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Evaluate the view that Congress is the broken branch of government. -…
Evaluate the view that Congress is the broken branch of government.
legislative
Congress alone doesn't cause gridlock
It's easy for the president to put his case, using the media and "bully pulpit", but it's hard for Congress to present its position to the nation. In the 2013 govt shutdown most of the blame was attached to Congress thought it could be argued that Obama could have compromised his position more. Republicans could argue that they have a mandate from their constituents to oppose Obamacare ad secure a reduction in govt debt.
produces a lot of legisaltion
Congress initiates a considerable volume of legislation even during periods of supposed gridlock. During 2007-08 the Democrat-controlled Congress faced the Republican Bush presidency yet a range of major bills were passed, including additional funding for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The parties have moved further from the centre ground, making it harder for them to agree on anything. The 113th Congress was more polarised than any other. This matters because the solution to divided govt is bipartisanship. The last 6 years of Clinton's tenure were complicated by a Republican controlled House and Senate but there was much more room for compromise as there was an ideological overlap between centrist Republicans and Democrats.
BUT can argue that it merely reflects a polarised country... current criticism of Congress is related to the increased polarisation that has been evident since the 1990s. Most recently the Republican opposition to Obama and in particular his healthcare reforms has contributed to govt shutdown. Perhaps Congress can be criticised for making its procedures vulnerable to the actions of a few determined ideologues. The other side of this argument is the current clear choices being offered to the US electorate by parties which are much more clearly defined than they were in the 1970s. this enhances democracy and enables checks and balances.
BUT... arguably doesn't get successful legislation done - The 112th Congress (2011-13) passed just 561 bills, making it the least productive Congress since records began in 1948. .
can argue that the current state of congress is what the founding fathers wanted... Saying Congress is the "broken branch" underplays the constitutional role of Congress as a check and balance on the power of the executive... Congressman have their own mandate, separate from the president. While divided govt may seem to place a barrier to effective policy-making, it can also be seen as a way of requiring compromise and a bipartisan approach. The Founding Fathers wanted "limited" government.
representative
RESEMBLANCE/ SOCIAL REPRESENTATION
the 118th congress starting in 2023 is the most racially diverse ever... will be more racial diverse... non white law makers make up over 55% of democratic representation in the HOR
62% of democrat representaives are non white, and 43% of republicans are non-whtie... point towards a trend of greater long term diversity and social resemblance
each congress since the 112th has broken the previous sessions record for the most racially diverse member makeup.
151 women in congress 2023, far more democratic
December 2022, 54 African Americans in the HOR due to the creation of majority-minority districts.... when congressional districts in the house are gerry mannered so that a majority of consitutients are non-white and thus increases the likelihood that a non-white candidate will come from that district.
54 members of HOR that are African American, represent 12.4% of the total membership of the house = is exactly proportional to the black and African American representation in the wider population (2020)
BUT MMD's tend to pack African Americans into single districts that have limited geographical logic, making it difficult for a representative to serve constituents... surrounding areas are whiter and perhaps more conservative.... ALSO they are not created for other majority groups such as latinos, who are still disproportionately underrepresented in congress dispute being the largest minority group in the US
only 25% of senators are female and only 28% of the HOR is female in the 2023 congress... a figure that has slowed down this yearly progress, only two more women than last year
senate only has 3 African Americans... maybe due to the senate not being able to be gerrymandered whereas the house can be... still difficult for African Americans to win statewide office
locality rule means that congressmen must live in the district that they represent
average age of a senator is 64%, 117th congress was the oldest congress In US history
ELECTIONS (midterms)
separation of powers allows voters to have separate votes for the executive and the legislature... allows the electorate to select a member of congress based on their ability to respond to the wishes and interests of their constituency
their lack of executive influence over members of congress ensures accountability to the public rather than the president.
by providing both delegates and trustees, there is maximum representation levels in a way that alternative systems with two elected chambers cannot provide... delegates = responsive to the needs of constituents, regular consultation with constituents + trustees = burkean model, their judgement, not thinking about re-election, can think about their congress... having both means we can maximise representative levels
house= elected every 2 years, constantly campaigning on behalf of their constituents.
composition of the senate changes every 2 years because elections are staggered, voters choose candidates in primaries... must consider views of loyal activists who vote in large numbers.
elections frequently lead to changes in power, last 3 presidents have all seen their party lose a chamber in congress, at least 2 years into their term... democrats lost control of the house in the 2022 midterms
large number of seats change hands... wave elections - 2010 Obama lost 63 house seats.
elections matter and they do reflect the will of the people.
representation = congress resembling the people they serve, focussing on whether it is socially representative but also considering elections and whether they make congress representative... free and fair? range of ideas and philosophies are represented.
BUT
the winner takes all system makes it very difficult for the smaller parties to win... an incumbency advantage which means that few elections are truly competitive
gerrymandering = the politically motivated design of the shape and composition of electoral districts... gives huge advantages as it is politicians in the state legislature that decide congressional district boundaries for elections for the HOR. party in charge will draw boundaries to suit their own political prospects... selection rate in the house was 91% in 2018.
this high rate of re-election is not entirely up to gerrymandering... after the 2020 census, even the senate which cannot be gerrymandered, saw only one seat flip from one party to another.
some senators represent millions while others represent only 100,000 as the senate seats are selected based on geographical lines.
range of ideas and philisophies, are they allowed to flourish -different factions within parties ensure that a broad range of interests and ideas are presented BUT there are only two independent members of the senate and none in the HOR -
expected to 'bring back the bacon' and serve their consituents, brining back the federal funds to their constiuents... Marcy Kaptur secured federal funds to expand the Toledo farmers market.
members of congress have on average 30 members of staff answering constituents letters and drafting legislation, they have district offices in their state
kaptur won re-election in a heavily gerrymandered state, favouring republican support, her track record of delivering for her constituents is perhaps what allowed her to win.
BUT there are pressures which undermine this and their ability to stand out for their consituents
cost of campaigning means house members need interest groups for finance... 9 billion was raised by federal candidates in the 2022 midterm elections, donors often want something in return. 29 republicans have received a combines 13.4 million over their careers, from oil and gas interests = all 29 of these republicans signed a joint statement in 2021 opposing Biden's pause on awarding new gas and oil drilling leases... thus are bidding special interests who fund their campaigns rather than for pubic intersts
partisan and party control over members of congress, leading to a lack of independent voices... party line voting averaged 72% in 2022.
earmarks = the process of attaching funds for pet projects has now been effectively banned in the HOR - has limited the possibility to win federal funds for consituents... limited the ability for people to break from their party to support a bill that might benefit their constituents. BUT some say these earmarks were corrupt as it is legalising bribery
banning of earmarks means that perhaps members of congress will fail to be motivated by anything other than serving their parties priorities
oversight
in oder to be effective in oversight, congress would have to perform its constitutional checks on the president, investigation on the president and still allow gov to function
Overall direction = congress is largely ineffective, due to hyper partisanship, refusal to compromise and ideological differences as also that oversight can be very weak in a united government and overly partisans when in a divided government
Constitutional checks and balances
power of the purse, refuse a budget, democratic lawmakers scaled back Bush's trillion-dollar tax cuts to the richest 1% of income earners when he was president
can reject, amend or delay all presidential bills... republican lawmakers have stymied Trump's attempts to overturn Obamacare.
Congress (the Senate) confirms presidential appointments, while the Senate confirms the nominations to the judiciary... Trump's nominee for Army secretary, Vincent Viola, withdrew his name from the nomination process after it became clear that the Senate would ask for some difficult questions regarding potential conflicts of interest in terms of Viola's financial affairs
The House can impeach a president and the Senate hears impeachment trials... Nixon was forced to resign over the Watergate affair due to the threat of impeachment + Trump became the third president to be impeached by the House in 2019
Congress can overturn a presidential veto... overturned Obama's veto that blocked congressional attempts to give families of 911 victims the right to sue Saudi Arabia in US courts
Congress can declare war, president is commander in chief but can't go to war without congressional approval...
the president is required to inform Congress within 60 days after the commencement of military action, and Congress can withhold authorisations for military authorisation... Obama was forced to pull the vote on action in Syria in 2013
Congress can withhold funds for military option operators, as it threatened to do so in the Iraq war.
BUT checks and balances are largely ineffective - Power of the purse... the underuse of this power. When there is united government, it is often too easy for the party in power to spend more money... Trump tax cut and jobs act, 2018, provided huge corporate tax cuts passed, thanks to republican support in both houses
Abuse of scrutiny when it comes to the power of the purse
government shutdowns over the budget has becomes regular, including the longest in history in December 2018... this scrutiny is what leads to the shutting down of government and federal employees being temporarily laid off
Underuse of ability to reject/delay presidential bills
Patriot Act, passed in just 28 days after 9/11
Abuse of this power
Divided gov, curtails a presidents ability to pass anything of substance... Obama, partisanship has replaced substantive debate. concerned with embarrassing the otherside than actually provididng meaningful oversight
Power to confirm presidential appointments
-underuse, all of Trump's cabinet were easily approved by the senate
Abuse, specifically the Republicans in the Senate refused to vote on Merrick Garland by Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court, despite previous comments from Republicans praising his suitability, and uwillingness to give democrats a win in election year.
Power to impeach a president
Both the 1998 impeachment of Clinton and the 2019 impeachment of trump have been reduced to partisanship and to point-scoring... trial resulted in an easy acquittal, owed to lawmakers refusing to hear important testimony over Trump's alleged refusal to release military assistance to Ukraine unless they dug up dirt on Trump's campaign rival, Biden.
shows the hyper partisanship got in the way of meaningful oversight, putting national security at risk?
republicans more concerned in ensuring their president got off lightly.
Congress can overturn a presidential Veto
2/3 supermajority is required in both houses, making a veto very unlikely
only one of Obama's 12 vetoes were overrides, and thus far none of Bidens have been overriden
Investigation... an array of congressional committees that can investigate the executive and have immense prestige and status
1 = Standing committees... policy specific, conduct investigations within their own policy area and hosue
judiciary committee investigated Bill Clinton's financial dealings.
the Senate Intelligence Committee investigated the ties between Trump's campaign and Russian meddling in the U.S election in 2016
2 = select committees, temporary investigative committees established to probe a specific issue... 9/11 committtee. Hillary Clinton appeared before the House Select Committee on use of personal email when secretary of state
BUT effectiveness is arguably limited due to the rise in partisanship - many committees have becomes less independent...
Russia investigation committees in both the house and the senate lost all legitimacy and didn't not probe the links between Russia and Trump... Chairman Nunes (republican), appeared to undermine the impartiality of the investigation by visiting with the white house to discuss findings
appears he did so for partisan advantage and to curry favour with Trump
thus investigations are often only wise after the event, and take years to conclude, don't necessarily prevent the actual presidential action themselves.
Divided government - can lead to more effective oversight, contrast how the intelligence committee investigated Trump's actions in Ukraine, 2019, when the democrats controlled the house with the Russian investigation
Divided government - can lead to more effective oversight, contrast how the intelligence committee investigated Trump's actions in Ukraine, 2019, when the democrats controlled the house with the Russian investigation