For more than two centuries, the U.S. House of Representatives has carefully crafted rules and procedures to help it function as the legislative body that the Founders envisioned—“the People’s House.” Some practices are rooted in the U.S. Constitution; others are traditions adopted to meet the changing needs of the nation and the institution. Learn about the House’s role, powers, and development by exploring essays, Congress-by-Congress summaries, and profiles about the House’s unique culture.
Since 1920, the Clerk of the House has compiled and published the official vote counts for federal elections from the official sources among the various states and territories.
This section provides data about a Member's service in the House of Representatives.
View a chart of House political party divisions since 1789.
View a list of House vacancies and successors from the 105th through the 114th Congresses (1999–2017).
View a chart with the dates the House has been in session, from 1789 to the present.
View a chart with the dates the House has been in session from, 1789 to the present.
Established in Article II, Section 1, of the U.S. Constitution, the Electoral College is the formal body which elects the President and Vice President of the United States. Learn about the procedure and a few historic facts about this process.
View a chart of the 44 U.S. Presidents and Vice President terms with their corresponding Congresses.
View a chart of the Presidents of the United States and the number of veto messages each issued.
For more than a century, seat assignment in the U.S. House of Representatives was an important element in congressional life. Until the early 1900s, when benches replaced them, a desk was a Member’s office. How Members secured a desk evolved from free-for-all to highly orchestrated political theater.
The Constitution gives the House of Representatives “the sole Power of Impeachment” (Article I, Section 2) of federal officers and gives the Senate “the sole Power to try all Impeachments” (Article I, Section 3). In the constitutional procedure of impeachment and removal, the House serves in the role of a grand jury bringing charges against an officer suspected of “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” (Article II, Section 4).