Congress In Crisis
The United States Congress is not in any crisis from a lack of power, and indeed since the deteriorating power of the presidency has prevented 'imperial Presidents', Congress has made Presidents seem less 'imperial' than 'impotent'. To assess the power and effectiveness of Congress, one must look at the four major roles that Congress plays in the United States. Although inevitably checked and balanced, there is no question of the founding fathers intent, when framing the constitution, they had aimed to enumerate the powers of Congress so as to create a dominant branch of government.The United States, similar to Britain is a representative democracy, ergo the name of the Lower House in Congress; the House of Representatives with its four-hundred and thirty-five members based on state delegations, dependant on the population of the represented state. Much like constituency MP's in Britain each member of Congress represents a certain district of a state. The power of the House of Representatives is limited due to "a habitual recollection of their dependence on the people". Representatives are elected every two years, as this term is so short a Congressman can not risk perusing or pressuring for unfavourable legislation or engag
Although the 'power of the purse' has some effect on foreign matters, this is little compared to the abundant powers of Congress in domestic issues. Although a seemingly inconsequential power, the President must be careful when agreeing treaties or making appointments as an uprising in Congress, could turn the media and the public unfavourably against the President. Congress has power to assert itself as a policy initiator, yet other branches have ability to seize this power from Congress without constitutional problems. These 'riders' are an ultimatum for the President, with Congress refusing to pass appropriations for a section of the budget if the President does not allow funds for their own policy agenda. Congress and the president have combined media and public relation interests, due to their accountability, so to be seen as 'do-little', by being adverse to each other's initiative or leadership, would be detrimental to both branches. Due to the increased involvement of the executive in all areas of society it has been left to the legislature and in this case Congress to act as scrutiniser to this branch of government. It is too readily assumed that Congress and the President are fighting to create their own entirely different picture of America, this is not often the case. Since the dawn of this era of modern politics, in most representative democracies, the executive branch of government has become increasingly dominant, concerning itself with initiating as well as implementing policy. For example, the scandals concerning Newt Gingrich in the early 1990's led to electoral dissatisfaction, including, by 1995, twenty-three states approving limits for the terms of their Senators and Congressmen. They have right to refuse borrowing, deny tax changes, or simply not appropriate monies towards what the President dictated. The options of Congress are dependent on the management, consistency and composition of the Houses themselves, if Congress can ever be said to have been or be in crisis, it is not a constitutional or political problem, it is a problem brought on by the electorate, electing inadequate representative politicians. The dependence of Senators on their electorate, although restrictive, is not as overbearing as for Congressmen, as being the more prestigious house they have terms of six years, allowing Senators to attempt more long-term legislative goals, which may not be favourable early on but justifiable in their ends. However, as with all contemporary issues, variables exist; powers within the three branches of government, and more so within the presidency and Congress change, precisely as the founding fathers intended as each separate branch struggles for powers not unequivocally enumerated. Via these means Congress has the power, in foreign affairs, to prevent wars or other military activities in other countries, which inevitably require money for supplies and wages, if Congress refuses to appropriate the funds for these foreign affairs, activity must cease.
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Acceptance Essays
