1. Legislative Branch The First branch of the Federal Government set up by Article I of the Constitution More commonly referred to as the Congress

2. The Legislative Branch make’s the nation’s laws, and it’s members are the human connection between the citizens and the government This branch insures that we will forever be a Representative Democracy

3. The Legislative Branch is bicameral or split into 2 houses the Senate and House of Representatives The House of representatives is the larger of the 2 houses, often referred to as the lower house, it currently has 435 members The Senate is the smaller with only 100 members and is referred to as the upper house

4. The House of Representatives Must be 25 years old Must be a U.S. citizen for 7 years Must live within the state where they are elected Are elected by voters of their district 2 year terms Number of Reps. Is determined by population

5. The Senate Must be 30 years old Must be a U.S. citizen 9 years Must live in state elected Elected to a 6 year term Elected by voters of their state Each state gets 2 Senators

6. Organization Congress hold regular sessions every year beginning on Jan. 3, During a time of Emergency the President can call them back earlier The political party with the most members is called the majority party and the one with fewer members is the minority party The leader of the House is called the Speaker of the House and is usually a member of the majority party The Vice President presides over the Senate and only has a vote in the case of a tie

7. Committees Most work of the Legislative Branch takes place in committees here bills are proposed and debated before they are finally voted on

8. Legislative Branch