Congress, By the Numbers

Friends, you probably know that the 110th U.S. Congress convened on January 4, 2007, and that Nancy Pelosi became the first-ever female Speaker of the House. You may know that Keith Ellison became the first-ever Muslim congressman, taking his oath on Thomas Jefferson's copy of the Qur'an. You may even know that Mazie Hirono and Hank Johnson became the first-ever Buddhist members of Congress.

But we're guessing that everyone could use a little refresher on how the Congress actually works. So we're marching on the Capitol for a multi-part look at America's legislative branch. First, some basics: how Congress's two houses, "both alike in dignity," break down numerically.

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What Congress Can Do

Article I, section 1, of the U.S. Constitution says that "all legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States." But that's not the whole story. Article I, section 8, enumerates 18 specific powers for Congress. Every law Congress makes has to relate back to one of these. Know what they are?

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What Congress Can't Do

The Constitution's framers figured Congress would dominate the government. Maybe that's why they spent so much time putting limits on Congress's powers. Some limits show up in the Bill of Rights. But eight no-nos show up right in Article I, section 9. Know what they are?

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How Not to Make a Law

You know the saying: "Laws are like sausages. It's better not to see them being made." We say, baloney! Citizens should know exactly how those pork-stuffed legislative links get made. So we went in for a closer look--and discovered a crucial truth. It's much easier not to make a law than it is to make one. You just commit to this 12-step program.

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Interview
Separating Powers, with "Publius"

Powerful as it is, the U.S. government sometimes seems self-crippling--so loaded with checks and balances that it's hard to get anything done. But why? Why did the founders divide the government into separate executive, legislative, and judicial branches? And then divide the legislature into two chambers? For answers, we interviewed Publius, author of that constitutional classic, the Federalist Papers.

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--Michael Himick and Steve Sampson