Article 1, Section 1 All legislative powers conferred by this Constitution belong to the Congress of the United States, which consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Section 2 The House of Representatives shall consist of representatives elected every two years by the people of each state. The electors of each state shall possess the qualifications necessary for electors to the largest house of state legislatures in that state. No one who is under the age of thirty, has been a citizen of the United States for less than nine years, and was not a resident of a state at the time of election shall serve as a representative. [The number of representatives and the amount of direct taxes shall be distributed among the states that may be included in this union in proportion to their respective populations. The population of each state shall be determined by the total number of free men plus three-fifths of all other populations. The total number of freemen includes those who are required to serve a certain number of years of hard labor, but does not include Indians who are not taxed. The actual counting of the population shall be carried out within three years after the first session of the Congress of the United States and every ten years thereafter, in the manner prescribed by law. No more than one member of the House of Representatives shall be elected for every thirty thousand people, but there must be at least one member of each state; until the above demographic statistics are made, New Hampshire shall have the right to elect three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, Georgia three. In the event of a vacancy in the representation of any state, the executive authority of that state shall issue an electoral decree to fill the vacancy. The House of Representatives elects the Speaker and other officers of the House and has the sole power of impeachment. Section 3 The Senate of the United States shall consist of two senators elected by the state legislatures of each state for a term of six years; each senator shall have one vote. Senators, when assembled after the first election, shall immediately be divided into three equal groups as far as possible. The first group of senatorial seats shall be vacated at the end of the second year, the second group of senatorial seats shall be vacated at the end of the fourth year, and the third group of senatorial seats shall be vacated at the end of the sixth year, so that one-third of the senators may be re-elected every two years. During the recess of the legislature of any state, if a vacancy arises due to resignation or other reasons, the chief executive of that state may appoint temporary senators until the next meeting of the state legislature to fill the vacancy. No one who is under the age of thirty years, has been a citizen of the United States for less than nine years, and is not a resident of a state at the time of election shall serve as a senator. The Vice President of the United States shall be the President of the Senate, but he shall not have the right to vote unless the senators vote equally. The Senate elects other officers of the court and, in the absence of the Vice President or in the exercise of the powers of the President of the United States, elects a President pro tempore. The Senate alone has the power to try all cases of impeachment. When a hearing is held for this purpose, all senators shall take oath or make a declaration in lieu. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice of the No one shall be convicted without the consent of two-thirds of the senators present. No judgment in a case of impeachment shall exceed removal from office and disqualification from holding and enjoying any office subordinate to the United States with honor, duty, or salary. But the person convicted may still be prosecuted, tried, sentenced, and punished according to law. Section 4 The time, place, and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature of that state. But Congress may at any time make or vary such provisions by law, except where senators are elected. Congress meets at least once a year, on the first Monday in December, unless it fixes another date by law. Section 5 Each house is the arbiter of the election of its members, the report of their results, and their qualifications. A majority of the members of each house shall constitute a quorum for the proceedings; but if the quorum is insufficient, the meeting may be adjourned on a daily basis, and the power to compel the absent members to attend the meeting in the manner and potential penalties prescribed by each house. Each house may establish the rules of procedure of the house to punish the disorderly conduct of the members of the house, and to expel the members with the consent of two-thirds of the members. Each house shall have the minutes of the meetings of the house, which shall be published from time to time, except those parts which it deems necessary to keep secret. The votes of the members of each house for and against any question shall be entered in the minutes at the request of one-fifth of the members present. During the session of Parliament, neither house shall be adjourned for more than three days without the consent of the other house, nor shall it be adjourned in any place other than the two houses. Section 6 Senators and Representatives shall be compensated for their services, and such remuneration shall be fixed by law and paid out of the treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except for treason, felony, and obstruction of the peace, enjoy the privilege of not being arrested during their attendance at, and on their way to, their respective chambers. They shall not be questioned in any other place by reason of speeches or debates delivered in their respective chambers. No senator or representative shall, during the term of their election, be appointed to any civil office under the jurisdiction of the United States for which pay shall be established or increased during that period. No person who holds office under the United States shall, during his continuance of office, be a member of either chamber. Section 7 All bills to levy taxes shall first be introduced in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may, as with other bills, introduce or consent to amendments. Every bill passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate shall be sent to the President of the United States before it becomes law. If the President approves the bill, he shall sign it; if he does not approve it, he shall return the bill with his objection to the House in which it was first introduced. The House shall hereby enter the objections in detail in the minutes of this House for reconsideration. If, after reconsideration, two-thirds of the members of that House agree to pass the bill, the bill together with the objections shall be sent to the other House for reconsideration by that same House, and if two-thirds of the members of that House approve it, the bill shall become law. But in all such cases, the votes of both Houses shall be decided by a vote for and against; the names of the members who voted for and against the bill shall be entered in the minutes of each House separately. If any bill is not returned by the President within ten days after it has been sent to him (except on Sundays), the bill shall become law as if it had been signed by the President, unless the bill cannot be returned because Congress is adjourned, in which case the bill cannot become law. Every order, resolution, or vote (other than on adjournment questions) requiring the unanimous consent of the Senate and House of Representatives shall be sent to the President of the United States, and the order, resolution, or vote shall be approved by the President before it takes effect, and if the President does not approve it, it shall be re-passed by two-thirds of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives in accordance with the rules and limitations prescribed for the bill. Section 8: Congress shall have the power to: fix and levy direct taxes, import duties, taxes, and other taxes for the payment of the national debt and for the common defense and public welfare of the United States, provided that all import duties, taxes, and other taxes shall be uniform throughout the country; borrow on the credit of the United States; regulate commerce with foreign countries, among the states, and with Indian tribes; make uniform statutes of naturalization and bankruptcy laws of the United States; mint money, determine the value of domestic and foreign currencies, and establish standards of weights and measures; establish potential penalties for counterfeiting securities and common currency of the United States; establish postal offices and build postal roads; secure the exclusive rights of authors and inventors to their respective works and inventions for a limited period of time to promote the progress of science and technology; establish courts lower than the Supreme Court; define and punish crimes committed on the high seas Piracy and felonies and crimes against international law; declare war, issue warrants for the capture of enemy ships, and make regulations for capture on land and water; recruit armies and supply munitions, provided that appropriations for these purposes shall not exceed two years; establish and maintain a navy; make regulations for the governance and management of the army and navy; provide for the conscription of militias to enforce federal laws, suppress rebellions, and repel invasions; provide for the organization, equipment, and training of militias, and provide for the management of those militias used to serve the United States, but the power to appoint militia officers and train militias by regulations prescribed by Congress shall be reserved to the states; in all cases exercise exclusive legislative power over areas (not exceeding ten square miles) ceded to the United States by certain states and accepted by Congress as the seat of the government of the United States; for The State Legislature agrees to exercise the same powers in all places purchased by the United States for the construction of fortresses, ammunition depots, arsenals, shipyards, and other necessary structures; and to make all laws necessary and appropriate for the exercise of the aforementioned powers and all other powers conferred on the Government of the United States or any department or officer thereof by this Constitution. Section 9 The removal or entry of persons whom any state now deems fit to grant admission shall not be prohibited by Congress until one thousand eight hundred and eight years ago, but the entry of such persons shall be subject to a tax not exceeding ten dollars per person. The privilege of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, except in the event of rebellion or invasion, when public safety requires such suspension. No deprivation of civil rights act or retroactive law shall be passed. No poll or other direct tax shall be levied except in proportion to the census or count provided for above in this Constitution. No tax shall be levied on goods exported from any state. No commercial or tax ordinance shall give preferential treatment to the ports of one state to the ports of other states; no ship bound for or departing from one state shall be compelled to enter, leave, or pay taxes in another state. No money shall be drawn from the treasury except as appropriated by law. Periodic reports and accounts of all receipts and payments of public funds shall be published from time to time. No peerage shall be conferred by the United States. No person holding any office of salary or responsibility under the United States shall accept any gift, salary, office, or title of any kind from any king, sovereign, or foreign country without the consent of Congress. Section 10 No state shall: enter into any treaty, join any union or confederation; issue warrants for the capture of enemy ships; mint currency; issue paper money; use anything other than gold or silver coins as currency for the payment of debts; pass any act of deprivation of civil rights, retroactive law, or law prejudicial to contractual obligations; or confer any peerage. No state shall, without the consent of Congress, levy any tax on imports or exports, except as strictly necessary for the execution of the inspection laws of this state. The net proceeds of all taxes levied by any state on imports or exports shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States; all such laws may be amended and controlled by Congress. No state, without the consent of Congress, shall levy any tax on the tonnage of ships, shall not maintain armies or warships in peacetime, shall not enter into agreements or covenants with other states or foreign nations, and shall not engage in war except in the event of actual invasion or imminent danger.