Congress And Balances System In The United States

Improved Essays
The relationship between Congress and the Presidency is difficult. The checks and balances system in the US determines the relationship between the President and the Congress. The legislative branch represents a key component because it outlines the relationship between congressional subcommittees, administrative agencies, and interest groups.
The sub governments are effective because each of the sub-governments makes effective decision by practicing their powers. Cann, in his Administrative Law (2006) text, observes that “If the President possesses the will to control agencies but lacks the power and authority to do so, Congress does possesses the power but generally lacks the will to excise it” (pg. 67). This statement illustrates the complicated
…show more content…
Checks and balances system is working in the case of The Dole v. United Steel- Workers, by preventing any manipulation of agency activity. The Congress control passing a budget and the President has limited power of how that budget can be spent. The President tries to excise control through agencies such as the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). While the Congress dictates funding, under the President, the OMB has the power to dictate some of the spending. Dole v. United Steelworkers case demonstrates the executive branch’s efforts to regulate agency rule-making. Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) allowed Department of Labour (DOL) to make the American workplace safer by requiring the Hazard Communications Standard. It did not allow OMB to remove the provisions of DOL’s Hazard Communication Standards based on OMB’s determination “that the requirements were not necessary to protect employees…therefore, applied to situations in which disclosures did not benefit employees” (Cann, p. 45). The court intervened in this case stopping the Congress and the President, as an advocate for the American people in the work …show more content…
At the same time this power can be accredited to the executive branch if it is an ‘intelligible principle’ to help guide the agency. The importance of checks and balances is also addressed in another case titled Food and Drug Administration v Brown and Williamson Corp. The court concluded that the FDA, an agency controlled by the President, did not have the supremacy to control tobacco but tobacco should be regulated by its own policy. According to week two class notes, this case “highlights the power of Congress by underscoring their ‘intent’ as policy regulation, but more importantly, it showcases the need for Congress to provide specific legislation that will outline the roles and responsibilities of agencies, rather than allowing the courts or agencies to make such critical societal decisions” (Week Two Lesson). For some cases, (the new form of ‘checks and balances), congressional veto is not always effective. Nonetheless, the case illustrates that Congress needs to offer specific legislation to agencies, specifying their authorities and responsibilities instead of permitting courts to make all case

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    The U. S. Constitution has an important feature and that is its provision for a system of checks and balances. In this system the branches are created and power is shared between them. The power of one branch can be challenged by another so that one branch cannot become too powerful. This is what a checks and balances system is all about. The U.S. Constitution created three branches as a part of our United States government.…

    • 375 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    United States congress is a bicameral legislature with a lower chamber known as the House of Representatives and the higher being known as the Senate. Congress men and women have various rights and privileges to help them serve the nation the best way possible. Congress checks on the courts and on the President. The constitution gives very broad powers to the congress “All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a congress of the United States” (Politics in America) The founding fathers envisioned congress being the most powerful branch of government.…

    • 1144 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    J. Cecelia Shaulis April 13, 2015 Pols-Y 211 Dalecki Exam 3- Miranda v. Arizona One of the biggest players in law interpretation and policy-making is the judiciary system. While the other two branches of government have some control over the judiciary system through checks and balances, the federal courts have a great deal of power in the form of judicial review. Judicial review is the authority of the Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution.…

    • 1238 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Our society continuously evaluates the balancing of powers between the state government and the federal government. It is important in a democracy for the powers to be equally distributed, for if one person in the government takes total control, it would no longer be a democracy. A government with too much power isn’t a good thing, for the society itself would change. One of the main things that helps our society balance the powers between the governments are the three divisions of government. The three branches of government consist of the legislative branch, the judiciary branch, and the executive branch.…

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    William E. Hudson's "American Democracy in Peril" points out different flows in the America's government system. Chapter 2 "The First Challenge: Separation of Power" gives a insight on how the separation of power system is cause government to be unaccountable and unresponsive. It also talks about how a parliamentarian system is more efficient. First how does Separation of Powers prevent control, responsiveness, and accountability? Separation-of-power makes it so that no one branch has compete power and they all work independently as well as together.…

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Nt1330 Unit 6 Term Paper

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages

    1. Structural ex ante constrains on the agencies that prevent deviations before they occur “The most effective means for achieving policy stability are constraints on the flexibility of agencies, rather than reliance on rewards, punishments, and oversight.” Enfranchising the constituents of presidents and congress through administrative structure and process, we can constrain the bureaucrats. We should clarify each political player’s responsibility and right by regulations and laws with negotiation and bargain.…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    When the elected branches have decided on a course of action-even on controversial issues-they usually prevail. However, the absence of enforcement authority has allowed Congress and the president at times to ignore Supreme Court rulings. Presidents realize that Congress is more willing to relax control when it knows it can easily reassert its preferences if it disagrees with the bureaucracy’s implementation of a policy. By continuing to honor these statutory provisions, designed to create more flexible principal-agency relations, the elected branches have colluded informally to “overrule” the Supreme Court’s verdict on the unconstitutionality of the legislative veto. Several provisions of the Constitution equip Congress and the president with the power to rein in the Supreme Court when they disagree with its decisions.…

    • 1201 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Congress Questions A. Although Congress has far more enumerated powers in the Constitution than those of the presidency or the Supreme Court, a direct collision between the legislative branch and the other two branches can actively be seen today in the US government-- and the outcome of said collision is causing what most see as paralysis of the closest branch of government in relation to the citizens of the US. Combined with the division created by disagreements between the Republican and Democratic Party and the threat of Presidential vetoing, Congress is virtually unable to get anything accomplished despite its extensive proclaimed (and self-proclaimed) authority. 
 While party control contributes to much of the gridlock that can be seen…

    • 1045 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Both also have very important powers as well. Even though both these branches are supposed to have equal power they do not. Today, the Executive Branch holds more power than the Legislative branch. Since the Executive Branch is made up of the President he at any given time can use military force without the permission of Congress. As time goes on we see more and more of the president gaining more power to do things.…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dysfunctions In Congress

    • 801 Words
    • 4 Pages

    There has long been a complex and changing relationship between Congress and the presidency. Many variables contribute to the creation of the dynamic rivalry in government. The lack of bipartisanship and the increase in partisan politics has played a key role. The current circumstances between the Congress and presidency are dysfunctional. History plays an important role in understanding the rivalry between Congress and the presidency.…

    • 801 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Barnes (2011) enlightens on how the federal government’s use of plenary power is used as a final factor in the Marshall Trilogy decisions. The use of plenary power has a powerful impact when using this case for case law purposes. Congress derives its ability to use plenary power from the Commerce Clause in Article I of the constitution. It is also through the plenary power that the federal government can preempt state law. Furthermore, congresses can use plenary power to give the tribe recognition, approve any documents or treaties, and set in place boundaries of power for that tribe…

    • 1752 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The United States government has a system of checks and balances that ensures that all parts of government are balanced. This measure is in the Constitution to safeguard against a tyrannical government. The Senate, as part of the Legislative Branch, checks and is checked by other parts of government. In order to maintain this balance, the House of Representatives, the Executive Branch, the Judicial Branch, and the American people check the Senate’s powers.…

    • 299 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The concept of the Checks and Balances system is straight forward. It is used in the United States Government to ensure that not one of the three branches of government has too much power. The three branches of government, legislative, judicial and executive all have individual power and responsibility to make sure the other two are in check. Each branch serves a purpose for the U.S. Government. The legislative branch is in charge of creating and passing all laws.…

    • 165 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Constitution was the start of building America up into what we see today and has lasted for over 200 years. Its inception as the Articles of Confederation or the “hand-shake” among states, grew into something more united (U.S. Constitution signed, n.d.). With the signing of the Constitution of the United States in 1787, the republic government was formed and established the three branches of government with overlapping powers. The three branches include the Legislative, Executive and Judicial organizations.…

    • 777 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Understanding the relationship between the president and congress is key in understanding American politics. Congress and the president cannot avoid engaging with one another, with a constitutional set up that demands they work together constructively. Congress has its roles to play in policy making as does the president. The president and congress are given certain powers in the constitution, that power is divvied up, so that neither one of these branches has too much power at one time (Fisher 2007). The founders of the constitution were very distrustful of the presidency and feared if the president was given too much power it would lead to demagogy (Dickinson 2008).…

    • 1004 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays