* The House has several powers and duties including the power to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the President in the case of an Electoral College tie.…
The US federal legislature is bicameral, therefore it consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives, and in theory they should both be of equal power. However, in reality it is the Senate which is considered to hold the most power, although there are arguments to in favour of them having equal rights. In order to reach a balanced judgement I will consider both sides of the argument, beginning with the claim that the Senate is more powerful than the House of Representatives.…
Congress as a whole has many roles and jobs that run our country. They are involved with law-making (passing bills and making them become laws.), educating and representing the public, and helping and representing their constituents.…
The United States is a government of numerous powers. Congress, as well as the other two branches, are only to exercise the powers given to them in the Constitution. The most important listing of congressional powers appears in Article I, Section 8. This article identifies in seventeen paragraphs many important powers of Congress. The last paragraph in the article grants Congress the power "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers", this is known as the Necessary and Proper Clause.…
One of the primary functions of Congress is to pass legislation, but by its very nature, compromise and bipartisanship is necessary to achieve this. The process is complex and lengthy, with many hurdles and hoops presented by the constitution that it’s surprising that even more legislation doesn’t get rejected. Currently, only about 3-5% of the 10,000 annual bills make it through the legislative labyrinth and made into law.…
They can pass laws that limit or change agency actions, which require a majority vote in both houses of Congress and the president's signature. Oversight powers allow them to investigate agency actions and hold officials accountable through hearings, reports, and audits. They can also use "soft power" such as public criticism or threats of future action. Budget control allows them to influence agency actions by increasing or decreasing funding or placing conditions on how funds are used. Appointments, particularly by the president, allow them to influence agency direction.…
The United States Government has 27 expressed powers. Almost all of the expressed powers of Congress are found in Article 1, section 8 of the Constitution. Expressed powers are those delegated powers of the National Government that are spelled out in the Constitution, they are also called the "enumerated powers"(McClenaghan). Three powers that stick out from the rest of the 27 are the commerce power, the borrowing power, and the power to declare war. Commerce is defined as the buying and selling of goods and services.…
3. Sole power to adjudicate impeachment of President in hearing presided over by Chief Justice of Supreme Court.…
Congress in the US is granted all legislative powers by the Constitution, the power to appropriate funds, regulate trade and commerce and to formally declare war. Although the President imposes his will on all of these activities Congress is still an extremely important and powerful body; arguably today it has a superior mandate as President Bush was elected on a popular minority and less recently. Congress is regularly re-elected (every two years) and because of the diversity of the US population it represents a very broad range of interests. The Gingritch years in the House of Representatives show how a reassertion of power in Congress can shape the political landscape in the US.…
Within those powers were the legislative, judicial, and the executive branch. Under the executive branch, a man named James Madison believed himself to be of the Federalist Party. The Federalist people believed that the Constitution would give the national government enough power to solve the country's problems and believed that the system of checks and balanced would limit the President's power. According to Document 4, the system of checks and balances feared James Madison because he was afraid that one group would have too much power. However, by definition the system of checks and balances gives one branch the authority to stop or check the other braches. This will prevent just one branch from receiving all of the…
The United States Constitution was created to be an outline for the American government by the founding fathers. However, it can be very complicated. On many occasions, it has influenced the United States as well as the society of America. Two constitutional principles are the Bill of Rights and Checks and Balances.…
Based on the facts that it can regulate commerce, overturn vetoes, approve treaties, declare war, manage funds, impeach officials and of course, make laws, it is clear that when put up against the other Branches, the Legislative holds the most power above them all. The first article of the constitution details the Branch and all it does and it still uses the full extent of it’s power to be the most influential…
Congress is a group of individuals elected by the people of the country to represent us based on our interests and to give us a voice for how we are governed, this protects our freedom. This is why Congress has the power to pass laws and to regulate the president’s power. Some of the key powers granted to congress are; lay and collect taxes, money suitable for the specific purposes, regulate commerce, establish rules on naturalization, declare war and raise and support armies. Representative democracy is not easy. The republic encompasses people of almost every possible race, religion, and ethnic group.…
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are 535 total members in congress. The framers viewed the legislative branch as the most powerful branch. When congress meets its called a session and this happens once a year. We got the bicameral legislature from the great compromise.…
The bicameral structure of Congress was designed to enable the legislative body and its members to perform certain functions for the political system. These functions include lawmaking, representation, service to constituents, oversight, public education, and conflict resolution.…