Congress is the national legislature created by Article I of the Constitution. It writes federal laws, controls federal spending, raises revenue, oversees the executive branch, confirms or rejects certain presidential actions through the Senate, and represents people through two different chambers.

The House and Senate are not duplicates. The House is larger, faster-moving, and tied closely to population through districts. The Senate is smaller, slower-moving, and gives every state two senators. Most federal laws need both chambers to pass the exact same text.

A federal law usually begins as an idea, complaint, campaign promise, agency problem, court decision, or budget need. A member introduces bill text, committees review it, the chamber debates and votes, the other chamber repeats the process, and both chambers must agree on the same final text before the President acts.

The visible vote is only part of the story. Committee jurisdiction, floor rules, amendment limits, scheduling, cloture, reconciliation, and conference negotiations often determine whether a bill moves and what it says by the end.

Congress does much of its work outside the final floor vote. Committees write and revise legislation, hold hearings, issue reports, investigate agencies, question officials, and gather information. Congress also uses its powers over taxes, spending, commerce, war, impeachment, confirmations, and oversight to shape the rest of the federal government.

The best Congress pages help visitors move from explanation to verification. Use official records to find bill text, committee reports, roll-call votes, hearing materials, floor debates, and member information.