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Frequently Asked Questions

How do you become a Member of Congress?

Members of Congress are elected by the people living in the district they represent. Usually, there are at least two candidates who run for Congress. The candidate who gets a majority of the votes wins.

How many Members of the United States Congress are there?
There are 435 U.S. Representatives and 100 Senators. The amount of Representatives from each state is based on the population of the state. That's why California has over 50 Members and some states only have 1! Each states gets two Senators, no matter how many people live in the state.

What does a member of Congress do?

Congressional Representatives are responsible for representing the people of their District in the United States Congress. Part of this responsibility is writing and voting on bills in the U.S. Congress. We decide whether to vote for or against every bill that comes before Congress. All bills must pass Congress before they can go to the President to be signed into law. We also draft our own bills and work to get the other Representatives to vote for our legislation so that it can become law.

In order to do our job well, we spend a lot of time meeting with people who live in our district and our state to tell them about what is happening in government and to listen to their ideas about how to improve life in our country.

Another important part of my job is to help residents of the District if they have a problem with the federal government.

What is the difference between the House of Representatives and the United States Senate?

The U.S. Congress is made up of two "houses": the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. There are 100 members of the Senate and 435 members of the House. Each state gets two Senators, regardless of how many people live in that state. The number of Representatives each state gets, however, is based on the number of people that live in the state. Senators serve for six year terms. Representatives serve for two year terms. There are also some things that only Members of the House or only members of the Senate can do. For example, only Senators can vote on whether or not to confirm the president's nominees for judgeships.

How does a bill becomes a law?

In the simplest terms, a bill becomes a law after it passes the Senate and the House and the President signs it. For more information about how a bill becomes a law, visit the Library of Congress' guide on how a bill becomes a law. The Clerks office also provides a guide to the legislative processes as it specifically relates to the House of Representatives. The Congressional Research Service has an even more detailed explanation here.