The Importance of Congressional Structure
According to David Mayhew, author of Congress: The Electoral Connection, Congress has many different functions that it performs including: “ . . .legislating, overseeing the executive, expressing public opinion, and servicing constituents” (Mayhew 2004, 8). While all these are important to the role Congress plays, the most important ability is the authority to create laws. Congress derives its power to perform its functions and to create laws, from Article I of the Constitution. Although Article I may be oft overlooked, the authority given to Congress from it is critically important to understanding legislative politics. Without structures and rules, Congress would be unable to make laws, would have little authority and could not function properly as a check to the other branches of government.
The structure of Congress consists of several parts including: offices, committees, and parties. Congress consists of 525 offices, which include staff and sizeable salaries. These offices work to not only help the Congressmen while in office but also to aide in campaigning for reelection. Each member of Congress is granted the same office resources, which are huge advantage to incumbents (Mayhew 2004, 84-85).
A second structure of Congress is committees. There are twenty-one standing committees in the House and seventeen in the Senate; each committee serves an important function. Ultimately, the committee system helps the members of Congress by allowing for a division of labor. Congress at large simply does not have the time or expertise needed for every piece of legislation, which is why committees are so important. The small groups can make things happen more effectively than if Congress as a whole had to work on the legislation. A congressional seniority system exists in the committees where over time congressmen can rise to more powerful positions but with increased incumbency and members of Congress staying on longer there is less room for
The structure of Congress consists of several parts including: offices, committees, and parties. Congress consists of 525 offices, which include staff and sizeable salaries. These offices work to not only help the Congressmen while in office but also to aide in campaigning for reelection. Each member of Congress is granted the same office resources, which are huge advantage to incumbents (Mayhew 2004, 84-85).
A second structure of Congress is committees. There are twenty-one standing committees in the House and seventeen in the Senate; each committee serves an important function. Ultimately, the committee system helps the members of Congress by allowing for a division of labor. Congress at large simply does not have the time or expertise needed for every piece of legislation, which is why committees are so important. The small groups can make things happen more effectively than if Congress as a whole had to work on the legislation. A congressional seniority system exists in the committees where over time congressmen can rise to more powerful positions but with increased incumbency and members of Congress staying on longer there is less room for
Cited: Adler, David. “The Constitution and Presidential War-making.” The Constitution and the Conduct of American Foreign Policy. University Press of Kansas, 1996 183-226. “Constitution for the United States of America.” Constitution Society. April 2002. 26 Nov. 2007 < http://www.constitution.org/constit_.htm>. Jacobson, Gary. Politics of Congressional Elections. Longman, 2004 pp 18-37. Mayhew, David. Congress: The Electoral Connection. New Haven: 2004 pp 8, 84-101. Mayhew, David. Divided We Govern: Party Control, Lawmaking, and Investigations, 1946-2002. Yale University Press, 2005 pp 77-89. Zelizer, Julian. On Capitol Hill:The Struggle to Reform Congress and its Consequences, 1948-2000. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004 pp 56, 88-89