo drastic changes. After being introduced, a bill is referred to the appropriate committee for review.
There are 17 Senate committees, with 70 subcommittees, and 23 House committees, with subcommittees. The House of Representatives has the power to bring impeachment charges against the President; the Senate has the power to convict and remove the President from office. In addition, Supreme Court candidates are appointed by the President and are confirmed by the Senate. Judges can be removed from office by impeachment in the House of Representatives and conviction in the Senate.
In this way, the system provides a measure, in addition to invalidating laws, for each branch to check the others. Please help us improve our site! No thank you. Our forefathers in their wisdom established a system of checks and balances in our Constitution to limit power in any one branch of government.
That system has worked effectively for more than years to limit power, but it also led to periods of legislative gridlock. We are in one of those periods of total gridlock with the current partial shutdown of the federal government. Each of the parties has dug in. The Atlantic noted:. By the letter of the Constitution, and by the unwritten norms of American separation-of-powers governance, the main restraint on an overreaching, dishonest, or incompetent executive is a resolute legislative branch.
Many attribute the rise of intense partisanship in the early 21st century to further erosion of the U. Examples of checks and balances include: The president Executive is commander in chief of the military, but Congress Legislative approves military funds. The president Executive nominates federal officials, but the Senate Legislative confirms those nominations.
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