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Significance of us congress
The role of Congress in policy making
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Yes, I think Congress has too much power. Because under the constitution, Congress has the most important power and that is to make/change laws. (The powers of Congress-http://www.ushistory.org/gov/6a.asp) In this paper I will explain to you how Congress has too much power by, it being split into two large bicameral legislatures, they have the power of impeachment, and they have the power to approve the spending of federal money. Congress is split into two large bicameral legislatures, the house of representatives and the senate. The Constitution grants Congress the sole authority to enact legislation and declare war, the right to confirm or reject many Presidential appointments, and substantial investigative powers which shows how they have too much power because even though they are split into two separate entities, they can share and overtake other parts of the government and basically do whatever they want from making laws to declaring war. They have had 15 federal judges impeached by the House, two Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton , a cabinet secretary ,and a U.S. Senator have also been impeached. (http://history.house.gov/Institution/Origins-Development/Impeachment/) With this many impeachments in the past, not to mention the presidents that resigned before being impeached, this goes to show that Congress really doesnt care if they impeach anybody because they can just find another person. But to us it proves they have too much power because it seems as easy as if they don't like somebody they can just impeach them and move on, but what does that prove? They can just push people around until they find someone to give in and have on their side for their own personal gain? I don't think so. We need to be more strict on how congress can go about impeaching somebody. Or just more strict in general because that's not the only thing that have too much power in as I explain to you my next
Each branch is given specific powers and responsibilities, many of which overlap. However, “it is clear, when push comes to shove, that Congress can trump the other two branches” (14). Congress struggles to keep its head above the water when communicating with the other branches. Article One of the Constitution is about the Legislative branch and is twice as long as Article Two, which is about the Executive branch. In contrast, Article One is four times as long as Article Three, which is on the judiciary. The Framers of the Constitution did this to make it “clear that Congress was to be first among equals of the three branches” (14).
...s on the Government’s power. It is the supreme law and any act that is inconsistent with it is null. The respondent’s argument that the Act “exceeds the authority of Congress” is a weak argument, which can be disproved by the Constitution, itself. Congress must be able to exercise stretching its powers in order to insure the safety of the economy.
Congress and The Presidency Congress as a whole makes laws. When Bills are addressed they must meet the approval of both the House and the Senate in order to become a Law, and then the President can always veto it. Congress also deals with matters of public concern be it something that needs to be investigated or something that needs to be put before the public to raise awareness. Congress is made up of two parts: The Senate and the House of Representatives. Each is granted different powers and responsibilities.
The Legislative Branch is Congress, which has just two branches - the House of Representatives and the Senate. To understand the power held by the Legislative Branch, we should refer to the Constitution itself. Per Section 8 of Article I, Congress may only act within the powers granted to them explicitly in the Constitution, these are called enumerated powers. But this doesn’t mean the powers granted to them were diminutive. The entire legislative power was constitutionally delegated to Congress. The House and Senate serve, for the most part, to work together (though not necessarily in harmony) on passing laws, and both House and Senate must approve all bills. The framers began with the forming Article I: The Legislative Article for a simple reason; law making is an extremely important function for our government. I believe they dug their heels in here first because they intended for it to be the longest, most thorough article in the Constitution, and every word truthfully serves a divine purpose of laying out the structure of how our Legislative Branch should run. With a mere 2,...
From the inception of the Constitution, there has always been a power struggle between the President and Congress. In the beginning, Madison and the Jeffersonians were placed in a gridlock with Hamilton and his school of political philosophy. Andrew Jackson fought to extend the powers of the President, then Congress spent 50 years fighting to repeal the powers of the Executive. Abraham Lincoln refined Jacksonian presidential politics, then Congress impeached his successor, Andrew Johnson, for fear of another quasi -- tyrannical President. Even today, a Congress, whose majority is of the same party as the President, fights 24 hours a day to check the power of President George W. Bush. But why, and how? Inherent Power Struggles Within the Constitution: Article I, Section I -- "All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives" VS. Article II, Section I -- "The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America" Article II, Section II -- "The President shall be the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States" - The Founders' ambiguous and contradicting language sets the stage for a power struggle between the Executive and the Legislative branches - Being that the Founders were political masterminds, they realized that unique circumstances would demand some deviations from the restraints that the Constitution places on both the Executive and the Legislature - Founders anticipated that during times of crisis', the nation would need ...
...utive branch to gain an amount of power it had never had before. Despite this, Congress retains the benefits of that original constitutional favor and the battle for supremacy between the legislative and the executive branches has become a close one. The legislative branch, however, has a stability of power stemming directly from the Constitution that allows it to remain steadily powerful regardless of circumstances. The executive branch is much more susceptible to the effects of the times and the nature of the people elected to the office. This stability of power makes Congress unquestionably the lastingly dominant branch of American government.
In conclusion, The Legislative Branch is the most powerful branch of the United States government not only because of the powers given to them by the Constitution, but also the implied powers that Congress has. There is also Congress’s ability to triumph over the Checks and balances that limits their power. The only thing truly holding The Legislative Branch back from gaining all the power, is the large amount of people involved in the process and their difference and ideologies, and that Congress is split into multiple houses, with public opinion and elections affecting half of the branch of government. Therefore, The Legislative Branch is the most powerful branch of the United States Government.
Impeachment is “ a criminal proceeding instituted against a public official by a legislative body.” (Impeachment). This does not mean automatic removal from office, which is a common misconception. the article goes on to explain how in the United States, the reason impeachment is so rare at the presidential level is because it is quite a long process and keep the Congress occupied for months; due to this impeachment in only employed in the gravest of circumstances. Furthermore, it is not just presidents or federal officials who can be impeached, as 49 states (all but Oregon) have an impeachment procedure in place. Impeachment is considered to be an important part of the checks and balances that make the US government unique, however due to the complicated and time consuming process it is.
Political conflicts regarding oversight are becoming a common occurrence in Washington, but have you stepped back and analyzed why this is? These unnecessary strangle hold on the democratic process are due to a few common practices, party politics, a deference to the Executive Branch, and prioritizing voter concerns with wasteful government spending. Some cause more problems than others, but overall these are the three biggest causes. Party politics prevents Congressmen and Senators alike from rearing off the path of their political party stance. We also see voters own ignorance as a big part of the government waste problem. Many like to complain about problems in our laws, but then are supportive of the laws when they go through Congress. This makes it very easy to pass laws with waste because they know the general population most of the time will let it slide. If your party holds the presidency, but that president does something that is unconstitutional that party will most likely stand its ground supporting the president. While the Executive Branch is an office that deserves respect, respect cannot get in the way of the Constitution and the laws of the land. No one is above the law, especially people in high office if anything they should be held more accountable due to their importance in American life. Congressional oversight is a major part of the checks and balances system, and if these major problems continue to occur we will see more and more people abuse the American democratic process.
Congress has grown too powerful. I believe that “There could not be a more dangerous heresy than that which concedes
Their checks and balances are totally unfair for the other branches, specifically the Executive Branch. For example, while the president can veto laws, the Congress can override this veto (Document A). This basically takes away the president’s check of the Legislative Branch, making it unfair for the President. It would have been much more fair if the Judicial Branch could override a veto. This is so because then the check for the Legislative would be intact, but the President would also be in check. Another potentially dangerous part of this is the ability the President and Congress have together. If the President managed to fill Congress with his cronies, then they could completely change the Constitution entirely (Article V, Constitution). This would make the Judicial Branch ineffective and lead to an oligarchy, or a government controlled by a specific group of people entirely with no power limitations. And while oligarchies can be effective and good for the economy, this can easily lead to oppression of the rich and then lead to tyranny. Finally, unlike the president, a congressman or woman does not have a limit to the amount of terms that they can serve. This gives them a long time to influence the House of Representatives or the Senate and can lead to tyranny from the few, or the
The longest serving member of Congress is Robert C. Byrd. He joined on January 3, 1959 and left office on June 28, 2010, he is the longest serving member of congress for serving 51 years 5 months and 26 days. He is one of many who have served over 25 years in Congress. The president has a term limit because we don’t want the same person to be able to control the United States because then nothing will change and we will only get the views of that one person. But in Congress you are allowed to run as many times as you want and if you keep winning you can stay in for life. I feel like Congress should have term limits.
For a long time Congress has had a low approval rating due to certain functions and the decisions that are made within this branch. The founding fathers did not intended for the legislative branch to be hated but they could have never dreamed of what would happen in the United States. The legislative branch is the section of government that forms and votes on bills that could potentially become laws. This is a very powerful branch that can deeply affect everyone's future. People should become more involved in the legislative branch because, then your ideas are more likely to be heard and carried out. If we never say what we think there may never be a solution.
Most people agree that there is an abuse of political power in congress. This is due to pork barreling, careerism, rich pension, and Cadillac health plans.
This balance of power definitely calms one over the future of American politics, especially in such as heated political atmosphere as it is right now. The notable authors of the Constitution were highly intelligent individuals who realized that by giving the power of Executive Orders to presidents that expediency would become apparent in some needed situations, yet they were also not naive to the fact that this power can be abused. The Congress and the Judicial Branch are thus there to prevent an unbalance of power from emerging. The government set-up is a strong base that will not be easily toppled or even scratched. Politics, most would agree, is overall a difficult topic to understand and at times not go insane from. In the end, however, the structure of the government in terms of the three branches and the Constitution is one thing the American people should remain putting their faith