Congress In The U.S Essay, Research Paper

The Need for Congress in the U.S

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 time consuming process. Anyone interested in having a

law passed must realize the process involved and be patient. In addition to

lawmaking Congress is also involved in passing amendments. Our nation has been

able to grow and strengthen due to the amendment process. In order for our

government to keep up with the changing times it is crucial that we make

adjustments to the constitution. The downfall is that the amendments passed

have not always kept up with changing times. Arguments against Congress would

be that they taken to long in enforcing the amendments.

The U.S. Congress must also implement national policy. The Congress

must regulate commerce in order to create a prosperous economy. It is up to

Congress to monitor the growth of the economy and be ready to act if necessary.

Congress has the power to implement monetary policy in which they decrease taxes

to induce spending during a slow economic period. They can also increase taxes

if there is a threat of inflation. The problems with the role of Congress in

the economy is again the time factor. It takes time to get the policy going so

Congress must be able to detect future economic problems in order for it to be

effective. Congress makes up one of three branches of government. The three

branches, executive, legislative, and judicial were designed in a way to prevent

any one branch from having absolute power over our nation. Each branch was

given the job to check and balance the other two branches. Congress has the job

of watching over the president. If Congress detects any corruption by the

president, it can bring about changes to impeach the president. Also, if the

president becomes incapacitated it is up to Congress to determine him as unfit

to continue his duties. Another way Congress checks the president is that it

must approve any treaties to ensure that the president does not have too much

power when it comes to foreign affairs. “The Senate must ratify all treaties by

a two-thirds vote.” (Compton’s Encyclopedia, Online). People will argue that

Congress gives the president too much power in the area of foreign affairs.

“Bush embarked on major war against Iraq in 1991, without a declaration of war

by Congress.” (Cummings / Wise 448). Although these checks and balances are

necessary they can also cause conflicts between branches. There is always a

possibility that the majority in Congress can be of a different party than that

of the president. “The disadvantage of the American system is the deadlock that

can develop between the president and the Congress over policy when each is in

control of a different party.” (Compton’s Encyclopedia, Online) 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

time consuming process. Anyone interested in having a law passed must realize

the process involved and be patient. In addition to lawmaking Congress is also

involved in passing amendments. Our nation has been able to grow and strengthen

due to the amendment process. In order for our government to keep up with the

changing times it is crucial that we make adjustments to the constitution. The

downfall is that the amendments passed have not always kept up with changing

times. Arguments against Congress would be that they taken to long in enforcing

the amendments.

The U.S. Congress must also implement national policy. The Congress

must regulate commerce in order to create a prosperous economy. It is up to

Congress to monitor the growth of the economy and be ready to act if necessary.

Congress has the power to implement monetary policy in which they decrease taxes

to induce spending during a slow economic period. They can also increase taxes

if there is a threat of inflation. The problems with the role of Congress in

the economy is again the time factor. It takes time to get the policy going so

Congress must be able to detect future economic problems in order for it to be

effective. Congress makes up one of three branches of government. The three

branches, executive, legislative, and judicial were designed in a way to prevent

any one branch from having absolute power over our nation. Each branch was

given the job to check and balance the other two branches. Congress has the job

of watching over the president. If Congress detects any corruption by the

president, it can bring about changes to impeach the president. Also, if the

president becomes incapacitated it is up to Congress to determine him as unfit

to continue his duties. Another way Congress checks the president is that it

must approve any treaties to ensure that the president does not have too much

power when it comes to foreign affairs. “The Senate must ratify all treaties by

a two-thirds vote.” (Compton’s Encyclopedia, Online). People will argue that

Congress gives the president too much power in the area of foreign affairs.

“Bush embarked on major war against Iraq in 1991, without a declaration of war

by Congress.” (Cummings / Wise 448). Although these checks and balances are

necessary they can also cause conflicts between branches. There is always a

possibility that the majority in Congress can be of a different party than that

of the president. “The disadvantage of the American system is the deadlock that

can develop between the president and the Congress over policy when each is in

control of a different party.” (Compton’s Encyclopedia, Online) Representation

was a key issue when the House and Senate were being designed. Many were

worried about how the states would receive equal representation in government.

It was decided that the Senate would be made up of two senators from each state

and the House representatives would be chosen on the basis of population. In

general this would seem fair as far as the states are concerned but what about

the people. Who is it that makes up our Congress? Are they everyday people you

and I? Many will say that our Congress is a representative to what the people

want. The fact is that the United States is becoming increasingly diverse as

time goes on, but just recently has Congress began to change. “More than half

the nations population are women, but the 102nd Congress had only thirty one

women members.” (Cummings / Wise 453). In addition, our nation is made up of

mostly blue collared workers, yet the most predominant occupation of Congress

members are lawyers. With this in mind the Congress must strive to understand

and represent the needs of the people. Congress cannot ignore the disadvantage

groups that feel unrepresented in the system. “Until the enactment of Medicare

in 1965, Congress declined to pass health care legislation for the elderly.”

(Cummings / Wise 446). There will always be people for and people against any

branch in government. The reason being, government is not perfect, nor are the

people who run it. Laws take time to create and policies take time to be

implemented. You cannot deny the fact that regardless of the time involved

these procedures are a major and necessary step. Over all Congress does a good

job with the roles and duties it is given. When it comes to representation, the

vote lies in our hands. We have the power to vote for who we want to represent

us. We can make a difference if we get involved in electing those who share the

same ideas of the people to make us a better a better nation.