The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House consists of 435 members, each of whom represents a congressional district and serves for a two-year term. Seats in the House are apportioned among the states on the basis of population; by contrast, each state is represented in the Senate by two members, regardless of population. There are a total of 100 Senators, who serve six-year terms. The United States Constitution vests all the legislative powers of the federal government in the Congress. The powers of Congress are limited to those expressly enumerated in the Constitution; all other powers are reserved to the states and the people, except where the Constitution provides otherwise. Significant powers of Congress include the authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, to levy taxes, to establish federal courts inferior to the Supreme Court, and to declare war. The Senate is fully equal to the House of Representatives, and not a mere "chamber of review," as is the case with the upper houses of the bicameral legislatures of many other nations.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_the_United_States

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1485: The Battle of Bosworth Field decisively ended the Wars of the Roses. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bosworth_Field)

1851: The first America's Cup was won by the yacht America. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America%27s_Cup)

1864: Twelve European nations signed the First Geneva Convention, which marked the beginning of the Red Cross movement led by Henry Dunant. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Geneva_Convention)

1911: The theft of the Mona Lisa was discovered. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_Lisa)

1989: Nolan Ryan struck out Rickey Henderson, becoming the first major league baseball pitcher to record 5000 strikeouts. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nolan_Ryan)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"By a free country, I mean a country where people are allowed, so long as they do not hurt their neighbours, to do as they like. I do not mean a country where six men may make five men do exactly as they like." -- Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Lord Salisbury (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Gascoyne-Cecil%2C_3rd_Marquess_of_Salisb...)