It is bicameral meaning it has the Senate and the House and they make laws that influence daily life for their constituents. There are 100 members in the Senate and 435 members in the House of Representatives. Congress also makes the budget for the year, laws, and oversees the other branches of government. Article 1 of the Constitution describes what the founding father intend the role of Congress to be. It states important ideas include the separation of powers between branches of government (checks and balances), the election of Senators and Representatives, and the process by which laws are made, and the powers that Congress has.…
Members of Congress are tasked with many important duties and responsibilities. The three primary duties of Congress are to write laws, oversee the implementation of laws, and serving the needs of their constituents. The lawmaking process is affected by filibusters, committees, such as House Rules and Conference, oversight, and casework. A Senate filibuster occurs when a Senator speaks indefinitely on the Senate floor in order to cause a delay. This delay can be a delay of action or discussion of a bill that is on the floor, or it could be to delay other actions and business of the Senate.…
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.…
Book Review This book is written very well. There were no parts in the book that I had not either thought about or disagreed with. For me I think that congress needs to change. Out of the three branches of government I believe that congress needs to be reformed.…
Is the Senate simply a waste of institutional space? Or is it an opportunity to make a change that is long overdue? An expense scandal involving several senators in December of 2012 sparked a political debate with regards to the future of the Senate of Canada. Most will agree that the Senate is a thoroughly flawed institution, however the pros and cons of each proposition should be weighed before any action is taken. After presenting each of the proposed options regarding what decision is to be made about the future of the Senate, I will argue in favor of major reform.…
The committee has a broad jurisdiction relating to federal criminal law, human rights, immigration law, Internet privacy etc. In order to became a member, one need to master in Law. Another primary responsibility of the Committee is to conducting hearings prior to the Senate votes on confirmation of federal judges…
Rules Committee: A committee of the house that provides special rules under which specific bills can be discussed and amended. So What: The rules committee is important because they can decide what bills can be sent to the floor of the house for consideration. select committee: A committee appointed to deal with an issue not suited to a standing committee. So What: Select committee’s are important because they are formed temporarily and to study one specific issue.…
The minority party in Congress has a main goal of becoming the majority. They are known of having opposing views of the majority party. Other goals the minority party has is influencing policy, protect official rights and powers, and to attain party integration. The minority party in the House of Representatives has a minority leader who meets with the majority leader to discuss prevalent issues in the country; they usually work very close to one another. The job of minority whip is to maintain communication between the minority leader and its members.…
The subcommittee has the power to change or reject a bill. If the subcommittee allows a bill to pass after multiple investigations this process starts over in the full committee. If the bill makes it through the full committee the bill is escorted to the Senate, and the majority party marks it on the calendar for debate. A bill may wait months to years before being debated. When it is time to debate on the bill each member only has a few seconds to talk about it.…
One of the most important powers of congress is that of Congressional Oversight. While the public may only notice their congress when they are in session debating on important laws that is not the end of their duty as representatives of their constituencies. The members of congress have the responsibility to uphold and regulate different federal agencies (Halchin 2012). This is an important role when it comes to the checks and balance system. Basically, through congressional oversight, Congress can make sure that the laws that are passed are enacted and regulated.…
Congress takes on a very important job when they write up and vote on bills. Congress people can vote on bills based the popular majority of their constitutes making them representatives, or they can be trustees and act according to their own opinions while voting on a bill. Some Congress people may use both styles at different times when voting on bills or they may use neither style. By using neither style they would not vote the way the people want or based upon their own view of what is best for citizens, typically the Congress person would vote based upon party lines or the way their donors want them to vote. Sadly, many Congress people do not vote the way the people want them to or the way that is best for the most citizens.…
The laws and regulations that surround the American system are what allow progress to be made and for individuals to speak their voice with the confidence that their statement will be heard and will be regulated for the well-being of everybody. Depending on the issue time will be clear to interfere, however the issue will be certainly resolved by the government. For the purpose of resolving such issues the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate were created. The Texas House of Representatives, known as the lower house, and the Texas Senate, known as the upper house, are what compose the legislative bicameral section of the United States Congress.…
James Madison and Alexander Hamilton opposed the idea of political parties. In fact, they wrote in Federalist papers 9 and 10 about how dangerous to the United States political parties would be. Our constitution was written with the idea that there would not be political parties. Another interesting thing is that our first President, George Washington, is the only US President to date that was not a member of a political party. It is important for members of Congress, which is comprised of the Senate and the House of Representatives, to know the views of voters.…
If the committee agrees on the bill, then the bill is passed on to house of representatives. Next the house of representatives vote on the bill and if it is passed, then it will go to the senate to also get voted on.…
Unlike the British Parliament, in which the political parties are only important kind of organization, parties are only one of many important units in Congress. Congress has the power to do many things, some examples are, The power to borrow money, declare war, lay and collect taxes, regulate commerce with foreign nations among the states, provide militia, and create courts inferior to the Supreme…