United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election. Each of the 435 members of the House of Representatives represents a congressional district and serves a two-year term. House seats are apportioned among the states by population. Each state, regardless of population, has two senators; since there are fifty states, there are one hundred senators who serve six-year terms. The terms are staggered, so every two years, approximately one-third of the Senate is up for election. While it's theoretically possible to have total turnover in the House every two years and in the Senate every six years, actual turnover is much less, since most incumbents seek re-election, and their historical likelihood of winning subsequent elections exceeds 90%.