The two houses of Congress are the House of Representatives and the Senate. They are both equal but have unique roles in the federal government. The House of Representatives is made up of 435 elected members, divided among the 50 states in proportion to their total population. In addition, there are 6 non-voting members, representing the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and four other territories of the United States: American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands. The presiding officer of the chamber is the Speaker of the House, elected by the Representatives. Members of the House are elected every two years and must be 25 years of age, a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and a resident of the state (but not necessarily the district) they represent. The House has several powers assigned exclusively to it, including the power to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the President in the case of an Electoral College tie.

The Senate, on the other hand, has 100 members and is the upper house of the United States Congress. It is called the upper house because it has fewer members than the House of Representatives and has powers not granted to the House, such as giving approval to appointments of Cabinet secretaries and federal judges. Senators are elected every six years and must be at least 30 years old, a U.S. citizen for at least nine years, and a resident of the state they represent. The Vice President of the United States serves as the President of the Senate, but only votes in the case of a tie. The Senate has several exclusive powers, including the power to approve treaties and presidential appointments, and to hold impeachment trials.

To balance the interests of both the small and large states, the Founding Fathers divided the power of Congress between the two houses. Every state has an equal voice in the Senate, while representation in the House of Representatives is based on the size of each state’s population. This plan for representation in Congress was introduced by Connecticut delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth, and is known as the Great (or Connecticut) Compromise.