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Borrowed & adapted from CongressLink. To see document in its entirety go here.
What Every Student Should Know About Congress
Suppose you had fifteen minutes to describe the ten most
important features of the U.S. Congress - could you do it? What would appear
on your list?
Judging by most opinion polls and survey results, few
Americans could pull it off. The Congress is complex and often mysterious.
People don’t generally pay much attention to it except in times of crisis
or when they have something personal at stake. Politics seem to bore people,
or worse yet, infuriate them.
But knowledge about government is fundamental to responsible
citizenship. And Congress has substantial powers to act under Article I
of the Constitution, making it, perhaps, the most powerful legislative
body in the world.
So The Dirksen Congressional Center asked leading American
political scientist Charles O. Jones to identify the ten most important
points that a high school student should know about the list. Following
is Professor Jones’s list:
#1
The United States Congress represents the diverse
interests of the American people
Objective/Key Point
The key concept is representation. But representation
of what? Most students (and most Americans) do not fully appreciate the
scope and variety of interests encompassed by our citizens. Yet it is the
Congress’s job to represent and reconcile these interests. The process
of doing that often leads to the compromising, negotiating, and bargaining
that is not only the essence of legislative activity but also is the source
of much of the public cynicism about Congress. Understanding what it is
that representatives and senators represent will yield a more realistic
appreciation of what is possible for Congress to achieve.
#2 The people
are represented in two ways: as states in the Senate and as 435 equally-populated,
single-member districts in the House of Representatives
Objective/Key Point
Every citizen is represented in Congress in two ways
by three people. Each citizen has two U.S. senators who represent them
as residents of a state. Each citizen also has one U.S. representative
who speaks for them as a resident of a congressional district. Senators
and representatives thus face different challenges, yet they must somehow
reach agreement from these different perspectives. The system as a whole
is designed for stability rather than quick change, a fact that sometimes
frustrates people.
#3
The one hundred senators are elected for six years,
with one-third of the Senate elected every second year; the 435 representatives
are elected every second year from districts drawn up by state legislatures
after each decennial census
Objective/Key Point
Students should know that their representatives in Congress
are elected at different times for different length terms. These procedures
prevent wholesale changes in the membership of the House and Senate on
the one hand and, on the other, permit voters to express their opinions
at the ballot box at different times. That senators have six-year terms,
for example, may help them vote more independently than House members,
who have to run for re-election every two years.
#4 The different
forms of representation (including differences in terms of office and size
of the body) affect how the House and Senate legislate
Objective/Key Point
The basic point is that the two chambers approach their
law-making responsibilities differently. The larger House, with 435 members,
is more formal and structured that the Senate, with 100 members. Sheer
size makes it impossible to run the House like the Senate. Because House
members’ terms are shorter at two years, they are more attuned to their
constituents, too, and that has implications for law-making. One can see
the difference, for example, by watching debates - House debate is more
constrained by rules. Contrasts in the books of rules for the two chambers
also prove the point.
#5
Lawmaking is a primary responsibility of Congress,
along with the "power of the purse" and overseeing and investigating the
execution of laws
Objective/Key Point
Perhaps this point states the obvious. But any understanding
of Congress must start with its primary responsibility: to make laws. Article
I of the Constitution grants such important powers to Congress that it
is likely the most powerful legislature in the world. The process of how
laws are made is important to know, as well. Often the procedure is depicted
in a "How a Bill Becomes Law" chart. While this approach has merit, many
educators today look for ways to convey the "messiness of democracy" –
the bargaining, compromising, and arguing, – that is inherent in law-making.
#6 Political
parties organize both houses of Congress, including the selection of leaders
Objective/Key Point
The two major political parties organize the two chambers,
choose their leaders, and develop the legislative agenda. Although both
the House and the Senate are characterized by a good deal of individualism
and decentralization, the parties and leaders serve a unifying function.
Members of the majority party (having at least 51 senators or 218 representatives)
chair the committees, hire the staff, schedule the chambers’ business,
and determine the pace of work. Parties also provide an element of cohesion
during votes.
#7
Committees are important in both chambers for
preparing bills; they are critical in the House of Representatives
Objective/Key Point
It is in committees and subcommittees that legislators
craft the bills that eventually become law. Committees gather information,
hold hearings, and bargain over the details of bills and resolutions before
the entire membership votes on measures. Most proposed bills die in committee
– they are never reported out. Among the various types of committees, standing
committees are probably the most important. They deal with most major policies,
such as banking, commerce, public works, education, foreign policy, and
general governmental affairs. Committee assignments are often the key to
a lawmaker’s career, too. Members seek assignments that they believe will
help them win reelection, exert influence within the chamber, and affect
the nature of legislation.
#8
The president has a vital role in the lawmaking
process - he can recommend programs, sign or veto bills, and implement
laws
Objective/Key Point
Presidents cannot actually introduce bills, but they
can propose them and help build public support for action in Congress.
Their power in the legislative arena is not absolute by any means, but
they are usually more able than congressional leaders to focus attention,
identify the leading issues, and publicize them. Further, by vetoing or
threatening to veto legislation, presidents can have extraordinary influence
over what Congress does.
#9
The Supreme Court has the power of "judicial review"
by which a bill passed by Congress and signed into law by the president
may be declared unconstitutional
Objective/Key Point
Congress does not act alone in producing laws. Nor is
lawmaking strictly a partnership between the Congress and the president.
U.S. courts have powers to curtail action by other parts of government,
including Congress and the White House. They may even tell those bodies
what to do. Under the principle of judicial review, the Supreme Court has
the right to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional and therefore null
and void. Of course, in our system of checks and balances, the president
and Congress have influence over the courts, too. The main point here is
interdependence among the three branches as it relates to lawmaking. Or
as John C. Calhoun stated in 1817: "the prevailing principle is not so
much a balance of power as a well-connected chain of responsibility....
This, then is the essence of our liberty; Congress is responsible to the
people immediately, and the other branches are responsible to it."
#10 The
costs of winning a Senate or House election have increased dramatically
in recent years, thus contributing to cynicism about Congress and to support
for campaign finance reform
Objective/Key Point
Public opinion polls suggest that the public’s current
unhappiness with Congress stems partly from the belief that members of
Congress spend too much time raising money for campaigns, and that campaign
donors have special access to members. The statistics are unmistakable:
the costs of running for the U.S. Senate or House have risen dramatically
in recent years. As a result, one of the most vexing public policy issues
of the day is campaign finance reform. But are the public’s assumptions
about money and influence correct? Do members pay undue attention to donors?
Are some interests under-represented because they don’t have money to contribute
to campaigns? What are the implications if the conventional wisdom is wrong?
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