What Are Some Interesting Facts About the Legislative Branch?
Along with the judicial and executive branches, the legislative branch is part of the federal government of the United States. The legislative branch is home to two similar but distinctly different groups: the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
The House of Representative features 435 total representatives. While there are members of Congress from every state, the number of congressmen a state receives is dependant upon the population of the state. For example, because California has a larger population than North Carolina, California has 53 representatives, while North Carolina has 13. A member of Congress is elected for a period of two years. To run for Congress, a person must be at least 25 years old and must have been a citizen of the United States for seven years.
Each state is allowed two senators in the U.S. Senate. Senators serve terms of six years but may run for re-election as many times as they’d like. A senator must be at least 30 years old and must have been a citizen of the United States for at least nine years. In order for a bill to become a law, it goes through the legislative process, which means that both Congress and the Senate debate and approve it.
