Strengthening a Dysfunctional Congress One of the key branches of the American government is the Congress of the United States which was established with the purpose of enacting legislation across the United States of America. In recent years Congress has not been a subject that the general population is well educated on, and many do not believe that Congress is strong enough as a major governmental branch. Many individuals do not believe that Congress is solving problems like it should be, or has in the past. Although Congress does not seem to be working as well as in the past, it still plays an important role in the American government today. Recent cases and legislative processes have proven that Congress can have a one-sided view on issues …show more content…
and mostly only one party will be in favor of the end result. Congress was established in the U.S. Constitution on March 4th, 1789. In the U.S. Constitution it states, “All legislative powers herein granted shall be invested in a Congress, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives,” (Article I Section I). Although these separate chambers are different, they still work together to pass, create and vote on laws for the Federal courts to review then be signed in by the President (Haskell 19). Each state has two members in the Senate no matter the size of their population, but the amount of members in the House of Representatives depends on the size of the state’s population (Patterson 327-268). In Sarah Binder’s, “The Dysfunctional Congress,” she addresses the public’s view of Congress and how many people believe that it is dysfunctional and unproductive in legislative processes of recent.
From her point of view and research she found only 7% of the public approves of Congress. Contrary to the public, legislative scholars do not believe this and would argue that Congress is strong and not dysfunctional. Whether legislative scholars have this opinion because they are more educated on the subject of Congress and the lawmaking process or not, this may cause their belief in a strong Congress (Binder 85-86). Throughout her essay she assesses Congress’ recent legislative performance, which the public believes is not its best effort. In the abstract of her essay she states, “I argue that even when Congress and the president have reached agreement on the big issues of the day, Congress's problem-solving capacity appears to have fallen to new lows in recent years,” (Binder). Binder’s stance on Congress seems to align with the public’s majority view of a dysfunctional …show more content…
Congress. Lee Hamilton’s book Strengthening Congress focuses on key ways to strengthen Congress, and why this is important for the American government. During the first section titled, Why We Need to Restore Power to Congress, Hamilton addresses the importance of checks and balances and separating power between each branch of government. Congress plays an important role in this system because the President could not handle all the power himself. Congress also gives the American citizens an easier way to access the government and voice their opinions to government officials. Hamilton also brings up how Congress can more strongly represent the American people than the executive branch through more diversity in its members. While identifying with a strong support for Congress, Hamilton also adds in a flaw in his own view stating, “It is that the Congress sometimes cannot get its act together well enough to be a strong, effective, and sustained counterbalance to the power of presidency,” (Hamilton 4). In his last chapter, “A Well-Functioning Congress,” Hamilton addresses nine core characteristics that a strong Congress should have. These include, search for remedy, looking ahead, set the agenda, give a voice to diverse people, forge consensus, exercise judgment, be led responsibly, engage in genuine consultation, and seek the common good. If Congress is sure to include these characteristics, there is no way that they could not be as strong as when created in the Constitution. It may take more time for the public to change their views on Congress, but Hamilton believes that these characteristics are the start to a new stronger Congress. Binder clearly aligns with this thought process in stating that, “the coming years remains an open question.” Instead of wondering what could happen to Congress and our political system in the future, the public should be working to solve these problems.
Hamilton has clearly outlined the solution of what a strong Congress should look like, through nine different core characteristics, and how to achieve it. He does this even though he has noted some flaws to Congress but does not give up on the hope and belief of a strong Congress and American political system. After assessing both arguments, it is easy to see why the public views Congress as dysfunctional and not strong enough. Many say that the current Congress does not align with what the founding fathers would have wanted, but do not try and find a solution to the problem. While it is popular to have this belief, more individuals should be interested in why Congress is not as strong as they like.Through support from the public and American political system, it is very possible that Congress can become stronger than it ever has been. Works
Cited Binder, Sarah. "The Dysfunctional Congress." Annual Review of Political Science 18.1 (2015): 85-101. Web. 24 Nov. 2017. Congress.gov. (2017). Congress.gov | Library of Congress. [online] Available at: https://www.congress.gov. 26 Nov. 2017. Hamilton, Lee. Strengthening Congress. Indiana University Press, 2009. EBSCOhost. Web. 25 Nov. 2017. Haskell, John. Congress in Context. Westview Press, 2010. EBSCOhost, 5 December 2017. Patterson, Thomas E. We The People: An Introduction to American Government. 11th ed,. McGraw-Hill Education, New York, 2015. 3 December 2017. United States Constitution, Article I, Section I.
Finally, Alexander Hamilton’s views on government were better for what the United States would become. Hamilton’s views on government were better for what the United States would become because he was a Federalist and believed in a strong central government. Also because of the way he viewed national debt, and the way he viewed foreign affairs. These are all ways that prove Alexander Hamilton’s views on government were better for what the United States would
Most individuals with a general background knowledge of the United States Federal Government system are aware that in order for a bill to become a law, it must first pass a majority vote in Congress. There is, however, a very important step in the legislative process that sometimes goes unnoticed. The committee system of the legislation process ensures that the appropriate attention is given to each bill introduced to Congress. Each member of both chambers are assigned to committees and subcommittees, and are expected to become subject matter experts in their respective roles as committee members.
In the past century, people continued to express an increasingly discontent view of Congress especially true when one looks back before the Clinton Impeachment debacle As the size of the nation and the number of congressman have grown, the congress has come under attack by both public influences and congressman themselves. Yet looking at one congressman's relationship with his or her constituents, it would be hard to believe that this is the branch of government that has come under suspect. In “If Ralph Nader says congress is 'The broken branch,' how come we love our congressman so much?” author Richard F. Fenno, Jr., provides insight into this view and why, through congress coming under fire, constituents still feel positively about there congressmen. Although congress is often criticized, its fine tuned functioning is essential in checking the power of congress without hindering the making of legislation.
Through his power as secretary of Treasury and his convincing intellectual efforts, he was able to dominate the nation's early political environment. Hamilton’s patriotic endeavors have proven to be durable and in the best interests of the United States.
... middle of paper ... ... What hinders the capabilities of Congress is that minorities and factions exist: dissent takes place, not disagreements. Verbal brawls take place rather than actual argumentation, and that is what kills democracy.
The Constitution gives powers to Congress in order to execute its many responsibilities. These responsibilities are necessary and proper for carrying out its policies such as, imposing taxes and regulating interstate commerce. The constitution has 435 members in the House and 100 more in Senate. Congress faces issues with action problems and the solution to correcting these collective problems are at the expense of the incentive members. The Cabinet, President, state and federal courts, political groups, media, etc. all have input when determining a political decision in the United States. Open arrangement is an objective arranged strategy that the legislature follows in managing an issue or issue in the nation. Open approaches are focused around law; however numerous individuals other than officials set them. People, gatherings, and even government organizations that don 't follow strategies can be punished. This confounded procedure has been concluded with an anticipated arrangement of steps.
Congress has helped develop the Presidency as we know it today. This is because Congress argues over proposals and legislation proposed by the President. They are a major determent in whether bills turn into laws. But it’s not easy. One reason for this is because there are many powerful groups out there who argue about what should be discussed such as air pollution with the EPA or jobs.
The United States of America has engaged in the battle known as political polarization since before its foundation in 1776. From the uprising against the powerful British nation to the political issues of today, Americans continue to debate about proper ideology and attempt to choose a side that closely aligns with their personal beliefs. From decade to decade, Americans struggle to determine a proper course of action regarding the country as a whole and will often become divided on important issues. Conflicts between supporters of slavery and abolitionists, between agriculturalists and industrialists, and between industrial workers and capitalists have fueled the divide. At the Congressional level there tends to be a more prevalent display of polarization and is often the blame of Congress’ inefficiency. James Madison intentionally designed Congress to be inefficient by instating a bicameral legislation. Ambition would counter ambition and prevent majority tyranny. George Washington advised against political parties that would contribute to polarization and misrepresentation in his Farewell Address of 1796. Washington warns, “One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts.” Today, the struggle to increase power between political parties results in techniques to gain even the smallest marginal gains. To truly understand political polarization, we must examine data collected through a variety of means, the effects of rapidly changing technology, and observe what techniques are used to create such a polarized political system.
Otto von Bismarck once said, “Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.” The arduous process that a bill undergoes in order to become a law may seem grueling and pointless; however, the processes high caliber of difficulty allows for the extreme prestige and exclusivity of bills that are passed. Because the process is so exhausting, and filibusters, subsequently requiring a super-majority vote to pass a bill, have always been such a threat in Congress, historically, bills that attempt to reform sensitive issues have not fared well in the legislative branch. However, when Congress does pass controversial laws, it then also faces the task of effectively enforcing them. But, when the process is carried out to completion, laws that are enforced have significant impacts on the everyday lives of the American people—such as laws concerning abortion rights. In the United States, the government and Congress have significantly affected the rights of women with regard to abortions through laws that either restrict or guarantee their legality and availability, while the government’s capacity to do so is affected by the principle of federalism along with that of the separation of powers.
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.
American politics is often defined by a continuing power conflict between the executive and the legislative branches of the government. This struggle for political power between the two stronger branches of the three is inherent in the Constitution, itself. The concepts of separation of powers and checks and balances ensure that the branches of government will remain in conflict and provide a balance that keeps the entire government under control. As it was first established, the executive branch was much smaller and weaker than as we know it today. Consequently, the legislative branch was unquestionably dominant. Over the course of history, the executive branch grew in both size and power to the point where it occasionally overtook the legislative and today rivals the legislative in a much closer political battle. Today both branches have major factors that contribute to their power, but on the whole the legislative remains the lastingly dominant branch.
When many people hear the words the Senate and the House of Representative they might think of Congress. They do not truly go into depth of what those two departments mean, and they do not understand how vital they are to our own government. Congress is part of the Legislative Branch and is a bicameral legislature. Which means that is a legislature that is separated into two houses, and in that case is the House of Representatives and the Senate. Many know the words "The Senate" and "The House of Representatives" but they do not truly know what those words entail, many do not know the contrast and comparisons of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
In our countries government, Congress plays a major role in decision making. They’re primary role is to pass laws. These laws start off as bills. Bills can only be introduced by members of Congress. Although these bills only come from Congressman, there are many people who influence these bills. Such as the president, regular citizens, offices in the executive branch, and many others. The bills right off the bat do not have a very good chance of passage. Only one out of every ten bills even gets any attention at all. This is because they must go through many tests and hearings before they even have a chance of landing on the president’s desk. These steps in a bill becoming a law are very important, and make sure that all bills passed into law are the best of the best.
Prior to this trip, I understood at least the basic procedures of the Congressional legislative process. However, it wasn’t until after I participated in the Potomac Summer Institute that I realized just how little I actually knew because each of the steps in the legislative process is nowhere near as simple as a textbook may make them seem.