The Power Of Congress

The main breaking point between the President and Congress was in the Vietnam war. This war sparked a debate on who has the right to declare war, and who has the right to only send advisory troops. Only Congress has the right to declare war, the President can only send advisory troops to other countries. This is a very controversial topic because many people think that the President can declare war, but they have to ask the Congress first. Another convincing reason on why Congress is more powerful that the President is the fact that Congress can make laws and the President has no say. Laws are the outline of America, and they are the only thing keeping crime from all streets in all states across America. Those are only two reasons why Congress is more important to America than the President. All of these powers are stated in Article 1 of the Constitution and the powers of the President are listed in Article 2 of the Constitution. Some people still disagree, though, they think that the President has more rights than

The Framers of the Constitution intended Congress to be the most important institution (McKay, 2013:161) thereby “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives” (Article 1, Section 1). The Framers bestowed both houses with significant powers, namely the power of the purse, executive oversight and investigation, and the exclusive power to declare war (Baritono, 2014:4). On the other hand, the President is vested with executive power, responsible for faithfully executing laws (Article II, Section 3). As the chief executive, commander-in-chief, and chief diplomat, the President has the power to make treaties and to nominate and appoint federal positions (Article II, Section 2). With regards to legislative power, presidents are chief legislators. According to the Constitution, presidents have the

The relationship between the president and Congress has changed drastically in the past two hundred years. The framers of the constitution did not want an executive power in charge of the whole country in fear of it turning into a monarchy. They knew they needed a leader for America though. The framers did not want political parties. “Political parties established after Washington left the presidency” (Mandate). The relationship between Congress and the president changed in a very visible way. In the past, the president would meet to discuss issues with Congress, but that is not how it is today. Also the president would have to go through congress to pass a bill or an amendment, but presidents found a way around going through congress. The president can sign a bill without congress’s approval. For example, president Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln wanted to pass an amendment that would end slavery but Congress said no. Lincoln then did what the people wanted and signed the emancipation proclamation anyways to end slavery. Also known as the thirteenth amendment. Some presidents even put the people in power.

The constitution splits the power given to national government into three branches, which are separate from each other: the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. The separation of powers was based on the ideas of Montesquieu, with him ‘L’esprit de lois’ which means the spirit of the law. The executive plays the role of administrating law. The president does this in many ways , for example he; executes federal laws and programs, conducts foreign policy , commands the armed forces, negotiates treaties and other such roles. Checks and balances another main factor of the constitution comes in here, as the people get to keep a check on the president every 4 years with the presidential election, which stops any tyranny of powers. This can also be seen in another branch of government. The legislature passes law, this is done through congress. Congress is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Its roles include;

My thoughts about the power between Congress and The Presidency I think it’s all about balance. We look to Congress and The Supreme Court to lead our government and The President to be the head of our country to make hard decisions that sometimes lead our country into war. With that said neither one at the same time should have too much power we don’t want a dictatorship and our constitution was made to give the President the freedom to be great leaders. It's all about balance and doing what’s best for our country with both Congress and The

In fact, when thinking about foreign affairs congress is thought of as a major player very little in pour recent history. Yet, this was not how it was originally designed to be. Our founding father worried about given the president a kind of absolute power when involved with foreign affairs. Though they believed he should be a big part in it, they feared how close it was to the power the king of England had at this time, which was the absolute opposite kind of position they wanted a person to have in the newly formed United States. This is why a balance of power was put into place, in this case having the congress have major controls over declaring war and keeping the nations wealth away from the president, also known as presidential disempowerment. However, reflecting on past situations we see that congress have either turned a blind eye on the president’s action in foreign policy or was unable to gain the upper hand. This can be seen early on in the United States with George Washington’s Proclamation of Neutrality in 1793. Even though congress argued that this went over them to go to war the matter was soon hushed since the law was vague enough that it allowed the president to have more power than actually specified. Yet, this was one of few instances where the President took control more than congress in foreign policy, at least in early

Congressional authorization is the ability to empower and allocate funds, which supports Congress with an effective tool for omission and authority of intelligence activities. Congress is expected to have more power than the President and the Supreme Court. Its powers are also known to be Constitutional as well as evolutionary (ushistory). After the Senate as well as the House of Representatives approves a bill or proposed law, it then becomes an actual law. These two houses also share other powers, that involve coin money, the power to declare war, establishing rules of naturalization as well as immigration, raise an army and a navy, regulate commerce, and set up the federal courts along with their jurisdictions (ushistory). Although Presidents can have authority to act without Congressional authorization when necessary for the nations security, it would be better if they did seek Congressional authorization before acting or making any important decision regarding the nations security, in order to preserve Constitutional checks and balances, as well as make the right decisions and protect the President politically.

I think that the congress has the most power in the constitution. “ Congress can pass any laws that are necessary to make these other powers possible.”, I picked this quote because I think that the congress should have the power to make laws that will help others. “ The President, Vice President, and other Executive leaders can be impeached by Congress for committing crimes”, I think this quote is fair because it allows the president not to have too much power and this way he can be impeached if he does something wrong.

Most of the specifications for the executive branch in the Constitution, other than how he is to be elected, have to deal with the interactions between Congress and the President. The president can (fill in the blank) but only if (this part) of Congress approves. The powers of the president have been interpreted widely so that he has more power than I believe the Framers intended. They wanted him to be able to check Congress with veto power and be the head of the military. However, I think that presidents nowadays have too much power. They are active in trying force their policy agenda through Congress, manage foreign relations, and act as the administrative head of the entire nation. The textbook lays it out well in, "The vast size of the executive branch and the number and complexity of decisions that must be made each day pose a challenge for the White House.” (316) In order to deal with the stresses put on the executive branch, there are thousands of employees that work to give the president the information that he needs to make decisions. He has advisors, cabinet members, legislative liaisons; the list goes on and on, but he is the person who actually gets to make all of the choices. The President is limited in some ways and given more power in other ways by the structure laid out for him in the Constitution, and evolved to be what it is now.

In the Federalist 51 of the Federalist Papers James Madison writes “In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates...the weight of the legislative authority requires that it should be thus divided.” It is necessary for the legislative branch to have the most power because they reflect the will of the people since we directly elect members of Congress and the laws the legislative branch creates inevitably affects the people. The members of the legislative branch are the closest link to the people; they represent specific interest groups and must be responsive to those interest groups or risk losing re-election. The framers of the constitution such as James Madison believed that since Congress is closest to the people they would have a democratic legitimacy that neither the Executive or Judicial branches would possess.

If the President is suspected of unlawful acts, he can be impeached, or tried by the Senate for misusing his power. The Senate has the sole power to try all impeachments. If he is found guilty, he can be punished but his sentence can be no more than being thrown out of office and being forbidden to hold any government office. Furthermore, if the President wants to spend money, his request must pass through Congress, since it has control over spending. Lastly, Congress can re-pass a bill that was vetoed by the President. Congress also has checks and balances against itself. The President can veto a bill from Congress, and although Congress can override a veto, obtaining a two-thirds vote to do so is very difficult. Public speeches by the President may also concern the public with an issue, putting pressure on Congress to act upon it. The Judicial branch exerts control over the other two by deciding whether or not actions made by the President or Congress, i.e., laws are constitutional.

Declare War, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning the captures made.

In order for something to be broken it must have been whole to begin with, let us first discuss what Congress used to represent and how it used to function. Most everyone knows that Congress is bicameral and consists of two parts: The House of Representatives and The Senate. Congress’s powers are outlined in Article I of the Constitution. The framers formed two parts of Congress so that they would balance each other out: no one branch would become too powerful and the laws would be more complex and well-thought.The Constitution had initially intended for the legislative branch (Congress) to be the most powerful branch of government and at the beginning of post-constitution United States history it was. Congress was given the powers to enact laws (Gateways to Democracy, pp. 388).The Framers were purposeful in making sure that Congress represented each individual state by allowing each state to have two senators and for the number of representatives to be dependent on the size of each state, thereby balancing out the powers each state had in Congress (Gateways to Democracy, pp. 389).

I believe the legislative branch has more power according to the constitution. One reason why i believe this is the legislative branch has more power The legislative branch makes the laws for the country. The power includes passing laws, spending bills, and approving treaties. If the President vetoes the law, then the House and Senate can vote again on it. If 2/3rds of both approve, it can become a law anyway. Judges confirmed by the Senate.

Under the first Article in the Constitution, the U.S. Congress is the first branch and is also known as the most important representative body of the world. They are among the other few national representative bodies that acquire powers of governance. The U.S. Congress is made up of two chambers, The House of Representatives and The Senate. The two most important powers given to any government are the power of force and the power over money, and the U.S. Congress has the authority over the two. They have a lot of power in their hands (Lowi, 130).