U.S. Congress

The purpose of the U.S. House of Representatives is to make and pass laws. In addition, the House exclusively initiates revenue bills, impeaches Federal officials, and elects the President of the United States if there is a tie in the Electoral College. There are 435 representatives, 5 delegates, and 1 resident commissioner. The representatives have full voting rights while the delegates and resident commissioner are non-voting members. For more information about the House, visit their official website. Its information includes the chamber's history, floor proceedings, committee schedules, votes on recent bills, and more.

• U.S. House of Representatives Official Website

The U.S. Senate's purpose is also to make and pass laws. Senators confirm the President of the United States’ appointments that require consent and provide advice and consent to ratify treaties, with some exceptions. The 100 senators represent each state equally (two per state), regardless of the 50 states’ varying population sizes. Visit the Senate's official website for more information about it. This website has information that includes the chamber's history, committee hearings and meetings, appointment statuses of civilian and non-civilian government positions nominated by the President, and more.

• U.S. Senate Official Website 

Legislate branch agencies of the U.S. Government report to the U.S. Congress. They provide support and information for congressional members. Below are the six agencies: Architect of the Capitol, Congressional Budget Office, Library of Congress, United States Botanic Garden, United States Government Accountability Office, and United States Government Publishing Office.

	Architect of the Capitol (AOC) AOC's mission is to "serve Congress and the Supreme Court, preserve America's Capitol and inspire memorable experiences."
	Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Its mission is to provide “objective, nonpartisan information… to help Congress make effective budget and economic policy."
	Library of Congress Though the Library of Congress serves primarily the members of Congress with 24/7 access to information and reference services, the general public can also enjoy and explore its vast printed and digital collections.
	United States Botanic Garden (USBG) The USBG "inspires people to appreciate, study, and conserve plants to enrich society locally and globally"
	United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) GAO's purpose is to “examine how taxpayer dollars are spent and advise lawmakers and agency heads on ways to make government work better."
	United States Government Publishing Office (GPO) The mission of GPO is to “publish trusted information for the Federal Government to the American people."

The FDLP Academy offers free webinars and webcasts for Federal Depository Libraries and the general public. Its mission is to "create and deliver enhanced educational opportunities to the FDLP community by fostering collaboration, by facilitating knowledge sharing, and through the application of new methods and use of multiple mediums" about U.S. Government resources. The following webinars contain information related to the U.S. Congress.

	Congress.gov: Updates and Overview  Recorded on March 7, 2023 Length of Time: 59 minutes Speakers: Barbara Bavis and Robert Brammer (Law Library of Congress)
	Library of Congress Manuscript Collections: Orientation and Research Strategies  Recorded on January 24, 2023 Length of Time: 60 minutes Speaker: Edith A. Sandler (Library of Congress)
	Orientation to the Constitution Annotated Recorded on May 28, 2024 Length of Time: 58 minutes Speaker: Barbara Bavis (Law Library of Congress)
	New GovInfo Content and Congressionally Mandated Reports Preview  Recorded on October 17, 2023 Length of Time: 42 minutes Speakers: Megan Minta and Amanda Dunn (United States Government Publishing Office)
	Researching Federal Congressional Committee Hearings Recorded on March 30, 2022 Length of Time: 61 minutes Speaker: Barbara Bavis (Law Library of Congress)

If interested in learning more about topics that related to, but not specifically about, the U.S. Congress, check out the following FDLP Resource Guides.

• Elections and Voting Rights
• Structure of the U.S. Government
• U.S. Presidency