The United States Congress

What is the Legislative branch?

Branch Comparison House of Representatives Senate Chamber: Lower Upper # of Members: 435 100 Term Length: 2 years 6 years Age Minimum: 25 years old 30 years old Current Leader Kevin McCarthy Charles (Chuck) Schumer History In the House, every state is represented according to its population, with larger states getting more representatives than smaller ones. In total, there are 435 representatives. In contrast, in the Senate, each state, regardless of its population, gets 2 representatives, so there are 100 of them in total. When it comes to debate procedures, since the Senate is smaller, they are less formal there than in the House. In addition, the term-lengths in the House are shorter: two years, in contrast with six years in the Senate. That is why the representatives of the House tend to be more sensitive to the issues that concern the constituents than the senators. One other interesting difference is that in the House, the debates usually can not go for longer than an hour, while in the Senate, they are unlimited. The House and the Senate also have very different powers. For example, all revenue bills originate in the House because, as mentioned above, the representatives are more responsive to the needs of the residents than senators. However, it is the Senate that is responsible for impeachment trials. This happens because this way, each state has equal power over deciding what will happen with the president.