United States Congress

{{Infobox legislature | name              = United States Congress | legislature       = 124th United States Congress | coa_pic           = Seal of the United States Congress.svg | house_type        = Bicameral | houses            = Senate House of Representatives | foundation        = March 4th, 1789 | preceded_by       = Congress of the Confederation | new_session       = October 2, 2020 | leader1_type      = President of the Senate | leader1           = TopProspect17 | party1            = (I) | election1         = August 24, 2020 | leader2_type      = Speaker of the House | leader2           = Nazbol909 | party2            = (D) | election2         = October 28, 2020 | leader3_type      = President pro tempore of the Senate | leader3           = KellinQuinn__ | party3            = (D) | election3         = June 17th, 2020 | members           = 47 voting members | house1            = Senate | house2            = House of Representatives | structure1        = SenateAfterAdithDefection.svg | structure1_res    = 240px | structure2        = October2020HouseRepresentatives.svg.svg | structure2_res    = 240px | political_groups1 = {{Unbulleted list|class=nowrap | {{nowrap|{{Color box|#1d79e4|border=black}} Democrat (5)}} | {{nowrap|{{Color box|#9a23ff|border=black}} Civics (3)}} | {{nowrap|{{Color box|{{Republican Party (US)/meta/color}}|border=black}} Republican (2)}} }} | political_groups2 =  {{Unbulleted list|class=nowrap |{{nowrap|{{Color box|1d79e4|border=black}} Democratic (19)}} |{{nowrap|{{Color box|9a23ff}} Civics (11)}} |{{nowrap|{{Color box|{{Republican Party (US)/meta/color}}|border=black}} Republican (7)}} }} | committeess1      = | committees2       = | joint_committees  = | voting_system1    = | voting_system2    = | last_election2    = October 1, 2020 | last_election1    = October 1, 2020 | next_election2    = January 19, 2021 | next_election1    = January 19, 2021 | session_room      = United States Capitol west front edit2.jpg | session_res       = 240px | meeting_place     = United States Capitol  Washington, D.C. United States of America | website           = https://www.congress.gov | constitution      = United States Constitution }}
 * 10 senators
 * 37 representatives

The United States Congress or U.S. Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States and consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Both senators and representatives are chosen through  Direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a governor's appointment. Congress has 47 voting members: 10 senators and 37 representatives, the latter defined by the Reapportionment Act of 1929.

The sitting of a congress is for a two-year term, at present beginning every other January; the current congress is the 116th. Elections are held every even-numbered year on Election Day. The members of the House of Representatives are elected for the two-year term of a congress representing the people of a single constituency, known as a district. Congressional districts are apportioned to states by population using the United States Census results, provided that each state has at least one congressional representative. Each state, regardless of population or size, has two senators. Currently, there are 100 senators representing the 50 states. Each senator is elected at-large in their state for a six-year term, with terms staggered, so every two years approximately one-third of the Senate is up for election.

Article One of the United States Constitution requires that members of Congress must be at least 25 years old (House) or 30 years old (Senate), have been a citizen of the United States for seven (House) or nine (Senate) years, and be an inhabitant of the state which they represent. Members in both chambers may stand for re-election an unlimited number of times.

The Congress was created by the Constitution of the United States and first met in 1789, replacing in its legislative function the Congress of the Confederation. Although not legally mandated, in practice since the 19th century, Congress members are typically affiliated with one of the two major parties, the Republican Party or the Democratic Party and only rarely with a third party or independents.