The structure of congress Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The structure of congress - Essay Example Indeed, the government system in the United States may have its own strengths and weaknesses and it is subject to a number of critical review and analysis, some of which have been done in the following texts. The Structure of Congress Generally, the Congress of the United States is a bicameral legislature, which takes its unique governance operations from its structure and committees. There exist two major for a namely the House of Representatives and the Senate, two of whom make up the bicameral legislature. Due to the array of work that needs to be done by the Senate and House, there is a compromised system which ensures that the workload is better handled and this system is in the use of the committees to get duties of Congress executed (Stowitts, 2009). Indeed, the various committees and the responsibilities or roles assigned to them make up the structure of Congress. There exists several committees at the Senate but these may be grouped and categorized into Standing Committees, Select Committees, and Joint Committees. At the House, committees are put in charge of special sectors of the economy and thus make up committees such as Committee on Agriculture, Committee on House Administration, Committee on Rules, and so on. In its broader sense, it can be said that the Congress represents the larger population of the United States of America. The reason for this assertion is that members of Congress are voted into their offices and not merely appointed. This electoral system therefore enshrines powers in the hands of the ordinary American to determine who he or she wants to represent (Stowitts et al, 2010). Consequently, Congress represents the people on the ground. By the voting system, it is important to note that the fact that a congressman is voted for by a particular group of persons does not mean that that congressman represents the interest of those people only but then, once the congressman assumes office, he is mandated to represent the interest of all people within his electoral area without discrimination. It is indeed due to the need for there to be a fairer representation of the United States people that there are as people as 535 Voting members of Congress scattered all across the various States of America. What Congress does As democratic as the government system of the United States of America is, one of the virtues of governance that can indeed justify the exhibition of democracy in that country is the presence of shared powers among state offices, or what is commonly known as checks and balance (Stowitts, 2009). To this end, there are three major arms of government namely the executive, judiciary and legislature. The legislative arm of government is mainly responsible for making laws that are rooted in the constitution of the country. It is this arm that Congress represents. What congress does exactly therefore is for it to make laws for the country. With this role of Congress, some of the powers of state governance are taken away from the presidency into the hands of the ordinary people, whom the Congress represents. Subsequently, Congress determines several aspects of state governance including how funds should be raised for the country and how funds raised should