...1) There are 535 members in Congress. 2) The minimum age of House member is 25 years. For Senate, this number is 30 years. 3) The dominant prior occupations of most Congress members are law and business. 4) Women are underrepresented in Congress due to sexism and family burden. Women are not as likely to get nominated from the party as men are and have a harder time getting votes in elections. The majority of them also has to take care of children and therefore do not have time for Congress. Women are also less likely to take risks if the odds are against them. 5) Incumbents are members who are already holding office. In congressional election, these members usually win with the reelection rate of 90%. They provide stability in Congress. 6) The reelection bids for House favor incumbents. Incumbents in House are already well known with financial backing. In Senate, the odds of re-election are not as good as in the House due to a larger base of opposition. Senators also have less personal contact with their constituency. In order to win against incumbents, challengers must take advantage of scandals and the reassignment of incumbents into unfamiliar turfs. 7) Case work is the act of helping constituents by cutting through bureaucratic red tapes. 8) A bicameral legislature is a two house legislature. It applies for every American state except for Nebraska. Each state is guaranteed two senators, and number of representatives is decided based on population. Bicameral legislature...
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...Article 1 section 8 The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; To borrow money on the credit of the United States; To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes; To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States; To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures; To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States; To establish Post Offices and Post Roads; To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries; To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court; To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations; To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water; To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years; To provide and maintain a Navy; To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces; ...
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...Article I of the Constitution sets forth the powers of Congress in specific language. Section 8 states, "Congress shall have Power … To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof." Laws aren't simply conjured out of thin air, of course. Any senator or congressman may introduce a bill, after which it is referred to the appropriate legislative committee for hearings. The committee, in turn, debates the measure, possibly offering amendments, then voting on it. If approved, the bill heads back to the chamber from which it came, where the full body will vote on it. Assuming lawmakers approve the measure, it will be sent to the other chamber for a vote. Once the measure clears Congress, it is ready for the president. If both bodies have approved legislation that differs, it must be resolved in a joint congressional committee before being voted on again by both chambers. The legislation then goes to the White House, where the president may either sign it into law or veto it. Congress, in turn, has the power to override a presidential veto with a two-thirds majority in both chambers. In addition, Congress has the power to amend the Constitution, though this is a long and arduous process. Both chambers must approve the proposed constitutional amendment by two-thirds majority, after which the measure...
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...AGENCIES OF THE CONGRESS 1. Electoral tribunal * Are the persons in charge if there is something wrong about last election * Were created by the Constitution as special tribunals to be the sole judge of all contests relating to election, returns and qualifications of the members of the legislative houses, and, as such, are independent of congress * Was created to function as a nonpartisan court although two-thirds of its members are politician PURPOSE OF THE Constitution * To provide an independent arid impartial tribunal for the determination of the contests to legislative office * Devoid of partisan considerations * To transfer to that tribunal all the powers previously exercised by the legislative in matters pertaining to contested elections of its members Composition of the electoral tribunal Each electoral tribunal shall be composed of nine (9) members: 1. House of the Representative Electoral Tribunal (HRET) * Composed of the three (3) Justices of the Supreme Court * Designated by the Chief of Justice * Six (6) members of the Senate chosen on the basis of proportional representation from the political parties and the parties or organizations registered under the party-list system therein 2. Senate Electoral Tribunal * Composed of three (3) justices * Designated by the Chief of Justice * Six (6) members of the House of the Representative * Chosen on the basis of proportional representation * The most...
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...The main role of congress is legislating laws, and these laws go through several stages. Some of these laws are for show or meant to help certain people, and other laws originate to really benefit all Americans. Therefore, the laws making in congress is a combination between functions of process, and politics. The process of functions is what congress does to satisfy most of the citizens. Back in the beginning of the sixties, there was something called the great society, which were laws issued to flourish the country. These laws helped citizen to gain economic opportunity and get out of poverty, and also encouraged students to continue college by making facilities for them. Additionally, it allowed elderly people who over sixty-five to obtain...
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...The Congress is consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives, which represents the interest of the citizens of the United States. Congress consists of elected officials that we the people elected. The Senate and House of Representatives both make laws, but the Senate, under the Constitution, has certain granted powers that the House of Representatives do not have. The House of Representatives serves for two terms and the Senate serves six-year terms (Larson, 2015). The Senate is composed of 100 members and each state has two Senators. Only 20 percent of Senators are females per the 113th Congress (2015). The mark-up of the congress does not reflect the demographic of the United States. By the Senate being 80 percent male, this is an over representation of the 49.2 percent males in the United States (Male, 2014). Another example of over representation, the House of Representatives has 82.2 percent of males. As the bible states, “For I know...
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...In the United States Congress is tasked with the role of creating laws and regulation that control the way citizens live their lives. Due to this role Congress is given incredible control over the country and how it runs. Members of Congress work together in order to create these laws in order to benefit the people of the country. Factors such as the political affliction and party of each Congressman or the president at the time can have a great influence over Congress. Due to these factors the true power of congress lies within the majority party in charge of Congress. Having a majority party can be incredibly inflectional in passing the ideas and standards of a certain political party (McClenaghan, 2003, p.123). Congress has the power to...
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...legislators since 1990. Inevitably, this shift has raised an important question on whether similar limits should apply in Congress. However, based on the effects of limits on state governments, both chambers of Congress should remain free from term limits. In a New York Times article, B. Drummond Ayres wrote that the average member of the California Assembly “now has three years of experience, less than half the average before term limits.” Eliminating term limits excuses the most experienced members from state legislatures. Less experience and expertise make it more difficult to efficiently pass legislation. Congress needs experienced legislators...
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...There is a definite need for Congress in the United States. It serves many roles such as making laws, implementing national policy and watching over the other two branches of government. These are just a few of the duties of our U.S. Congress. Although they are essential to our government, there are potential problems. People are not always satisfied with the length of time involved in passing a law as well as the deadlock Congress can experience on an issue. Another potential problem people see with Congress is representation. Not all Americans feel that they are equally represented. The Congress of the United States is viewed by many as the largest branch in government. Some people might even say it is the most important. This is due to the roles Congress pays in our government. Congress is responsible for the lawmaking in our country as well as implementing national policy. The power to make laws was given to Congress by our forefathers when they constructed our constitution. Passing laws is very important to our country because without them we would be living in chaos. Of course, all our laws are not perfect but for the most part our Congress does a good job at keeping this country under control. The problems with lawmaking that most people see is the time involved in getting a law passed. In order for a bill to become a law it must first be "introduced to the House or Senate, or both, then referred to a committee." (Cummings / Wise 479). This can be a very...
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...After completing the mock Congress simulation, I obtained a greater understanding in how a bill becomes a law in addition to the factors that may prevent its passage. The diversity of roles that students were assigned as representatives offered a glimpse into how complex the legislative process really is. Bills are passed with the near universal intent of positively impacting the American people. However, this impact may not be universally distributed across demographics and in some cases it can hurt the constituents that one represents. With so many agendas, public and private, clashing and coinciding with each other in Congress, even the smallest of bills require a massive collective effort to become law. During the simulation, I was a Republican that represented a suburban community whose primary economic interest resided in business. Since both Republicans and the suburban community tended to be more conservative economically, I decided to create a bill that coincided with both of our interests by decreasing the ad valorem tariff levied on imported automobiles. In addition, my Republican background presented issues with the demographic I was representing due to the fact that I generally favored less government intervention...
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...The U.S Congress is the branch of government concerned mainly with making the laws. The U.S congress is bicameral, this means that it is made up of two separate bodies. These are the House of Representative and the Senate. The House of Representatives has four hundred and thirty five (435) members from every state based on the population and is adjusted every ten years after the census. These officials are elected by the people in each congressional district. The Senate has one hundred (100) members from every state based on equal representation. These officials are elected by the people statewide. The House of Representatives and The Senate work together in the law making process as well as other responsibilities. The U.S congress is broken down into...
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...The Library of Congress: Thomas Jefferson Building The United States Library of Congress has become a symbol of American democracy and faith in the power of learning. The Library of Congress consists of three buildings: the Thomas Jefferson, the John Adams, and the James Madison wings. The most famous of the three is the Thomas Jefferson building which, through its architecture both inside and out, has become a monument to civilization, culture, and American achievement. The Library of Congress was begun on April 24, 1800 and was first housed in the United States Capitol building, but in 1814 the British invaded and burned the Capitol destroying the 3000-book library. Being a great advocate of the library, Thomas Jefferson offered to sell his own personal collection of 6487 books, one of the largest in the nation, for $23,950, expanding the bounds of the library. Because of the Library’s growing collections, it out-grew its place in the Capitol and created the need for new architectural project: the Thomas Jefferson Building. Ainsworth Rand Spofford proposed the idea of a separate building in 1871, and it was approved and authorized in 1886 by Congress for $6 million. Spofford’s concept for the new building was based on other national libraries in Europe, especially the British Museum Library. The original architects, John L. Smithmeyer and Paul J. Pelz, believed that “the National Library…should be more a museum of literature, science, and art, than strictly taken as a...
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...The First and Second Continental Congress History-101 Dr. Robert Young May 22, 2014 From 1774 to 1789, the first Continental Congress served as the single government of the original 13 American colonies and later to become the United States of America. It was comprised of delegates from the colonies which met in 1774 to the reaction of the Coercive Acts which were a series of measures imposed by the British government on the colonies in response to their resistance to the new taxes imposed by the British. The American dream is built upon a foundation of struggles and gains, along with more struggles. A look back to early American history provides one with a timeline that seems endless and full of surprises. The First Continental Congress serves as one of those timeline markers and is a great example of the American way. Being one of the first meetings ever between the colonists, Congress laid one of the first bricks into the foundation of America. The First Continental Congress made its mark in history on September 5, 1774 in Philadelphia’s Carpenters Hall. The idea of such a meeting was advanced a year earlier by Benjamin Franklin, but failed to gain much support until after the Port of Boston was closed in response to the Boston Tea Party. Twelve of the thirteen colonies sent representatives to this secret meeting, “Georgia decided against roiling the waters; they were facing attacks from the restive Creek on their borders and desperately needed the support...
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...ssue #1 Each state should be represented in congress by the two houses of representatives. The first house of representatives defended the Virginia plan that each state should be represented by the state's population. Wilson created the plan so that states that had a big population wouldn't have a the part as a state with very little population. just like as wilson said “It seemed absurd to claim that the 68,000 people of Rhode Island should have the same voice in congress as Virginia's 747,000 inhabitants.”(Article 1) So the bigger the state the more representatives they had. The second house of representative was senators. This house of representative defined the New Jersey plan. The New Jersey was the ideal that each state should represented...
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...Congress System and It’s breakdown After independence and before 1967, the Congress was in a dominant position and this period normally referred as a “Congress Dominated System” or “Congress System”. Congress was a dominant force under the leadership of a majestic personality like Nehru and formed governments in centre and in most of the states. After the demise of Nehru, the Congress System started breaking up because of the fights between internal factions and power ambitions. This essay is an attempt to study the reasons behind break down of the congress system. Breakdown of Congress System Congress dominance started crumbling from the mid of 1960s. Fourth general election held in 1967 saw a fall in congress vote share and seats. The party system which emerged from this general election and till 1989 can be termed as a bipolar system where congress was facing a united opposition in almost all the states. This period also witnessed making of many coalition governments in the states where opposition posed a united front to keep congress out of power. One point can be noted here is that the votes of the congress party declined much more drastically in the assembly elections than in parliamentary elections. Following are some of the reasons which can be identified for the breakdown of the Congress systemUnited Opposition: Indian electoral system is a “First past the post” system or in India the candidate who gets the maximum vote wins. Congress never secured more that 50%...
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