The Legislative Branch
The Legislative branch of the United States Congress makes the laws. It is bicameral which means it consists of two bodies: the House of Representatives and the Senate.
House of Representatives
The House has 435 members distributed based on the population of each state. They are all up for reelection every 2 years. To become a member of the House, you must be at least 25 years old, be citizen of the United States for 7 years, and you must be a resident of the district that you represent. On average they make $170,000 per year.
Speaker of the House
The Speaker of the house is the most powerful member and the leader of the House of Representatives. Some of the Speakers responsibilities include presiding over the House, assigning members to committees, and assigning bills to committees.
Majority/Minority Leaders
The majority and minority leaders tell the rest of their party how to vote on certain bills in order to favor their party.
Majority/Minority Whips
The whips count votes on a bill beforehand and know who is voting which way. They try to keep the members of their party from voting against the party line.
Senate
The Senate has 100 members with 2 senators coming from each state. They are elected to 6 year terms with one third of the senate seats up for election every two years. In order to be a senator you have to be 30 years old and have been a citizen for 9 years. You also have to be a resident of the state you represent. They make about $170,000 per year.
President of the Senate
The president of the Senate is also the Vice President of the United States. His biggest job is to represent the presidents views to the senators. The only time he can actually vote is in the event of a tie.
Majority and Minority leaders
Just like in the House there are majority leaders and minority leaders in the Senate. They have the same resposnsibilities as the majority and minority leaders in the House.
President Pro tempore
The president pro tempore is the longest serving member of the Senate. They are fourth in the order of presidential succession behind the president, vice president, and secretary of state.