Senator Jay Costa Competitors

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania employs thousands of people across the state to deliver programs and services to the people of Pennsylvania. Employees work in a wide variety of professions in full-time, part-time, temporary, or seasonal capacities in civil service and non-civil service positions. On an employee basis per citizen basis, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is among the most efficient state governments in the country. For more information on state government employment opportunities, go to www.employment.pa.gov. For more information on Pennsylvania government agencies and services, visit www.pa.gov.

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each U.S. state is represented by two senators, regardless of population. Senators serve staggered six-year terms. The chamber of the United States Senate is located in the north wing of the Capitol, in Washington, D.C., the national capital. The House of Representatives convenes in the south wing of the same building. The Senate has several exclusive powers not granted to the House, including consenting to treaties as a precondition to their ratification and consenting or confirmation of appointments of Cabinet secretaries, federal judges, other federal executive officials, military officers, regulatory officials, ambassadors, and other federal uniformed officers, as well as trial of federal officials impeached by the House. The Senate is both a more deliberative and more prestigious body than the House of Representatives, due to its longer terms, smaller size, and statewide constituencies, which historically led to a more collegial and less partisan atmosphere. The Senate has been described by some members of the American media as the "world's greatest deliberative body.

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. Following the 2012 elections, the house consisted of 111 Republicans and 92 Democrats. Republican Sam Smith was elected Speaker of the House on January 4, 2011. In 2012, a State Representative district had an average population of 60,498 residents.