Congressperson

From Free net encyclopedia

A Congressman or Congresswoman (generically, Congressperson) is a politician who is a member of a Congress. In countries with a parliament rather than a congress, MP is used instead, however this can be adopted, see below.

Since the United States legislature is bicameral, there are three different titles for legislators: Representative (Member of the House of Representatives), Senator (Member of the United States Senate), and finally Congressman/Congresswoman (An individual member of either house).

It is important to note that although it is technically a term for members of either house, "Congressman/woman" is used almost exclusively to refer to members of the lower house in the United States in formal address. Indeed, it would likely be considered a faux pas to refer to a member of the United States Senate as "Congressman/Congresswoman".

Member of Congress

American political scientists, in a further effort to clarify the issue, now use the term "Member of Congress" (MC), to refer to members of both houses, and use Senator and Representative when referring to members of either specific chamber. "Congressman/woman/person" is further at a disadvantage as it must be modified depending on the gender. Member of Congress, Senator, Representative all have the advantage of being gender neutral. The term helps people in countries with Parliaments understand the titles in the United States.