"Here, Sir, the people govern," is what one of our founding fathers told a European visitor shortly after the Constitution was written. In America, all political authority is held by the 300 million citizens of our country. We delegate that power each November to elected officials who make decisions on our behalf. Those officials range from the President of the United States to township supervisors. As your Congressman, I'm one of those elected officials.

After two-and-a-quarter centuries, our system of government has grown so large that few people can understand its complexities. Each Pennsylvanian is represented by federal, state, and local governments that have very different responsibilities. Together, the agencies of these governments spend trillions of dollars each year and employ millions of people. I've created this section of my web site to help you understand how your government works.