USA Congress: Chamber of Representative and the Senate - Essay Example

Time: Number: Section: The USA Congress: Chamber of Representatives and the Senate The USA is, apparently, a democratic state. Congress is a bicameral body of the central government of the USA, comprising of the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives. The USA Senate is a deliberative chamber of the bicameral principal body of the USA. However, the Chamber of Representatives is one of the Houses of the USA Congress whose principal functions are to enact laws, represent interests, as well as provide governmental oversight, among others. Succinctly outlined below are resemblances and dissimilarities between the two agencies, the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives. The Senate and Chamber of Representatives are different in various aspects. One perceptible distinction between them is the level of political influence. While the House of Representatives toils hard to generate laws and acquire government financial support helpful to the corresponding districts, their political parties do not perceive them as presidential fabric. The senators have a lot of time to cultivate political support needed to start a presidential campaign. Therefore, a number of House Representatives will dash for the open Senate chairs in their districts first, for them to vie for higher offices. This is not democratic since the house of representatives is under considered. The two should be equalized and given the same better opportunities to observe democracy. Secondly, while the Chamber of Representatives may echo a large range of political oversight from exceptionally liberal to tremendously conservative, the Senate tends to be less liberal. The affiliates of congress not only embody the needs of their districts, but also their political groups’ general agenda. Senators from similar states may not concur with each other politically. Support for propositions awaiting in the Senate falls squarely along political party lines. This is unlikely the Chamber of Representatives, where affiliates may not feel as compelled to cast votes along political party lines. Therefore, the senate turns out to be lesser democratic as it applies politics in their voting. The principle of one-man, one vote, therefore, has been upheld by the House of Representatives for a significant period. Thirdly, the tally of delegates between the two houses of congress differs. The Chamber of Representatives presently comprises 435 associates, one from each of the 435 states segments. States having a vast populace get immense resources. These representatives serve up to two-year terms, implying that they could be re-elected during other Congresses. The Senate consists of 100 associates, 2 from every state, without taking into consideration its population size. Senators operate for 6-year periods, with no limitations whatsoever (United States Congress House 7). The idea of limiting the House of Representatives is showing that there is favoritism on the side of the senate. Democracy has therefore lacked in the selection and allotment of the number of delegates required from each state. In addition, regarding the idea of one-man, one vote, it has been veered off since the people have to vote twice. Two senators in each state thus undemocratic. Another instance of dichotomy between the Representatives and the Senate branches of Congress is the smallest eligibility necessities for election. In order to vie for a chair in the Chamber of Representatives, a contender must be no less than 25 years of age, ought to have been a USA inhabitant for at least 7 years, as well as to be an officially permitted occupant of the given state. For an aspirant to vie for a senate chair, he/she must be in any case 30 years of age. The aspirant should also have been a USA inhabitant for no less than 9 years. The eligibility given here is quite tight for the senators. In such a situation, democracy for the young people who may want to join the senate has been violated. Although the two houses have numerous dissimilarities, they also share a number of similarities. First, both the USA Senate and the Chamber of Representatives form the USA Congress, the principal legislative body. Additionally, the two houses assemble at the Capitol from where they hold meetings to work simultaneously in legislating through passing of bills and forwarding them to the president before validation. In addition, both the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives represent their individual states in congress. The issue of full representation by the people in the congress is promising in terms of democracy. Another distinct similarity is that both Houses consist of both genders who participate entirely in all proceedings. This is to observe gender equality, an embodiment of democracy. Both Houses labor towards one large, chief objective: to devise, converse, argue and make a common choice upon proposed laws (bills). Prior to the President signing a bill into a valid law, it must first obtain a majority vote by the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives. Therefore, they both participate in the legislation making process. Observation of the uniformity of gender is a good show of a democratic congress. Therefore, the Senate is more authoritative. This due to the qualifications needed to qualify to be a Senator, which are stricter than those of the Chamber of Representatives are. The Senate also is more steady and official and distributes power equally. The Senate also is more influential since the affiliates have longer periods of operation. The founding persons designed the Senate in the belief that one of the Houses was to be more experienced. In as much as the founding fathers wanted to have a mandatory house in command, I think democracy of equality has been observed. This is because the representatives might have the same qualifications as the senators and land at that lower position. The congress should have comprised of one governing house formed by the combination of the two. The state of affairs of Congress in the USA considers direct democracy. This is because the citizens’ vote casted in elections is crucial in the selection of senators and House representatives of the peoples’ choice in the respective states. In addition to that, the delegates from both Houses participate fully in legislation and governance. The affiliates of congress have the mandate to debate upon bills and determine their credibility. The final authority for enactment of the bills into laws rests in the hands of the President (United States Congress House 10). This shows that the USA Congress respects direct democracy. One-man, one vote is the best thing about the democracy in this nation. People are allowed to choose their favorite leaders into the government as opposed to shally’s rebellion. The one man-one vote phenomenon is clearly a realization of direct democracy, whereby, the citizens are given a chance to choose the type of leaders, laws and government they wish to have. This is realized in referendums, by-elections and regular end-of-term elections. People are thus allowed to run the state of affairs of the country, though, not directly as such. The people are allowed to elect senators and representatives to the congress. This means that democracy is considered in the USA congress. Rebellion is rather an obnoxious kind of behavior when one is seeking democracy. One is not supposed to rebel against authority. A petition would be the better option. Shally’s rebellion is an embodiment of lack of democracy while one-man, one vote is a perfect example of democracy by the people and government. Works Cited WriteWork.com. Senate VS Chamber of Representatives Similarities between the members of Congress. 2004, April 17. Web. November 14, 2011. United States Congress House. Manual: Constitution of the United States with amendments. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1863. Print. Read More