Congress : Getting The Job Done?

Is congress a dysfunctional institution? Columnist Ezra Klein contends that institutional deadlock and partisan rancor have paralyzed congress, causing it to lose power to the president and the bureaucracy. Former Massachusetts Senator Mo Cowan describes he has to come view the work of congress along with fellow members after fulfilling the remainder of John Kerry’s term upon the nomination of Governor Deval Patrick.

xx-xx) His bills will then be passed through Congress and if they agree to his bill it is sent back to the President for him to sign off on for it to become a law. However, not all bills are made through the process he helps oversee Congress’s decisions and helps advise them on their lawmaking ideas. The sixth role is Leader of the Political Party, he must keep track of how people feel about his policies and laws he carries out with. Obama is a democrat and will often help other democrats in time of elections by endorsing their campaigns, he is also the leader of the entire Democrat population as long as he is President so it is his duty to try to also satisfy Republicans, because they often have different views on the way things should be done. Obama’s last and final role is as Chief Citizen this another role that is important because it’s what shows to the public eye. As Chief Citizen the President should be a role model who everyone can trust and look up to, he represents the country as a whole but also makes us look good when it comes to other countries. He must realize he sets the bar and the bar must be high, the President can’t be selfish because he must think of everyone.

Congressional gridlock has been around for centuries in Congress and does not seem to be changing anytime soon. Congressional gridlock refers to the inaction of the government and failure to make a decision or legislative law that satisfy the needs of the people. This inaction of the government and stagnation occurs when two parties cannot agree on a single matter, and they cannot come to a good agreement on how or when the law is going to be passed, thus leaving complex problems in the nation unhandled. Congressional gridlock does not just come and take over the government on its own, though. It is evident that congressional gridlock is a major problem in the American government that needs to be addressed because there are so many root causes that the government fails to fix including gerrymandering and a lack of “bridge-builders.” Solutions to these causes that have yet to be made include improving the system of checks and balances and reducing representative dynamics and some of the nation’s most pressing problems that should not even be examples of congressional gridlock include climate change and the gun laws issue.

Their initiatives attract significant opposition from the opposing party to the point of trying everything to stop the presidents having things done. The consequent vilification creates situations where members of Congress from the two parties hold resentments against one another (Soliman 109). As well, members of Congress do not spend time together apart from the time they are sessions. They commit most of their time to fundraising and visiting their districts. Consequently, they do not socialize with their peers to merge their partisan

Congressional gridlock in the United States is at a high currently, doubling since the 1950s. Gridlock is the slowing of the legislative processes due to the difficulty of congressional officials to agree on certain bills and or laws. Gridlock makes the passage of legislation time consuming and hardly any progress can be accomplished. This is how Congress acquired the nickname “Do Nothing Congress.”This usually occurs when both parts of Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate, are of opposing parties. This then makes the President have the final say.

Americans have always had a love-hate relationship with Congress. It usually depends on whether or not we believe issues that are important to us (religion, abortion, immigration, jobs etc.) are being brought to the fore front and our elected officials are representing our best interest in these issues. We love them when we get our way and complain when we don’t. Interestingly the 13% approval rating that they have presently may be a little low to what it was in the past, but the past ratings do not suggests that Congress was ever popular. Nicholas Longworth once said, “We were unpopular when Lincoln was a congressman. We were unpopular when John Quincy Adams was a Congressman. We were unpopular even when Henry Clay was a Congressman. We

Today, career politicians are constantly looking for what will aid them in getting reelected. They become more loyal to their campaign fund contributers than to the people whom they represent. This increases the likelihood of having corrupted politicians in office, as they use the government as a vehicle to further their own career (Kurfirst, 1996, p. 123, 129). George Will, a well-known political journalist, was quoted as saying “[The] worst feature of professionalism in politics is that it obliterates the proper distance between the representatives and the represented” (Kurfirst, 1996, p. 125). Even James Madison agreed that legislators were meant to represent the people, not hold office as a career. In The Federalist No. 57 (1788), he wrote, “From this change of men must proceed a change of opinions; and from a change of opinions, a change of measures.” The lack of new faces in Congress today symbolizes that the American legislative branch is straying from its intended purpose.

and congress have in our democracy. The people elect members of the House while members off the senate are chosen by state legislators and how members are the house serve a term of two years while members of the senate have a term of 6 years. How congress have the power to rise and regulate the army and the navy, and declare war while the power of the senate can only ratified treaties, accept or reject presidential nominations. The congress and the house of representatives are significant in our democracy and how they continue to play a significant role in our democracy.

If we go back in time Congress was doing good job. According to the book “The Broken Branch How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track” By Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein, earlys of 1820s, House and Senate were working together to process legislation. Most of 19th century, the Congress dominated policymaking maintain their privilege. I believe it in the late of 1950s the Congress was being controlled by independent people. By then there were not

Kristen Lewis’ article, “Malala the Powerful” was about how a girl as shot in the head by the terrorist group, the Taliban because she was using her voice to stand up and say everyone deserves an education, especially girls. In Pakistan, the religion is strict therefore the Taliban decided to control the government, that made life for women and girls brutal. The Taliban ordered that girls were not allowed to attend school. Malala completely disagreed so she used her voice on the internet incognito to bring awareness about what was happening. The Taliban was out of control, Malala’s family was forced to move South. With all the commotion she revealed her identity, making her well known world wide. Once news broke on who she was, the Taliban

For Centuries in the United States, Congressional gridlock has been one of the main difficulties of prosperity and progress. The government of the United States has had the opportunity to make the life of its citizens better but due to the epidemic of gridlock a lot of the issues we face are unresolved or ignored. Going forward I will give causes, solutions and some examples of the effect that it has had on the democracy of the United States as well as examples of congressional gridlock.

Congress has many functions to keep it working and functioning. They do many things to make laws, make sure they’re fair, and much more. There are also many committees with important jobs. There are many things that influence congressional elections such as reapportionment, redistricting, much more. There are many people who make up the House and Senate and they have many important jobs to keep things running smoothly.

The political climate today is increasingly becoming more turbulent as Republicans and Democrats volley for superiority in Washington. The two parties are becoming more polarized by the hour, and this is affecting the ability of the government to move forward and pass legislation and continue to improve America. The Senate is in a state of gridlock on some of the most important issues to the people of the United States to date, and yet the senators which the people elected are instead caught up in fighting the people on the other side of the aisle. They should be listening to what their constituents need and want. Today Republican senators are using filibusters, scare tactics, and even entire news networks

Ann Marie Naville What Makes a Successful Congress? Congress is an essential component of our government. It is known for making laws and watching over the other two branches. The legislature is made up of two houses which are known as a bicameral legislature. These two houses are composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Meanwhile, Congress is too busy trying to get one over on each other instead of actually doing anything worthwhile, even when one party is in control, they still get nothing done ... They’re really just the “Comments Section” for everything the President does.