by E.C.

The United States Congress basically functions the way the original framers wanted it to.  For example, in Section 1 of the Constitution it says that, " All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives." This is still true today, Congress is made up of both of those houses. 

There are many different examples to show that it does function the same way.  There are some changes though, but that should be expected because when Congress was set up there were only 13 states.  Some examples of what was changed are, "...each State shall have at Least one Representative; ....The State of New Hampshire shall have three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three." That has been changed to include all of our 50 states and has been modified so that it equals out to 435 members of the House of Representatives. 

These are a few more examples of how the Congress functions the same way now as when it was set up: "No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen." The Vice President of the United States shall be president of the Senate.." and "All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives..." This is still true in Congress today. 

"The organization of Congress was set by the framers as a bicameral legislature with both houses sharing offsetting by equal powers." This means that the powers of the United States Congress would be shared between the two houses.  In fact, a bill must pass both houses and the President in order to become a law.  This is an example of checks and balances.  Checks and balances make sure no single branch has all the power.  This is a good thing instituted in our Constitution and is still used today not only for bills but other things in our government. 

While there have been a few changes in the United States Congress, it basically functions the same as the original framers wanted it to.