A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a

legislature A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...

. The term

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

(MP) is an equivalent term within a parliamentary system of government.

United States

In referring to an individual lawmaker in their capacity of serving in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washi ...

, a bicameral legislature, the term ''Member of Congress'' is used less often than other terms in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. This is because in the United States the word '' Congress'' is used as a descriptive term for the collective body of legislators, from both houses of its

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single gro ...

federal

: the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

and the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. For this reason, and in order to distinguish who is a member of which house, a member of the Senate is typically referred to as

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

(followed by "name" from "

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * '' Our ...

"), and a member of the House of Representatives is usually referred to as Congressman or Congresswoman (followed by "name" from the "number" district of "state"), or Representative ("name" from the "number" district of "state"). Although senators are members of Congress, they are not normally referred to or addressed as "Congressmen" or "Congresswomen" or "Congresspeople". Members of Congress in both houses are elected by direct popular vote. Senators are elected via a statewide vote and representatives by votes in each

congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

. Congressional districts are apportioned to the states, once every ten years, based on

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using ...

figures from the most recent nationwide census. Each of the 435 members of the House of Representatives is elected to serve a two-year term representing the people of their district. Each state, regardless of its size, has at least one representative. Each of the 100 members of the Senate is elected to serve a six-year term representing the people of their state. Each state, regardless of its size, has two senators. Senatorial terms are

staggered Stagger or staggered may refer to: * Stagger (aeronautics), the horizontal positioning of a plane's wings *Stagger, a motorsport term for the difference in size between right and left tires * ''Stagger'' (EP), by Poppy, 2022 * ''Staggered'' (f ...

, so every two years approximately one-third of the Senate is up for election. Each staggered group of one-third of the senators is called a 'class'. No state has both its senators in the same class.

History of the United States Congress

The United States Congress was created in Article I of the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...

, which laid out the limitations and powers of Congress. Article I grants Congress

legislative power A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...

, lists the

enumerated powers The enumerated powers (also called expressed powers, explicit powers or delegated powers) of the United States Congress are the powers granted to the federal government of the United States by the United States Constitution. Most of these powers ar ...

and allows Congress to make laws that are necessary and proper to carry out the enumerated powers. It specifies the election and composition of the House of Representatives, and the election and composition of the Senate, and the qualifications necessary to serve in each chamber. The Seventeenth Amendment changed how senators were elected. Originally, senators were elected by

state legislatures A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Stat ...

. The Seventeenth Amendment changed this to senators being elected directly by popular vote. Controversy surrounds the question of whether the federal government or any other governmental entity has the right to regulate how many times representatives and senators can hold office.

References

{{United States Congress Government occupations Legislative branch of the United States government Parliamentary titles

United States

History of the United States Congress

See also

References