Untitled Essay, Research Paper

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.