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Is Congress broken? (Legislation (Effective (The lengthy process should…
Is Congress broken?
Legislation
Effective
The lengthy process should ensure scrutiny of legislation and ensure the quality, popularity and workability of laws
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Broken
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Being dependent on the state to enforce laws, congress can be ignored
The difficulty of creating and passing legislation means that Congress does not pass huge amounts of legislation
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Structure
Broken
Senate adheres to unlimited debate, which means the filibuster can be used far more effectively
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Oversight
Broken
In times of United Government, scrutiny is reduced through party dominance
In times of divided government, partisanship can cause gridlock and a total lack of legislation
Even considerable scrutiny and compromise by Congress, the President alone can prevent a bill becoming law - veto is very unlikely to be overturned
Effective
House of representatives must include relevant amendments to bills that have a relation to the topic of the bill
Partisanship
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Broken
The need for supermajorities and the ability of one senator to hold up a bill allow for tyranny of the minority
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Finance
Broken
Despite a promise to stop the addition of amendments to bills that funnel money to individual states, pork barrel legislation has not been eliminated
Senate amendments can be offered in any topic, for example the spending bill of 2014 included an amendment on the endangered species list
Bills can be sponsored by certain groups, essentially corporations can pay for support on certain legilsation
Representation
Broken
Power is placed in the hands of the few, especially the speaker of the House, and committee chairs