Organization and Structure of the USA Congress - Essay Example

? United s Congress UNITED S CONGRESS Introduction The US Congress is the federal government’s bicameral legislature that consists of the US Senate in conjunction with the House of Representatives. The meeting place for Congress is the Capitol, which is located in Washington D.C. The members of the United States Congress are elected through a system of direct election, for both the Senate and House of Representatives (Smith et al, 2011). Majority of these members are either affiliated with the Democratic Party or the Republican Party with independent or third party members being a rarity. The US Congress consists of 435 voting members in the House of Representatives and 100 voting members in the US Senate, totaling to 535 members of the legislature. This paper will seek to discuss the organization and structure of Congress, membership of Congress, general Congressional authority, and modern problems facing Congress. Organization and Structure of Congress The United States Congress’ organizational structure is based on the Constitution, enacted legislation with presidential assent, and rules created by Senate and the House of Representatives. Congress is a bicameral legislature, meaning it is made up of 2 bodies with legislative power; Senate and the House of Representatives (Smith et al, 2011). Prior to being sent to the executive, legislation has to pass through both chambers and approved. The Senate has one hundred members with the US Vice President being the chamber’s president and being the only official ion government who serves in two government branches, although in a largely ceremonial role and votes when there is a tie. The actual functional leader is the majority Leader of Senate who is selected by either party depending on which has the most members (Smith et al, 2011), while the minority leader is head of the other party. The lower chamber of Congress is the House of Representatives made up of some 435 members with voting privileges. This chamber is led by the House Speaker elected by members of the party with a majority (Smith et al, 2011). The second most powerful member in this chamber is the majority leader of the house whose selection is also carried out by the party with the majority, while the party with the minority is headed by the Minority leader. Because of these differences in organizational structure, the voting rules in both houses are also different. For the House of Representatives, majority vote of those present is considered in passing legislation, while a supermajority of 60 is used in Senate. Subcommittees and committees do most of the duties carried out in both chambers of Congress where legislation under proposal is first considered (Smith et al, 2011). If a committee approves legislation, it becomes a bill and moves to the Senate or House of Representatives to be considered and ultimately voted on. Membership in Congress In the House of Representatives, members represent people living in a district and serve for a term of two years. The results of the US Census are used to apportion Congressional Districts to states with each state having at least one congressman or woman. Regardless of census results, every state has two Senators, each of whom serves six years (Bianco, 2010). Election of Senate members is staggered to ensure that a third of the house is up for election after two years. These groups of Senators are referred to as classes and each state has senators from different classes. The House of Representatives, as suggested by its name, is considered the most representative for the American population. Tied to their election, members of Congress work for periods of two years, each of which is referred to as a Congress, beginning from the start of the year after an election (Bianco, 2010). In order to become a member of the House of Representatives, one must be 25 years of age, while a Senator must be at least thirty years of age. With regards to citizenship, the US Constitution holds that hopefuls for membership to the House of Representative must have lived as US citizens for seven years prior to seeking election (Bianco, 2010). For a Senator, the period of citizenship prior to seeking election is nine years. Finally, concerning residence, candidates for both the House of Representative, in addition to, the Senate must have resided in the state in which they are seeking to represent. Nevertheless, in the occasion that a member of the House of Representatives is expected to be a resident of the state in which the District he seeks to represent is located, he does not have to live in the specific District he seeks to represent (Bianco, 2010). Congressional Authority The most important authority vested on Congress by the Constitution is legislation whereby a bill can only become law if both chambers approve the same form of the bill. Congress also has authority granted by Section 8 of Article 1 of the US Constitution to regulate commerce, raise a military force, coin money, declare war, establish jurisdiction of federal courts, and establish naturalization and immigration rules (Murphy, 2012). In addition, the US Constitution also grants Senate and the House exclusive powers. For example, the House of Representatives is granted the authority to originate revenue bills, although they are now considered in both houses simultaneously. The House of Representatives also has the authority to impeach civil officers and charge the US President with wrongdoing, requiring a simple majority to impeach elected officials. Exclusive authority granted to Senate includes confirmation of major appointments by the president like Cabinet members, ambassadors, and federal judges. Senate is also authorized to approve treaties with foreign countries, which needs at least two-thirds majority vote and acts to control the foreign policy powers wielded by the President (Murphy, 2012). Finally, the chamber is also authorized to carry out the impeachment trial after the lower house impeaches an individual. The implied or elastic authority clause also grants Congress the power to legislate laws deemed proper and necessary in enumeration of its functions. This authority is called evolutionary power and many powers in Congress are based on this clause. One example of evolutionary authority is budget oversight where Congress restricts and reviews the executive branch’s annual budget (Murphy, 2012). If a law sets up a government program, Congress should pass an authorization bill, which states the maximum funds availed to that program. In addition, only Congress can come up with appropriations after setting of the federal budget for each authorized program. Another evolutionary power is that of investigation, in which Congress can investigate wrongdoings perpetuated by federal officials. Committee hearings are used in this case to examine foreign trade, health care, consumer safety, crime (Murphy, 2012), and other issues. Modern Challenges in Congress Since Congress has been in place with minimal changes for a long time, it is bound to face challenges as times change. For example, Congress now operates with reduced leadership from the President due to continuous separation of powers (English, 2012). The President under the Constitution should take the leadership of Congress in some issues, especially since he is responsible for deciding the direction the country will take. Congress only changes it or may act to stop it. However, as Presidents continue to seek advantage by distancing themselves from Congress, which many Americans view as tainted and static, the President’s effectiveness at working with Congress insiders has diminished. Another modern challenge is diminishing institutional knowledge among Congress members (English, 2012). Since members today do not sustain committee positions for a long time, compared to years ago when chairmanship of some committees lasted for decades, members are not versed in institutional knowledge. One reason for this is that elections now require the members to be constantly in their areas of representation, limiting their time to interact with other members to help in creating bi-partisan consensus. References Bianco, W. T. (2010). Congress on display, Congress at work, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. English, R. M. (2012). The United States Congress, Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press. Murphy, P. J. (2012). The U.S. Congress, Minneapolis, Minn: Compass Point Books. Smith, S. S., Roberts, J. M., & Vander, W. R. J. (2011). The American Congress. New York: Cambridge University Press. Read More