The Importance of Congress Essay Example

When the American Government was first established there was a dilemma, who should have the most power? In the “even” divide that was created between the three branches, the American Founders thought the legislative branch was the most central of the three. That’s why Congress plays such a major role in politics and why each president coming into office tries to maintain their respective party being lead in both the House and Senate. President Biden’s term varies as it was split evenly in the Senate giving them a very narrow lead with Kamala Harris’s vote being the tiebreaker. This scenario certainly isn't what all of us expected let alone what President Biden had hoped for. 

Congress is “ the part of the government that makes the laws”. ( Barbour, pg 113) This is why as I mentioned it plays such a major role as each incoming president has ideas and policies they want to enact. However, they have to be approved by the Senate and the House first which is a very long process and can be useless if the president doesn’t have a party majority to get it approved. The majority party members get to “ choose all the leadership positions and control business in the chamber they dominate.” (Barbour, pg 115)  which means the bigger the majority the more laws and policies will get passed while in office. As one of the three branches Congress has checks and balances over the judicial and executive branch that can be used at its disposal especially if the president is from the opposite party from the majority. Congress has three main tools which are Oversight, Impeachment, and lastly Advice and Consent. Oversight is crucial as they can use this to keep an eye out on the executive branch and to make sure everything is being played by the book and if they decide it isn’t being played by the book it leads into the second tool. Impeachment is “ a formal charge by the House that the president has committed an act of Treason or Bribery, which can lead to removal from office.”(Barbour, pg 121). This is a major check and was recently used during Donald Trump's term which he was ultimately found not guilty for. Lastly, Advice and Consent towards federal appointments, each president wants to go down in history literally so appointing as many judges and ambassadors to continue their legacy and mostly support their ideas is a main goal they wish to achieve. 

Congress has their own goals like the president and there is some overlap when it comes to the establishment and fulfillment of policies and laws. Each member of Congress is there because they worked for it, each member won their election because they want to be part of the bigger picture and let’s be honest to one day become president or hold a position of higher power. However one goal that some researchers believe heavily motivates Congress members is the idea of reelection. Politics is a very dangerous game as you can say one thing and instantly you suddenly have people trying to block every law you try to pass simply because they don't like you. This is why you always need someone to be on your side so one factor to encourage members of Congress to work with the President is simply for protection. There’s a saying that goes “there’s always a bigger fish” and in politics you really can’t get bigger than the President. The President can make or break your career essentially so Congress members of the President's party typically do what is asked of them solely on this fact. The President has the ability to appoint new judges and ambassadors and in most cases he’s going to pick someone from his party that he trusts and can rely on to advance his policies faster, which is why people are motivated to work with the President. This however begs the question “what do Congress members of the opposite party do?” and simply they try to withhold their support for the Presidents in actions that go against their own parties beliefs and ideals. Taking a look at recent politics you can see this in action with Biden and his proposed Build Back Better Act. 

The Build Back Better Act is “ the most significant restructuring of the social safety net in decades, touching nearly every aspect of American life from Universal pre-K to college assistance to elder care.”( Caygle, 2021) putting aside the logistics of the bill it’s the voting that catches peoples eye. All but one Democrat voted for the bill whereas all Republicans voted in opposition. Members of Congress in the opposite party know they are at the bottom of the list to be selected to fulfill an empty spot anywhere so they don’t feel entitled to vote for the President's agenda and in some cases they deny it solely for that reason.