<P> Congress has the power to remove the president, federal judges, and other federal officers from office . The House of Representatives and Senate have separate roles in this process . The House must first vote to "impeach" the official . Then, a trial is held in the Senate to decide whether the official should be removed from office . Although two presidents have been impeached by the House of Representatives (Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton), neither of them was removed following trial in the Senate . </P> <P> Article I, Section 2, paragraph 2 of the U.S. Constitution gives each chamber the power to "determine the rules of its proceedings". From this provision were created congressional committees, which do the work of drafting legislation and conducting congressional investigations into national matters . The 108th Congress (2003--2005) had 19 standing committees in the House and 17 in the Senate, plus 4 joint permanent committees with members from both houses overseeing the Library of Congress, printing, taxation, and the economy . In addition, each house may name special, or select, committees to study specific problems . Today, much of the congressional workload is borne by the subcommittees, of which there are around 150 . </P> <P> The Constitution grants numerous powers to Congress . Enumerated in Article I, Section 8, these include the powers to levy and collect taxes; to coin money and regulate its value; provide for punishment for counterfeiting; establish post offices and roads, issue patents, create federal courts inferior to the Supreme Court, combat piracies and felonies, declare war, raise and support armies, provide and maintain a navy, make rules for the regulation of land and naval forces, provide for, arm and discipline the militia, exercise exclusive legislation in the District of Columbia, and to make laws necessary to properly execute powers . Over the two centuries since the United States was formed, many disputes have arisen over the limits on the powers of the federal government . These disputes have often been the subject of lawsuits that have ultimately been decided by the United States Supreme Court . </P> <P> Congressional oversight is intended to prevent waste and fraud, protect civil liberties and individual rights, ensure executive compliance with the law, gather information for making laws and educating the public, and evaluate executive performance . </P>

What is the role of the united states government