The Senate and House of Representatives comprise the two chambers of the United States Congress. While both houses are representative bodies and jointly oversee the executive branch, both must approve all bills before the president, but both chambers have different roles according to the Constitution. The House of Representatives has 435 members apportioned to the house from across the United States. States with larger populations receive more seats within the house.
The political theorists David R. Mayhew, Gary W. Cox, and Matthew D. McCubbins argue on how the US Congress functions. They focus on the members of Congress and their actions. The basis of disagreement between the theorists lies in what Congress members find of importance. Mayhew argues that members of Congress, primarily concern themselves with reelection, as such, any action taken only benefits that. Cox and McCubbins’, however, formulate that Congress functions on the basis of majority party control and unity.
The new constitution was proposed with a bicameral legislation meaning “ All legislative Powers herein granted
The difference in ideological views and decision making within congress creates a separation of agreement among the legislative decisions as whole and prevents logical and neutral policy making ( Wilson pg 12). The polarity in congress prevents neutralism and supports individualism due to the strongly motivated ideologies from each member instead of a unified unit that functions singularly An important hierarchy and responsibility of the legislative branch determines the order and ability for policies and laws to be stable and without bias. Individualism clouds the overall objective of creating stability in the United States. “Congress has, to a decree,been deinstitutionalized and individualized: its leadership has become weaker,power within it has been dispersed” (Wilson pg 13).
The constitution gives congress permission to declare war and enact legislation. It also gives them permission to accept or reject Presidential appointments. The House of Representatives separated between 50 different states and has 435 elected members. There are 6 members that do not vote. The presiding officer of the Chamber is third in line in the succession of the presidency.
The representatives would be the voices of their constituents, leaving them with the responsibility of making decisions for the public good.
Congress consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. “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. ”(Article 1 Section 1) Both houses in Congress have representatives from each state, in order to represent the positions and opinions of all fifty states. Machiavelli, however, did not believe in having so many people counselling the leader was effective. Machiavelli explains how it is more beneficial to have ministers than to have nobles.
The main advantage is that it removes the concentration of power from one individual. This ensures that abuse of power is limited. Giving different individuals from varying parties will also result in the creation of checks and balances in the executive. A lieutenant governor from the Democratic Party will be able to check the activities and the undertakings of a Republican governor thus ensuring that they operate within the confines of the law and the powers of their office. Also, the system allows for the introduction or the enforcement of the manifestos held by both parties, thereby resulting in greater benefits to the population.
When all three of these areas share the same party and same views, laws will be more easily agreed on, thus they will be passed quicker. Also in unified government, filibusters would not be needed. A filibuster is a tactic in the senate which delays an action or bill and ultimately defeats the bill until it is thrown out. In a unified government where the majority of people share the same views, it would be less likely to need to delay bills or throw them out because everyone would already find a way to agree on most of them. However, at the same time, unified government can prove to have disadvantages as the president’s ultimate goal is to be reelected which would mean appealing to the moderates.
The congress is the part of Legislative branch whose duty is to make the laws that are beneficial to the nation. Congress not only interprets the law it also has power to declare the war. Congress also represents the common public. Congress is broken due to several factors, for instance; the filibuster, the fundraising, difficulty in interpreting the law, hyperactive media, few representatives and many others. There are many causes of broken congress, but the main important are the difficulties which representatives are facing to make the law.
The act of redistricting can also isolate voters of a specific party. All these acts are undoubtedly undemocratic and will continue to have a drastic impact on U.S. politics unless it is
The Constitution clearly makes the Congress the most powerful of the three branches of government. Depending on the circumstances, however, the President might have more influence on Congress than one would think based on the separation of powers outlined in the
The legislative branch consists of the two houses of Congress that have been decided upon by the Great Compromise (the House of Representatives and the Senate). Joint together as one system, Congress has the powers to create laws, declare war, override veto, and impeach the president. Secondly, the executive branch—consisting of the president, vice president, and the Cabinet—has the power to carry out laws (approve), negotiate foreign treaties—such as alliances—, and can grant pardons for federal offers. Finally, the judicial branch, or the Supreme Court Justices can interpret laws, declare laws unconstitutional, and declare the president unconstitutional. Having three branches of government helps keep the government in check, and it prevents one branch becoming more powerful than the other branches.
It recruits former federal employees to return as lobbyists and consultants. With officials spinning in and out of the public and private sections of society, so does power, certain privileges, and money. This effects the electoral process by changing the way people think. Instead of thinking and acting towards the needs of the people, they focus on the needs of their next employer and disregard the rest.
It also makes political parties favored over larger areas because the candidates must get the votes of less populated states, which tend to have much more area in