The Roles and Powers of the United States Congress and the British Parliament - Essay Example

Politics The purpose of this essay is to provide a deep analysis of the differences and similarities of the roles and powers of the United s Congress and the British Parliament. In order to achieve this objective, this essay will first highlight and identify some of the history behind the congress and parliament followed by an analysis of what objectives they are designed to achieve. After this point this essay will identify the roles and powers of each body in order to provide some of the differences and similarities between each unit According to Heywood (2003) political ideas and ideologies can act as a kind of social cement, which in turn could provide social groups with a set of unifying beliefs and values. In this regard one could consider that governments are set up to help provide a relatively unified set of codes by witch to govern a society. In the American context one could present the argument that the ‘First Continental Congress’ which was a meeting of twelve of the thirteen original colonies which banded together to present grievances to the British Monarchy was the original congress. However it was the second continental congress which met again in 1776 which declared the colonies free, effectively beginning the American Revolution and in turn was the entirety of the United States government. According to English (2003) it is the case that the original congress held such responsibilities as directing the war, commerce, the enforcement of laws, however they were not free to collect taxes and held the key distinction of allowing the independent colonies (States) the ability to remain sovereign and as such they would effectively be free to ignore any legislation passed by congress. As one would naturally assume, this system was rife with flaws. In this regard a kind of compromise was made in which a house of representatives was established in which officials would be elected directly by the people based on the population of the states and the senate would provide a type of equal representation by the state regardless of population. Now it is the case according to Davidson et al. (2006) that the United States congress has a number of direct powers identified in the United States Constitution however there are a number of implied powers which owe their nature to the Necessary and Proper clause. In general the congress handles affairs pertaining to the setting and collection of taxes, defense, the paying of debts, regulation of commerce, the establishment of courts (lower than the Supreme Court). It may seem cumbersome to have both a house and a senate however it is the case that the reasoning behind why these two bodies exist is because it creates a system of checks and balances in which no two bodies are simple copies of each other and allow for the careful consideration of all major bills from different perspectives. A positive vote from both is required to approve legislation. In the British context the founding of the parliament may have arisen for very different reasons than that of the United States congress. According to the Guide to the Proceedings of the House of Lords (2007) it is the case that the history of the Parliament can be traced back to separate parliaments of Wales, Northern Ireland & Ireland, and Scotland which have their origins around the thirtieth century. Whilst they may have independently been responsible for a variety of different governmental functions the reasoning as to why they were originally formed can be traced to a number of different contributing factors such as the feudal system. It was under this structure that the reigning monarchs of Great Britain sought governmental advice from regional, and spiritual leaders, which ultimately formed the foundation of top down, governmental structure. It remains that according to Harris (2007) it was in 1706 that the Treaty of Union which led to the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain which ultimately brought about a union of the separate kingdoms and ultimately led to the amalgamation of the separate parliaments of each kingdom but based in the parliament of England. It is upon this foundation that Harris (2007) had argued the role as played by the royal family was shifted gradually towards the parliament however many members of the British aristocracy with close ties to the royal family still elected as members of Parliament. Much like in the United States the powers of the British parliament (According to the government website, 2010) are broken into three separate groups, which are the Monarch, the House of Commons and the House of Lords and stipulates that no individual can represent two houses. Whilst it is the case that the Monarch does still have an active role in the parliament one could present the argument that these roles are arguably largely ceremonial. In this regard the Monarch has the right to call and dissolve parliament but this decision is usually based on the advice of the Prime Minister. The House of Commons is made up of Members of Parliament (MP’s) who like the House of Representatives are elected directly by the people however the delegates are typically chosen to run in certain ridings by their political party. It is the political party with the most seats in the House of Commons that is made Prime Minister. It is the House of Commons that propose bills but it remains the House of Lords which has the authority to reject bills and ultimately send them back to the House of Commons to be redrafted. Now that a little bit of the history behind thee two separate governmental bodies has been established one must question what differences exist between the roles and powers of these two systems. The most significant difference that emerges is that a Parliament typically contains both the legislative and executive powers of the government however the United States Congress only has legislative powers and as such only represents one third of the three independent components of the government. According to Davidson (2006) it is the case that the speaker of the house of representatives takes on many of the responsibilities of a British Prime Minister however in essence is simply only playing an administrative role by moderating the process. According to Eccleshall et al. (2001) in the United States generally speaking there are really only two political parties where in Great Britain there are a number of active parties and frequently see the emergence of new smaller parties representing a plethora of different political ideologies and special interests. English (2003) had presented the argument that in terms of roles of the congress and parliament, it is the case that in the Great Britain party members are often required to vote along party lines and theoretically if an elected official were to vote against the will of their party they could be cast out of their respective party and forced to become independents, however in the United States an elected official is theoretically only responsible to their constituents and as such they may often vote against party lines. Building on their previous point, according to Eatwell and Wright (1993) the United States congress differs from the British Parliament insofar as the existence of lobbyists which have the ability to influence policy makers in the United States government. Furthermore the role of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Speaker of the House of Commons according to Heywood (2003) may have similar titles but differ greatly I their roles. The Speaker of the House of Commons must be non partisan and resigns from their party affiliation upon taking the role, however in the American context the Speaker of the House of Representatives is arguably the supervisor for their party members and as such can enact policies that favor their own party members. Probably the most frequently cited difference between these two political entities is the ability to collect and enforce tax laws. In the American context it is the case that one of the primary functions (Though not originally) is the power of congress to lay and collect taxes including income taxes. In the British context as mentioned earlier, the House of Lords has the authority to reject all bills with the notable exception of tax bills. In this circumstance a special procedure must be applied in order pass legislation on what is dubbed a “Money Bill” in which the House of Lords is forbidden from introducing any bill related to taxation, this is the responsibility of the House of Commons. It was the case that the House of Lords had judicial functions in the past which would have represented a stark difference between the two systems however a new Supreme Court act took effect in the United Kingdom in 2009. In conclusion it is the case that the histories of these two great entities have different origins but in many respects they aim to achieve the same ends through the overseeing of most governmental matters. References Davidson, Roger H., and Walter J. Oleszek (2006). Congress and Its Members 10th ed. Congressional Quarterly (CQ) Press.  Eatwell, R. & Wright, A. (1993) Contemporary Political Ideologies. Rawat Publication. London, England. Eccleshall, R., Finlayson, A., Geoghegan, V., Lloyd, M., Mackenzie, I. & Wilford, R. (2001) Political Ideologies: An Introduction. Routledge. New York, New York. English, Ross M. (2003). The United States Congress. Manchester University Press. Guide to the Proceedings to the House of Lords (2007) Laid Before the House by the Clerk of the Parliaments 19th February 2007. Harris, B. (2007) The Anglo Scottish Treaty of Union, 1707 in 2007: Defending the Revolution, Defeating the Jacobites. Journal of British Studies Heywood, A. (2003) Political Ideologies: An Introduction. Palgrave MacMillan. New York, N.Y. Read More