Know Your Government
How Congress works
Article I of the Constitution gives the power to make federal law to Congress: a Senate, in which every state has two votes, and a House of Representatives, in which seats follow population. Who sits there now is on the profile grid and the partisan map.
What Congress does
All federal legislative power belongs to Congress (Article I, Section 1). Section 8 lists its powers: among them to tax and spend, to borrow, to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the states and with Indian tribes, to declare war, and to raise and support the armed forces. No money may be spent from the Treasury unless Congress has appropriated it (Section 9), which gives Congress control over how much each agency may spend.
A bill becomes law when both chambers pass it in the same words and the president signs it, or does not return it within ten days (Sundays excepted) while Congress is in session. If the president vetoes it, Congress can override the veto by a two-thirds vote in each chamber (Section 7). The steps in between.
Congress also oversees how the laws are carried out, through hearings, investigations and reports, and it can remove federal officers: the House impeaches, by a simple majority in practice, and the Senate tries the case, where conviction takes two-thirds of the senators present (Article I, Sections 2 and 3; Article II, Section 4).
Sources: U.S. Constitution, Article I; U.S. Constitution, Article II
How a bill becomes law
A bill can start in either chamber, except that a bill for raising revenue must start in the House (Article I, Section 7). It passes one chamber and then the other, and becomes law only once both have passed it in the same words and the president has signed it, let it stand or been overridden:
In the House
- IntroducedA representative introduces it, or it arrives having passed the Senate.
- CommitteeIt is referred to a committee, which can hold hearings and mark it up: debate, amend and rewrite it. A bill the committee does not report usually goes no further.
- On the House floorFor most major bills the Rules Committee proposes a special rule, setting the terms of debate and which amendments may be offered, which the House adopts before taking up the bill. The bill passes by a simple majority.
In the Senate
- IntroducedA senator introduces it, or it arrives having passed the House.
- CommitteeIt is generally referred to the committee with jurisdiction over most of its subject, which can hold hearings and mark it up. A bill the committee does not report usually goes no further.
- On the Senate floorDebate has no time limit unless the Senate sets one, so opponents can hold a bill up by debating it at length or by other delays: a filibuster. Ending debate, called cloture, takes three-fifths of the senators duly chosen and sworn, 60 when every seat is filled. Most business moves instead by unanimous consent: an agreement setting aside the rules to speed things up, which any one senator can block by objecting. The bill passes by a simple majority.
- Both chambers pass the same textThe second chamber may amend what the first passed. Where their versions differ, a conference committee of members of both may work out a compromise, which goes back to each for a vote. Only a bill both have passed in the same words goes to the president.
- The presidentHas ten days, Sundays excepted, from when the bill is presented, to act on it.
What the president's answer makes of it
- Signs itApproves the bill and signs it.It is law
- Does not sign or return itTen days pass, Sundays excepted, while Congress can receive it back.It is law, as if signed
- Does not sign it, and Congress adjournsCongress's adjournment prevents its return within the ten days: a pocket veto, which Congress cannot override.It is not law
- Vetoes itReturns it, with the president's objections, to the chamber where it started.OverrideTwo-thirds of that chamber, and then two-thirds of the other, vote to pass it again. Short of that in either, it is not law.It is law
The exception: budget reconciliation
One kind of bill cannot be filibustered. Under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, a reconciliation bill changes existing law to bring taxes and spending in line with a budget resolution Congress has adopted, and the Senate's debate on it is limited to 20 hours (2 U.S.C. 641), so it can pass by a simple majority. Since the 2010s, the Senate has also ended debate on nominations by a simple majority.
Sources, checked on : U.S. Constitution, Article I; U.S. House of Representatives: The Legislative Process; House Committee on Rules: About; U.S. Senate: Glossary; U.S. Senate: Filibuster and Cloture; 2 U.S.C. 641 (budget reconciliation)
The Senate
The Senate has 100 members, two from each state, elected by the state's voters (Seventeenth Amendment) to six-year terms. The terms are staggered, so about a third of the seats are up every two years. The Senate's seats by the year each is next decided.
The Senate alone gives or withholds its advice and consent (Article II, Section 2): a treaty needs two-thirds of the senators present, and the president's nominations of ambassadors, judges, cabinet secretaries and other officers need its consent, which it gives by a simple majority. It also tries impeachments.
Who runs it
- President of the Senate
- The vice president of the United States, who may preside and votes only to break a tie (Article I, Section 3).
- President pro tempore
- Elected by the Senate to preside when the vice president is absent; by custom, the longest-serving senator of the majority party. Third in the line of presidential succession, after the vice president and the Speaker of the House (3 U.S.C. 19).
- Majority leader
- Chosen by the majority party's senators. By the Senate's precedents the presiding officer recognizes the majority leader first, which lets the leader decide what the Senate takes up and when, move to end debate (cloture), and negotiate the unanimous-consent agreements under which most of its business is done: agreements that set the terms of debate, and that any one senator can block by objecting.
- Minority leader
- Chosen by the minority party's senators to lead their side in debate and in negotiation with the majority.
- Whips
- Each party's assistant leader, who counts votes and keeps senators informed of what is coming.
- Committee chairs and ranking members
- The majority party chairs every committee and controls its agenda: hearings, investigations, markups of bills and, in the Senate, confirmation hearings for nominees. The senior member of the minority is the ranking member. Who holds each post now.
Who holds these posts now
- Chuck Grassley R-IA President Pro Tempore of the Senate
- John Thune R-SD Senate Majority Leader
- Chuck Schumer D-NY Senate Minority Leader
- John Barrasso R-WY Senate Majority Whip
- Richard Durbin D-IL Senate Minority Whip
- Tim Scott R-SC Republican Senatorial Committee Chair
- Christopher Murphy D-CT Senate Democratic Conference Deputy Secretary
- Brian Schatz D-HI Senate Democratic Conference Deputy Secretary
- Tammy Baldwin D-WI Senate Democratic Conference Secretary
- Mark Warner D-VA Senate Democratic Conference Vice Chair
- Elizabeth Warren D-MA Senate Democratic Conference Vice Chair
- Bernie Sanders I-VT Senate Democratic Outreach Chair
- Catherine Cortez Masto D-NV Senate Democratic Outreach Vice Chair
- Amy Klobuchar D-MN Senate Democratic Steering Committee Chair
- Cory Booker D-NJ Senate Democratic Strategic Communications Committee Chair
- Tom Cotton R-AR Senate Republican Conference Chair
- James Lankford R-OK Senate Republican Conference Vice Chair
- Shelley Capito R-WV Senate Republican Policy Committee Chair
From the congress-legislators project’s record of each member’s leadership posts.
The vice president, the Senate's president, is on the federal government's page.
Officers who are not senators
- Secretary of the Senate
- Elected by the Senate. Keeps its journal and records, receives its bills, and manages its finances and payroll.
- Sergeant at Arms
- The Senate's chief law enforcement and protocol officer: keeps order, oversees security with the Capitol Police, and can be directed to compel absent senators to attend.
- Parliamentarian
- Advises the presiding officer, without regard to party, on the Senate's rules and precedents, including what a budget reconciliation bill may contain under the Congressional Budget Act.
- Legal and legislative counsel
- The Office of Senate Legal Counsel represents the Senate in court; the Office of the Legislative Counsel drafts bills and amendments for senators.
See it on this site: The senators sitting nowThe Senate races on the ballot
Sources: U.S. Constitution, Article I; U.S. Constitution, Article II; U.S. Constitution, Seventeenth Amendment; 3 U.S.C. 19 (presidential succession); U.S. Senate: Leadership & Officers; U.S. Senate: About the President Pro Tempore; U.S. Senate: Floor Leaders Receive Priority Recognition; U.S. Senate: Officers & Staff; congress-legislators: members, committee rosters and leadership posts
The House of Representatives
The House has 435 voting members, each elected from a district to a two-year term. Seats are divided among the states by population after each census, and every state has at least one (Article I, Section 2; how districts are drawn). Since every term ends together, all 435 voting seats are on the ballot every two years. Six more members can serve and vote on committees but not on the House floor: delegates from the District of Columbia, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico's resident commissioner, who serves four years. Each state's districts.
Bills for raising revenue must start in the House (Article I, Section 7), and the House alone can impeach (Article I, Section 2).
Who runs it
- Speaker
- Elected by the whole House, and in practice the leader of its majority. Presides and refers bills to committees, and through the majority's control of the Rules Committee, which sets the terms of debate for most major bills, largely decides what reaches the floor. Second in the line of presidential succession (3 U.S.C. 19).
- Majority and minority leaders
- Chosen by each party. The majority leader schedules the House's business with the Speaker; the minority leader leads the other side.
- Whips
- Count and gather votes for each party's position.
- Committee chairs and ranking members
- As in the Senate, the majority chairs every committee and the ranking member leads the minority's side. Who holds each post now.
Who holds these posts now
- Mike Johnson R-LA Speaker of the House
- Steve Scalise R-LA House Majority Leader
- Hakeem Jeffries D-NY House Minority Leader
- Tom Emmer R-MN House Majority Whip
- Katherine Clark D-MA House Minority Whip
- Joe Neguse D-CO Assistant House Minority Leader
- Pete Aguilar D-CA House Democratic Caucus Chair
- Ted Lieu D-CA House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair
- Lisa McClain R-MI House Republican Conference Chair
- Kevin Hern R-OK House Republican Policy Committee Chair
From the congress-legislators project’s record of each member’s leadership posts.
Officers who are not members
- Clerk
- Keeps the House's records, receives and certifies its bills, and publishes its roll-call votes.
- Sergeant at Arms
- Keeps order on the floor under the Speaker's direction and oversees security with the Capitol Police.
- Chief Administrative Officer
- Runs the House's finances, payroll, technology and purchasing.
- Parliamentarian
- Advises, without regard to party, on the House's rules and precedents, including whether an amendment is germane: on the subject of the bill.
- Chaplain
- Opens each day's session with a prayer and offers pastoral care.
See it on this site: The representatives sitting nowEvery state's districts, on a map
Sources: U.S. Constitution, Article I; 3 U.S.C. 19 (presidential succession); U.S. House of Representatives: The House Explained; U.S. House of Representatives: Leadership; U.S. House of Representatives: Officers and Organizations; Office of the Clerk, U.S. House: Roll Call Votes; congress-legislators: members, committee rosters and leadership posts
How House districts are drawn
After each census the 435 seats are shared out again among the states. The president sends Congress each state's population and the number of seats it would get under the method of equal proportions, at least one each, and the Clerk of the House certifies each state's number to its governor (2 U.S.C. 2a). A state with more than one seat elects its representatives from districts established by law, one representative to a district (2 U.S.C. 2c).
Each state decides who draws its districts: in most a legislature passes the map as a law, in some a commission or a court draws it. Each map that changed for 2026 (below) says on its district page who drew it.
Federal law limits every map. Districts must be equal in population as nearly as is practicable (Wesberry v. Sanders, 1964), and so must the districts of both chambers of a state legislature (Reynolds v. Sims, 1964). Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act forbids any voting practice, a map among them, that results in denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race (52 U.S.C. 10301). In Louisiana v. Callais, decided on April 29, 2026, the Supreme Court held 6-3 that Louisiana's 2024 map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander because section 2 did not require its second majority-Black district, and read section 2 to impose liability only where the evidence supports a strong inference that a state drew its districts to give minority voters less opportunity because of their race. The Court had held in 2019 that claims of partisan gerrymandering cannot be decided by the federal courts (Rucho v. Common Cause); state constitutions and statutes can still give state courts standards to apply.
The maps that changed for 2026
A map usually lasts until the next census, but a state can redraw sooner, and these did for the 2026 election. Each links its districts before and after:
- Alabama: 2023 legislative plan — drawn by the Legislature in 2023 (Act 2023-563).
- California: Proposition 50 map — drawn by the Legislature as AB 604, approved by voters as Proposition 50 on November 4, 2025.
- Florida: 2026 map (HB 1-D) — drawn by the Legislature as HB 1-D in Special Session D, approved by the Governor on May 4, 2026.
- Louisiana: 2026 map (Act 2) — drawn by the Legislature as SB 121, signed May 29, 2026.
- North Carolina: 2025 map (S.L. 2025-95) — drawn by the General Assembly as Session Law 2025-95, ratified October 22, 2025.
- Ohio: 2025 commission map — drawn by the Ohio Redistricting Commission, on October 31, 2025.
- Tennessee: 2026 map (Public Chapter 3) — drawn by the General Assembly as HB 7003, in May 2026.
- Texas: 2025 map (Plan C2333) — drawn by the Legislature as HB 4 in its second called session of 2025.
- Utah: Court-ordered map — drawn by the Third District Court of Utah, on November 10, 2025.
Missouri's 2025 map is not among them. Enough voters signed a referendum petition against it that, as Missouri's Supreme Court held on September 3, 2026, it does not take effect unless voters approve it in the 2026 election. On September 25 the U.S. Supreme Court told the federal courts not to bar the 2022 map from Missouri's 2026 congressional election, or to require the 2025 one (People Not Politicians v. Onder).
See it on this site: Every state's district map
Sources: 2 U.S.C. 2a (apportionment of representatives); 2 U.S.C. 2c (single-member districts); Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 (1964); Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964); 52 U.S.C. 10301 (Voting Rights Act, section 2); Louisiana v. Callais, 608 U.S. 85 (2026); Rucho v. Common Cause, 588 U.S. 684 (2019); People Not Politicians v. Onder, No. 26A388 (order of Sept. 25, 2026)
Committees, and who leads them now
Most of Congress's work is done in committees. Standing committees are permanent and each covers a set of subjects; select and special committees are created for a particular purpose; joint committees have members from both chambers. A committee holds hearings, investigates, and “marks up” bills, revising them before the full chamber votes.
House committees 23
One of these committees’ rosters gives no member of the minority a leading title, so no minority lead is shown for it.
Senate committees 20
Joint committees 4
3 of these committees’ rosters give no member of the minority a leading title, so no minority lead is shown for them.
| Committee | Chair | Minority lead |
|---|---|---|
| Joint Economic Committee | David Schweikert R-AZ | Maggie Hassan D-NH |
| Joint Committee of Congress on the Library | Bryan Steil R-WI | No minority lead named in the rosters |
| Joint Committee on Printing | Mitch McConnell R-KY | No minority lead named in the rosters |
| Joint Committee on Taxation | Mike Crapo R-ID | No minority lead named in the rosters |
Caucuses and commissions 2
One of these bodies’ rosters gives no member of the minority a leading title, so no minority lead is shown for it.
| Committee | Chair | Minority lead |
|---|---|---|
| Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe | Roger Wicker R-MS Cochairman | No minority lead named in the rosters |
| United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control | John Cornyn R-TX | Sheldon Whitehouse D-RI Co-Chair |
Each name opens that member's profile. The posts come from the committee rosters kept by the congress-legislators project, the same source as every profile's committee list. The Senate and the House each list their party leaders: Senate leadership, House leadership.
See it on this site: Each member's committees, in their profile
Sources: Congress.gov: Committees of the U.S. Congress; congress-legislators: members, committee rosters and leadership posts; U.S. Senate: Leadership & Officers; U.S. House of Representatives: Leadership
Reaching your members
Everyone in a state has one representative, for the district they live in, and two senators. The District of Columbia and each territory elect one delegate, or Puerto Rico's resident commissioner, and no senators. Find who represents you by ZIP code or location, by state or on the partisan map: each member's profile here gives their office's phone number and address and their official website, as the congress-legislators project records them, and a contact form: the one that record lists, which for senators it mostly does, or else the contact page their official website links, opened and seen to hold a form. Each sitting member's card links the same form or, where there is none, the phone number of one of their offices. The House and the Senate list their members too.
Members' offices also help the people they represent with federal agencies, work called casework. Staff can ask an agency to look at a case and move it through its normal steps, but cannot make it decide in the constituent's favor. An agency generally will not discuss a person's records with the office without that person's signed consent, under the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a).
See it on this site: Your state's members of Congress
Sources, checked on : U.S. House of Representatives: Find your representative; U.S. Senate: Contacting U.S. senators; congress-legislators: members, committee rosters and leadership posts; Congressional Research Service, Casework in a Congressional Office (RL33209); 5 U.S.C. 552a (Privacy Act)
Congress's own agencies
- Government Accountability Office
- Audits and investigates how federal agencies spend money and run programs, mostly at Congress's request. It is led by the Comptroller General, appointed by the president with the Senate's consent to a 15-year term (31 U.S.C. 703).
- Congressional Budget Office
- Produces nonpartisan budget and economic projections and estimates what bills would cost, known as scores.
- Congressional Research Service
- Part of the Library of Congress. Provides confidential, nonpartisan research and analysis to members and committees.
- Architect of the Capitol
- Maintains and preserves the Capitol and the buildings and grounds around it.
Sources: 31 U.S.C. 703 (Comptroller General); Government Accountability Office: About; Congressional Budget Office: Overview; 2 U.S.C. 166 (Congressional Research Service); Architect of the Capitol: About