What is Congress?

Congress is part of the government. The government branches out like this:

From Ben's Guide to Government - http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/government/branches.html

Congress's main priority is to think of, vote on, and pass bills. A bill starts in the House of Representatives. If they vote it down, then it's done. But if they vote yes, then it gets passed to the Senate. If the Senate votes it down, then it stops there. But if they pass it, then it goes to the President. If he vetoes it, then "bye-bye" unless the Senate can override the vote with a two-thirds majority vote. But if he likes it, then he has to sign papers, and then the bill becomes a law.

The House of Representatives (also called the House) has exactly 435 members, distributed based on the population of each U.S. state. Meanwhile, the Senate has exactly 100 members: 2 per state. This agreement was worked out when there was a disagreement between the smaller and larger states. The larger ones wanted members by population, but the smaller ones wanted equality. So they compromised and the House got one system and the Senate the other.

If you want to be elected into the House of Representatives, you must fit the following criteria: