KIDS CORNER

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How do you become a United States Senator?

U.S. Senators are elected by the people living in their states. Usually, there are at least two candidates who run for the Senate. The candidate who gets a majority of the votes wins.

How many U.S. Senators are there?

There are 100 U.S. Senators in the Congress. Each of the 50 states gets two Senators, no matter how many people live in the state.

Where does Senator Boxer work?

Senator Boxer has an office at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. She also has six offices in California: in Sacramento, San Francisco, Fresno, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and San Diego.

When the Senate is in session, she spends the weekdays in Washington and often comes home to California on the weekends. When the Senate is not in session, she often spends her time in California meeting with people from around the state.

What does a U.S. Senator do?

Senators are responsible for representing the people of their state in the United States Senate. Part of this responsibility is writing and voting on bills in the U.S. Senate. Senators decide whether to vote for or against every bill that comes before Congress. All bills must pass the Senate before they can go to the President to be signed into law. Senators can also write their own bills and work to get the other Senators to vote for their bill so that it can become law.

In order to do their job well, Senators spend a lot of time meeting with people who live in their state to tell them about what is happening in government and to listen to their ideas about how to improve life in our country. Senator Boxer regularly meets with people from different backgrounds and different parts of the state. She even meets with kids to learn about what is happening at California schools.

Another important part of a Senator's job is to help Californians if they have a problem with the federal government. For example, if your mail is not being delivered on time, Senator Boxer's office can help you by contacting the U.S. Postal Service to bring attention to your problem.

What is the difference between a U.S. Senator and a State Senator?

United States Senators are elected by the people in their state to represent them in the U.S. Congress. Each state gets two senators. Each senator represents the entire state and they can each cast their own votes. The bills that U.S. Senators vote on affect the entire country.

Each state also has a government and most have a state senate. In California, there are 40 state senators who represent different parts of the state. The bills that the state senators vote on only affect their state.

What is the difference between a U.S. Senator and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives?

The U.S. Congress is made up of two "houses" � the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. There are 100 members of the Senate and 435 members of the House. Each state gets two Senators, regardless of how many people live in that state. The number of Representatives each state gets, however, is based on the number of people that live in the state. Senators serve for six year terms. Representatives serve for two year terms. There are also some things that only members of the House or only members of the Senate can do. For example, only senators can vote on whether or not to confirm the president's nominees for judgeships.

How does a bill become a law?

In the simplest terms, a bill becomes a law after it passes the Senate and the House and the President signs it. For more information about how a bill becomes a law, visit Project Vote Smart's guide on how a bill becomes a law.

My family is visiting Washington, DC. Will I see Senator Boxer?

Senator Boxer enjoys meeting Californians who visit Washington, although her busy schedule prevents her from meeting everyone who visits. If your family is planning to visit Washington, you can visit Senator Boxer's office to pick up passes to watch the Senate from the Senate Gallery, where you might see Senator Boxer voting or making a speech. Please visit the VISIT D.C. page for more information.