United States Congress

The United States Congress, officially the Congress of the United States and also the Federal Legislature of the United States, is the federal legislature of the Union of eighteen North Aegean States known as the United States of North Aegea. The Congress is bicameral, consisting of a State-appointed Senate, and a directly-elected House of Representatives. The United States in Congress assembled meet in the United States Capitol in New Adana: the Senate in the north wing, and the House of Representatives in the south wing.

In the Congress, Senators are not elected, but are members of their State's Government, essentially their State Government's minister-plenipotentiary who may commit the Government of their State and cast its Vote; while, on the other hand, Representatives are elected in each State by the People thereof, and represent their constituents: For this reason, the Senate is also known as the House of the States, whereas the House of Representatives is often called the House of the People.

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Other names for the Federal Legislature include, "[The] United States in Congress assembled"; "Congress of the Confederation", "Congress of the Confederacy", and "Confederation Congress"; as well as "Congress of the Union" and "Union Congress".

Overview
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Etymology
In political science, the term congress is held to mean a formal meeting between the representatives of different States, or other entities such as subnational political subdivisions, federated states, or even independent organizations (such as trade unions).

The term was chosen for the Federal Legislature of the United States to emphasize the status of each member State composing the United States, represented in the Federal Legislature, as a sovereign self-governing political community (State). In this sense, the term, "United States" in the name "Congress of the United States" refers not to the United States as a single entity or a confederation, but as the federal union of the eighteen member States, and in this way, "[the] United States", is to be understood to mean "[the] eighteen States united": The meaning behind the name, "Congress of the United States", is that the body, the Congress, is a meeting or assembly ("Congress") of the [eighteen] States. The same concept applies to the term, "United States in Congress assembled": substitute "eighteen" for "United" and the true meaning becomes clear, e.g., "eighteen States in Congress assembled".

Other names for the Congress are, "Federal Legislature of the United States", "Congress of the Confederation", and "United States in Congress assembled"; however, the first two names are occasionally shortened to "Federal Legislature" and "Confederation Congress", respectively. In addition, the term, "United States in Congress assembled" is considered the most formal, but unofficial, and both "Federal Legislature of the United States" and "Congress of the United States" are co-official and equally interchangeable names for the Congress; whereas, "Congress of the Confederation" is unofficial and informal.

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History
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Congress in the United States general government
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State influence in Congress
The State Chief Executives and Legislatures regularly encourage Members of Congress how to vote on specific issues. Specifically, they "instruct" the Senators, and "request" of the Representatives : Senators are required to cast their Vote according to instructions given to them by their State's chief Executive or Legislature (or when the instructions given by the chief Executive differs from those given by the Legislature, they are bound to follow the former and disregard the latter), while Representatives are not bound to abide by the request of their State's chief Executive or Legislature; and on rare occasions, a Senator will choose to resign rather than follow instructions.

Powers of Congress
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Overview of congressional power
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Enumerated powers
 Matters of Federal competence Powers expressly delegated to the United States  The Congress shall have Power: To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, Necessary to pay the Debts, provide for the common Defense and provide for Matters that come within the Classes of Subjects on which, by express words of this Constitution alone, competence is expressly and intentionally delegated to the United States: But all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the several States; To borrow Money on the credit of the United States; To specify rules to govern the Manner by which people may exchange or trade goods from one State to another, to remove obstructions to interstate trade erected by States, and to both regulate and restrict the flow of goods to and from foreign States for the purpose of promoting the interstate economy and foreign trade; but only insofar as shall be expressly Necessary and Proper to ensure the free flow of Goods, Services, Capital, and Labor between the different States, and to regulate the commerce and trade with foreign States, which shall be carried into effect by the States respectively: Provided always, that all such rules adopted pursuant to this paragraph shall be binding on each State and shall have direct effect in the Courts of each of them, that is to say self-executing; To establish throughout the several States an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and in like Manner uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies; To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures; To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States; To establish Post Offices and post Roads;</li> To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;</li> To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;</li> To establish throughout the several States uniform Rules for the organizing, arming, and disciplining, of the Militaries and Militia of the respective States; but no such Rules shall have any effect in any State until they shall have been adopted and enacted as Law by the Legislature thereof;</li> To organize the Government of the United States;—And</li> To provide for revising, digesting, and publishing the Laws of the United States, and a like revision, digest, and Publication shall be made every two Years thereafter.</li></ol></li> The Senate, exclusive of the House of Representatives, shall have Power: To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;</li> To constitute Tribunals inferior to the federal Court;</li> To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of Particular States, and the Acceptance of the Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States;—And</li> To make all Laws which shall be absolutely necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the Powers expressly enumerated in subsections (A) and (B) of this section, and all other Powers that are, by express words of this Constitution, expressly vested in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof: Provided always, that no such Law enacted under this part shall in any way work an abridgment, pre-emption or other such infringement upon the Powers or other competence of the States that are expressly enumerated in article III, section 1 of this Constitution or other Powers and competence reserved to the States respectively.</li></ol></li> </ol> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu. In enim justo, rhoncus ut, imperdiet a, venenatis vitae, justo. Nullam dictum felis eu pede mollis pretium. Integer tincidunt. Cras dapibus. Vivamus elementum semper nisi. Aenean vulputate eleifend tellus. Aenean leo ligula, porttitor eu, consequat vitae, eleifend ac, enim. Aliquam lorem ante, dapibus in, viverra quis, feugiat a, tellus. Phasellus viverra nulla ut metus varius laoreet. Quisque rutrum. Aenean imperdiet. Etiam ultricies nisi vel augue. Curabitur ullamcorper ultricies nisi. Nam eget dui.

Etiam rhoncus. Maecenas tempus, tellus eget condimentum rhoncus, sem quam semper libero, sit amet adipiscing sem neque sed ipsum. Nam quam nunc, blandit vel, luctus pulvinar, hendrerit id, lorem. Maecenas nec odio et ante tincidunt tempus. Donec vitae sapien ut libero venenatis faucibus. Nullam quis ante. Etiam sit amet orci eget eros faucibus tincidunt. Duis leo. Sed fringilla mauris sit amet nibh. Donec sodales sagittis magna. Sed consequat, leo eget bibendum sodales, augue velit cursus nunc, quis gravida magna mi a libero. Fusce vulputate eleifend sapien. Vestibulum purus quam, scelerisque ut, mollis sed, nonummy id, metus. Nullam accumsan lorem in dui. Cras ultricies mi eu turpis hendrerit fringilla. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; In ac dui quis mi consectetuer lacinia.

Nam pretium turpis et arcu. Duis arcu tortor, suscipit eget, imperdiet nec, imperdiet iaculis, ipsum. Sed aliquam ultrices mauris. Integer ante arcu, accumsan a, consectetuer eget, posuere ut, mauris. Praesent adipiscing. Phasellus ullamcorper ipsum rutrum nunc. Nunc nonummy metus. Vestibulum volutpat pretium libero. Cras id dui. Aenean ut eros et nisl sagittis vestibulum. Nullam nulla eros, ultricies sit amet, nonummy id, imperdiet feugiat, pede. Sed lectus. Donec mollis hendrerit risus. Phasellus nec sem in justo pellentesque facilisis. Etiam imperdiet imperdiet orci. Nunc nec neque. Phasellus leo dolor, tempus non, auctor et, hendrerit quis, nisi.

Curabitur ligula sapien, tincidunt non, euismod vitae, posuere imperdiet, leo. Maecenas malesuada. Praesent congue erat at massa. Sed cursus turpis vitae tortor. Donec posuere vulputate arcu. Phasellus accumsan cursus velit. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Sed aliquam, nisi quis porttitor congue, elit erat euismod orci, ac placerat dolor lectus quis orci. Phasellus consectetuer vestibulum elit. Aenean tellus metus, bibendum sed, posuere ac, mattis non, nunc. Vestibulum fringilla pede sit amet augue. In turpis. Pellentesque posuere. Praesent turpis.

Aenean posuere, tortor sed cursus feugiat, nunc augue blandit nunc, eu sollicitudin urna dolor sagittis lacus. Donec elit libero, sodales nec, volutpat a, suscipit non, turpis. Nullam sagittis. Suspendisse pulvinar, augue ac venenatis condimentum, sem libero volutpat nibh, nec pellentesque velit pede quis nunc. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Fusce id purus. Ut varius tincidunt libero. Phasellus dolor. Maecenas vestibulum mollis diam. Pellentesque ut neque. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas.

In dui magna, posuere eget, vestibulum et, tempor auctor, justo. In ac felis quis tortor malesuada pretium. Pellentesque auctor neque nec urna. Proin sapien ipsum, porta a, auctor quis, euismod ut, mi. Aenean viverra rhoncus pede. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Ut non enim eleifend felis pretium feugiat. Vivamus quis mi. Phasellus a est. Phasellus magna.

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Morbi nec metus. Phasellus blandit leo ut odio. Maecenas ullamcorper, dui et placerat feugiat, eros pede varius nisi, condimentum viverra felis nunc et lorem. Sed magna purus, fermentum eu, tincidunt eu, varius ut, felis. In auctor lobortis lacus. Quisque libero metus, condimentum nec, tempor a, commodo mollis, magna. Vestibulum ullamcorper mauris at ligula. Fusce fermentum. Nullam cursus lacinia erat. Praesent blandit laoreet nibh.

Fusce convallis metus id felis luctus adipiscing. Pellentesque egestas, neque sit amet convallis pulvinar, justo nulla eleifend augue, ac auctor orci leo non est. Quisque id mi. Ut tincidunt tincidunt erat. Etiam feugiat lorem non metus. Vestibulum dapibus nunc ac augue. Curabitur vestibulum aliquam leo. Praesent egestas neque eu enim. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Fusce a quam. Etiam ut purus mattis mauris sodales aliquam. Curabitur nisi. Quisque malesuada placerat nisl. Nam ipsum risus, rutrum vitae, vestibulum eu, molestie vel, lacus.

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Mauris turpis nunc, blandit et, volutpat molestie, porta ut, ligula. Fusce pharetra convallis urna. Quisque ut nisi. Donec mi odio, faucibus at, scelerisque quis, convallis in, nisi. Suspendisse non nisl sit amet velit hendrerit rutrum. Ut leo. Ut a nisl id ante tempus hendrerit. Proin pretium, leo ac pellentesque mollis, felis nunc ultrices eros, sed gravida augue augue mollis justo. Suspendisse eu ligula. Nulla facilisi. Donec id justo. Praesent porttitor, nulla vitae posuere iaculis, arcu nisl dignissim dolor, a pretium mi sem ut ipsum. Curabitur suscipit suscipit tellus.

Praesent vestibulum dapibus nibh. Etiam iaculis nunc ac metus. Ut id nisl quis enim dignissim sagittis. Etiam sollicitudin, ipsum eu pulvinar rutrum, tellus ipsum laoreet sapien, quis venenatis ante odio sit amet eros. Proin magna. Duis vel nibh at velit scelerisque suscipit. Curabitur turpis. Vestibulum suscipit nulla quis orci. Fusce ac felis sit amet ligula pharetra condimentum. Maecenas egestas arcu quis ligula mattis placerat. Duis lobortis massa imperdiet quam. Suspendisse potenti.

Pellentesque commodo eros a enim. Vestibulum turpis sem, aliquet eget, lobortis pellentesque, rutrum eu, nisl. Sed libero. Aliquam erat volutpat. Etiam vitae tortor. Morbi vestibulum volutpat enim. Aliquam eu nunc. Nunc sed turpis. Sed mollis, eros et ultrices tempus, mauris ipsum aliquam libero, non adipiscing dolor urna a orci. Nulla porta dolor. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos hymenaeos.

Pellentesque dapibus hendrerit tortor. Praesent egestas tristique nibh. Sed a libero. Cras varius. Donec vitae orci sed dolor rutrum auctor. Fusce egestas elit eget lorem. Suspendisse nisl elit, rhoncus eget, elementum ac, condimentum eget, diam. Nam at tortor in tellus interdum sagittis. Aliquam lobortis. Donec orci lectus, aliquam ut, faucibus non, euismod id, nulla. Curabitur blandit mollis lacus. Nam adipiscing. Vestibulum eu odio.

Vivamus laoreet. Nullam tincidunt adipiscing enim. Phasellus tempus. Proin viverra, ligula sit amet ultrices semper, ligula arcu tristique sapien, a accumsan nisi mauris ac eros. Fusce neque. Suspendisse faucibus, nunc et pellentesque egestas, lacus ante convallis tellus, vitae iaculis lacus elit id tortor. Vivamus aliquet elit ac nisl. Fusce fermentum odio nec arcu. Vivamus euismod mauris. In ut quam vitae odio lacinia tincidunt. Praesent ut ligula non mi varius sagittis. Cras sagittis. Praesent ac sem eget est egestas volutpat. Vivamus consectetuer hendrerit lacus. Cras non dolor. Vivamus in erat ut urna cursus vestibulum. Fusce commodo aliquam arcu. Nam commodo suscipit quam. Quisque id odio. Praesent venenatis metus at tortor pulvinar varius.

Checks and balances
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Senate
The Senate represents the governments of the respective States, and its members, called Senators, are members of their State's government, and are appointed in each State by the Executive Authority thereof, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Legislature of the same. Senators are serve at the pleasure of the State's Executive Authority (e.g., the State Governor in every State but Hawaiʻi; King in the case of Hawaiʻi).

The presiding officer of the Senate is their President, who is elected from within their membership for a Term of six Years, and the President of the Senate is ipso facto the Vice-President of the United States.

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House of Representatives
The House of Representatives represents the people of the several States.

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Structure
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Parliamentary groups
The parliamentary groups of the United States Congress are groups of Members of the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, organized by political party or by coalition of parties (in the House of Representatives) or by State (in the Senate). Their function is both political and administrative. The Members of Congress in a group are expected to cooperate in promoting the policies of their group, while the group is allocated offices and technical support in the Senate by the Secretary of the Senate and in the House of Representatives by the Clerk of the House of Representatives, respectively, and each may hire additional support for their Members at their own expense (or that of their parent party or coalition).

At least five Members are required to form a parliamentary group, who must all come from the same party or electoral coalition and must not all have been elected in the same constituency. Only one parliamentary group may be formed per party or coalition. Members who cannot join a normal parliamentary group —for example, because they have left their party, or because their party does not have at least five Members in at least two constituencies—are organized into the "mixed group" for administrative purposes.

Committees
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Specialization
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Powers
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Officer
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Support services
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Library of Congress
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Joint Congressional Research Service
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Joint Congressional Budget Service
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Partisanship versus nonpartisanship
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Procedures of Congress
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Sessions
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Inaugural session and State of the Union
Each new Congress is inaugurated the first Monday in March in the Year following the last general election for Members of Congress. Somewhat comparable to a State Opening of Parliament in the various Home Countries of the United Kingdoms, the Inaugural Session of a new Congress is also full of much pomp and circumstance, including the reading of a prayer blessing that Congress; the presence of a Color Guard composed of the flags of all eighteen States and of the United States; the playing of the Federal Hymn of the United States (the Federal Anthem, also known as "Hail, Columbia"); the honoring of dignitaries of a State or a foreign State or other distinguished guests in attendance; and speeches by legislators and, in some cases, by dignitaries of a State or a foreign State or other distinguished guests in attendance.

Immediately following the inauguration ceremonies of the Congress, the Senate and House of Representatives adjourn themselves into a Joint Session of the Congress in the Hall of the House of Representatives; the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives send a formal invitation to the Governor-General by way of the Senate and House Sergeants-at-Arms to come to the Hall of the House and deliver his State of the Union address to the Joint Session of Congress. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives then appoint a joint committee of members drawn from both Houses of Congress to escort the Governor-General into the Hall of the House.

Traditionally, the Governor-General waits at the door to the Hall of the House while the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representatives bangs on the door three times and announces that the Governor-General is requesting an audience with the Congress. The Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate then opens the door and forcefully slams it in the face of the Governor-General. Following this, the House Sergeant-at-Arms then bangs on the door three times once more, again announcing that the Governor-General requests an audience with the Congress. This time, the door is opened and the Governor-General and his escort are allowed to enter, with the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate proceeding to present to the Congress the Governor-General. The Governor-General then enters the Hall of the House of Representatives, stopping on occasion to shake hands with various Members of Congress, and makes his way to the Speaker's rostrum, followed by members of his Congressional escort committee. After he takes his place at the House Clerk's desk, he hands two manila envelopes previously placed on the desk and containing copies of his address to the President and Speaker.

After continuing applause from the attendees has diminished, the President of the Senate introduces the Governor-General to the Senators and Representatives, stating: "Members of Congress, I have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you the Governor-General of the United States." This leads to a further round of applause and, eventually, the beginning of the address by the Governor-General.

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Joint sessions
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Bills and resolutions
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