You are viewing this site as a JJC student. Change
Legislative Branch: Exercise 1 - Structure and functions of Congress
Instructions:
Read the passage and click on the correct answer. If wrong, try
again. Scroll down if you do not see the Answer box. Click
here to review the key terms for this exercise.
Congress, the law-making body
of the U.S., is a bicameral legislature. A bicameral legislature
means that the lawmaking power is divided into two houses. The two
houses of Congress are called the Senate and the House
of Representatives. This division encourages debate and negotiation,
which results in more careful lawmaking.
While both houses of Congress are made
up of elected members, there are differences between them. The most
important differences between the Senate and the House of Representatives
are differences in size, length of term in office, and their constituencies
(people they represent):
Size: the Senate has one hundred members –
two senators per state. In the House, the number of representatives
per state depends on the population of each state. In the year
2002, the House of Representatives had 435 members.
Term of office: senators serve a six-year term
and House representatives serve a two-year term.
Constituency: senators represent a whole state,
while House members represent the residents of a particular district
(a geographical area within a state).
Although there are differences between
the two houses of Congress, both houses are equal partners when it
comes to performing the functions of Congress. These functions are
carried out in both houses through various committees (groups charged
with a specific responsibility). The primary functions of Congress
are: legislative (lawmaking), representational (serving
the needs of their constituencies and of the whole nation), and oversight
(supervising the activities of the executive branch).
Instructions:
Read the passage and click on the correct answer. If wrong, try
again. Scroll down if you do not see the Answer box. 
