What is it?
Article I establishes the legislative branch. Congress is a part of this branch, and is split into two houses: The House of Representatives, and the Senate. The main function of the Legislative branch is to make laws.
The Senate
The senate is made up of 100 people (2 per state). Senators serve 6 year terms. The Vice President is in charge of the senate, and only votes if there is a tie in the senate, and doesn't participate in debates.
If you want to be a senator, you must be:
MInnesota's senators are Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken. They are both part of the Democratic Party. Amy Klobuchar is our senior senator; she has served 1 term and 3 years ( 9 years). Al Franken has served as a senator for 1 full term and 1 year ( 7 years).
If you would like to know a different state's senators go to this link:
http://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/
If you want to be a senator, you must be:
- Over 30 years of age
- A citizen of America for 9 years
- A resident of the state you're elected
MInnesota's senators are Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken. They are both part of the Democratic Party. Amy Klobuchar is our senior senator; she has served 1 term and 3 years ( 9 years). Al Franken has served as a senator for 1 full term and 1 year ( 7 years).
If you would like to know a different state's senators go to this link:
http://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/
The House of Representatives
Representatives serve 2 year terms. The leader of the House of Representatives is called the speaker of the house. The speaker is chosen by the representatives. The speaker regulates debates and controls the agenda. There are 435 representatives for our country and the amount of people per state is based off its population.
If you want to be a representative, you must be:
Some of Minnesota's House Representatives are:
This is the link to find your representative:
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
My representative is Keith Ellison because I live in the district 5 area.
If you want to be a representative, you must be:
- At least 25 years of age
- A citizen of the U.S. For at least 7 years.
- A resident of the state you're elected
Some of Minnesota's House Representatives are:
- District 5: Keith Ellison
- District 3: Eric Paulsen
This is the link to find your representative:
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
My representative is Keith Ellison because I live in the district 5 area.
Congress
There are 8 powers/clauses denied to congress.
Some of these are:
Some of these are:
- No special preferences for trade
- No titles of nobility
- No suspending the writ of Habeas Corpus*, unless in times of rebellion.
Committees
Much of the work done in congress is through committees. Each committee will deal with a specific topic, such as transportation, health, education, etc. Representatives tend to be on specialists and serve on 1 to 2 committees, while senators serve on many committees
The elastic clause
There is a clause known as the "elastic" clause because this clause gives congress the authority to carry out the first 17 laws/clauses and stretch the meaning of its power. This clause is clause 18.