435 voting House seats. 100 Senate seats. Federal laws shape public life. Learn how Congress makes decisions, how its powers are limited, and how you can participate.
Congress is a bicameral legislature — fancy word for "two chambers." Together they make federal law. Apart, they feel like two entirely different schools.
Reps serve 2-year terms. Every single one is up for re-election every other year, so they're in constant campaign mode. House = loud, fast, populist.
Two per state, no matter if it's Wyoming or California. 6-year terms mean senators can play the long game. Senate = slower, older, filibuster-heavy.
Citizen for 7 years, live in the state.
Citizen for 9 years. Older club, longer dues.
Both must agree on the text of a bill before it reaches the president.
Runs the House floor. 2nd in line for presidency. Elected by the House.
Literally the VP. Only votes to break ties. Mostly ceremonial.
Controls what bills get voted on. The real shot-caller.
Counts votes. Pressures their party to vote the line. Basically peer pressure, but legal.
Residents of each state have two U.S. senators and a House member for their congressional district. D.C. and U.S. territories have different representation and do not have voting senators. A ZIP code may overlap more than one House district.
Use the official lookup and provide your address there if needed. Current districts may differ from those used for an upcoming election. Open House lookup ↗
Every state has two senators. Use the official current directory rather than an undated classroom roster. Open Senate directory ↗
Ask a specific question, explain the issue that matters to you, and support your request with evidence. You do not need to claim that you vote to contact an office. Check office hours and visitor policies before visiting.
Check eligibility, registration, election dates, and official maps with the Secretary of State. Age alone does not establish voting eligibility. Official election information ↗
Here is a common route. Bills may stall, be amended, or follow special procedures. Both chambers must pass identical text before presenting a bill to the president.
People and organizations can suggest policies. A member introduces a bill in Congress. Revenue-raising bills must originate in the House; the Senate may amend them.
Committees specialize in topics, hold hearings, and may amend and report legislation. A bill can remain in committee without advancing.
Members debate and vote under their chamber’s rules. Ordinary passage generally needs a majority of those voting, with a quorum present.
The other chamber considers the bill and may change it. The Senate’s cloture procedure for most legislation usually needs 60 votes when all 100 seats are filled; final passage is a separate vote.
Both chambers must agree on the same version. They can exchange amendments or use a conference committee. A conference is not required for every bill.
The president may sign or veto. After 10 days, excluding Sundays, without a signature, a bill becomes law unless Congress’s adjournment prevents its return; that exception is a pocket veto.
Congress may override with two-thirds in each chamber. The override is conditional, not a step every bill takes.
Standing: continuing subject-matter work. Select/special: assigned a particular purpose; duration varies. Joint: members from both chambers. Conference: resolves differences on legislation. Some committees have distinctive powers.
This game models one common route. Click the steps in order; a conference committee is optional and a veto override is conditional. Wrong click = red flash. Get all 7 in order to win. No pressure — try as many times as you want.
The Constitution grants Congress specified powers and provides checks among the branches. A constitutional power is not a blank check; the way it is exercised can be challenged.
Congress can levy federal taxes, borrow, and authorize spending. State and local governments have their own tax powers; a sales tax at a local store is not generally a federal tax.
Congress can declare war and regulate commerce with foreign nations and among states. The president is commander in chief. Their roles can create difficult separation-of-powers questions.
The House impeaches; the Senate tries impeachments. Conviction requires two-thirds of senators present. Impeachment itself does not remove an official. Congress also conducts oversight and investigations.
The Senate provides advice and consent on many presidential appointments. Treaty consent requires two-thirds of senators present; the president carries out ratification.
Congress can propose an amendment with two-thirds in each chamber. Ratification by three-fourths of the states is then required. Article V also provides a convention route.
Congress may enact laws necessary and proper for carrying its constitutional powers into execution. This clause does not erase constitutional limits.
Representation involves competing interests. Distinguish a legal process, a criticism of that process, and evidence of wrongdoing.
Drawing districts to advantage a political group can change how votes translate into seats. Unusual shapes alone do not establish unfairness.
An earmark directs funds to a specified recipient or project. “Pork barrel” is a critical label for spending viewed as serving narrow political interests. Evaluate costs, beneficiaries, and alternatives before judging.
People and organizations try to influence officials. Lobbying is not inherently bribery; students, businesses, unions, and nonprofits may advocate for policy. Disclosure rules and access are important questions.
Members exchange support for one another’s proposals. Ask whether the compromise advances public goals or mainly protects insiders.
Packing concentrates a group in fewer districts. Cracking spreads it across districts where it is outnumbered. Try all three groupings in the lab and explain why seat totals change even though no votes change.
Open the district experiment →The lab uses five groups of ten voters. It does not evaluate geography, contiguity, compactness, community boundaries, or legal compliance. Proportionality alone does not prove a map is fair.
States use different processes, including legislatures and commissions. Courts may review maps under applicable law. Computer-generated plans still reflect choices about data, constraints, and objectives; algorithms are not automatically free of bias.
Current California maps and election details: Secretary of State ↗
Watch on YouTube ↗ · What does the model explain well? What does it leave out?
“Pork” is a judgment, not a neutral budget category. A small population or unusual project name does not settle whether spending is worthwhile. Investigate before deciding.
What precisely is funded? Is the number a proposal, an appropriation, or actual spending? Over how many years?
Consider direct users, wider economic effects, public safety, and people outside the project’s location.
What would happen without the project? Are there less expensive ways to achieve the goal?
Read the official project description, recipient, sponsor, selection process, and evaluation requirements.
Find the underlying legislation ↗ · Try the budget challenge →
Lobbying is an attempt to influence government decisions. Campaign donations and lobbying are different activities with different rules. The question is not only whether advocacy is legal, but how access and accountability work.
A group may bring expertise and information officials need. Another concern is that organizations with more resources can gain greater access. What evidence would help evaluate each claim?
Federal lobbying rules require covered lobbyists and organizations to register and report certain activity. Read the disclosure framework ↗
Political action committees participate in campaign finance. Super PACs may raise unlimited contributions for independent political activity but cannot contribute directly to candidates. Check the FEC for the rules that apply to each committee type. FEC explanation ↗
Advocacy is also a student explaining a transit problem or a community group asking for safer streets. Identify your issue, document the need, and make a specific request.
A deficit is spending above revenue over a period, usually a fiscal year. Debt is accumulated borrowing outstanding at a point in time. They are related but not interchangeable.
The lab gives you 100 fictional revenue credits and five spending categories. Explain the tradeoffs in your choices. A balanced allocation is not automatically a good policy.
Use official data and record its date. Gross federal debt and debt held by the public are different measures, so label the one you use. Treasury finance guide ↗ · Debt to the Penny ↗
This page does not show a live debt feed. A counter made by adding a fixed number every second is a model, not a Treasury measurement.
Build your budget →Choose a topic that matters to you. Use Congress.gov to identify an actual bill, then record its Congress, number, title, sponsor, latest action, and the date you checked. Distinguish “introduced,” “passed one chamber,” and “became law.”
Explore Congress.gov ↗What would change if this proposal became law? Who supports it, who raises concerns, and what evidence do they use? Which constitutional power is involved? What still needs to happen?
These show up on every quiz. Click a card to reveal the definition. Make them make sense before test day.
No pressure, no grade. Just you vs. Congress. See if you were actually paying attention.