Congressperson

From Wikipedia, the free 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" (Member of Parliament) is used instead, however this can be adopted, see below.

Since the United States legislature is bicameral, there are 3 different titles for legislators: Representative (Member of the House of Representatives, Senator (Member of the United States Senate), and finally Congressman (Member of the Congress, used most often when dealing with a group of both upper and lower house men); the term "Congressman/woman" is more often used to address a member of the House, for example "Hello Congressman Saxton."

"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.