The US Capitol building …

The US Senate has three office buildings to the northeast of the Capitol: Russell, Dirksen, and Hart.

The US House has six office buildings to the southwest of the Capitol: Cannon, Longworth, Rayburn, Ford, and O’Neill.

The power of the Executive Branch is vested in the President of the United States, who also acts as head of state and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The President is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by Congress and, to that end, appoints the heads of the federal agencies, including the Cabinet. The Vice President is also part of the Executive Branch, ready to assume the Presidency should the need arise.

The Cabinet and independent federal agencies are responsible for the day-to-day enforcement and administration of federal laws. These departments and agencies have missions and responsibilities as widely divergent as those of the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency, the Social Security Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission. See Government Executives for individual cabinet member bios.

Including members of the armed forces, the Executive Branch employs more than 4 million Americans.

The federal judiciary of the United States is one of the three branches of the federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government.

Article III of the Constitution requires the establishment of a Supreme Court and permits the Congress to create other federal courts and place limitations on their jurisdiction. Article III states that federal judges are appointed by the president with the consent of the Senate to serve until they resign, are impeached and convicted, or die.

The federal courts are generally divided between trial courts which hear cases in the first instance e.g. District Courts, and appellate courts which review specific contested decisions made by lower courts e.g. Courts of Appeal.

The House’s standing committees have different legislative jurisdictions. Each considers bills and issues and recommends measures for consideration by the House. Committees also have oversight responsibilities to monitor agencies, programs, and activities within their jurisdictions, and in some cases in areas that cut across committee jurisdictions.

The Committee of the Whole House is a committee of the House on which all representatives serve and which meets in the House Chamber for the consideration of measures from the Union calendar.

Before members are assigned to committees, each committee’s size and the proportion of Republicans to Democrats must be decided by the party leaders. The total number of committee slots allotted to each party is approximately the same as the ratio between majority party and minority party members in the full chamber.

Get answers to frequently asked questions about committees from the Clerk of the House.

Source: US House website

Today the Senate operates with 21 committees (16 standing and 5 select). These select committees, however, are permanent in nature and are treated as standing committees under Senate rules.

Committees are essential to the effective operation of the Senate. Through investigations and hearings, committees gather information on national and international problems within their jurisdiction in order to draft, consider, and recommend legislation to the full membership of the Senate. Only a small percentage of bills considered by committees reach the Senate floor. They evaluate presidential nominees for executive and judicial posts and provide oversight of federal government operations.

The Senate is currently home to 24 committees: there are 16 standing committees, four special or select committees, and four joint committees. Standing committees are permanent bodies with specific responsibilities and jurisdictions that are defined in the Senate’s rules. Although some committees are almost as old as the Senate itself, the Senate periodically updates the names and jurisdictions of standing committees to address the issues of an evolving nation. The four special or select committees were initially created by a Senate resolution for specific purposes and are now regarded as permanent. The Senate has authorized other select investigating committees throughout its history that have expired after submitting a final report. The four joint committees, made up of senators and representatives, provide administrative coordination between the House and Senate and conduct studies for the benefit of both houses.

For a complete list of Senate committees and their current membership, click here.

Source: Senate website