The House of Representatives, the United States Congress (1943) | Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the United States Congress (a bicameral legislature). It is frequently referred to as the House. The other house is the Senate.

The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the United States Constitution. The major power of the House is to pass federal legislation that affects the entire country, although its bills must also be passed by the Senate and further agreed to by the U.S. President before becoming law (unless both the House and Senate re-pass the legislation with a two-thirds majority in each chamber). The House has some exclusive powers: the power to initiate revenue bills, to impeach officials (impeached officials are subsequently tried in the Senate), and to elect the U.S. President in case there is no majority in the Electoral College.