Please answer the following questions take from the 2011 released College Board AP US Government and Politics Exam.
For each of the congressional powers below, explain one way that congressional decision making is affected by that power.
- Legislative oversight power
- Senate advice and consent powers
- Budgetary power
Congress members use their legislative oversight power to keep tabs on what public officials and federal bureaucracy agencies are doing. They can ask for information about any issue. This influences presidential decision making because it encourages the president to limit his actions and decisions that will raise Congressional investigation.
ReplyDeleteThe Senate has several checks on the President's powers through the requirement of advice and consent. The President has the power to make treaties, but the Constitution requires that the President seeks the advice and consent of the Senate and that 2/3 of the Senate approves to ratify the treaty. This influences presidential decision making because oftentimes, the President chooses to use executive agreements instead of treaties to bypass the need for congressional advise and consent. The Congress must also have a majority vote to approve the presidential appointments. The President can nominate judges, ambassadors, and officers of the executive branch. However, congressional advice and consent and the majority vote is needed for them to receive the position. This influences presidential decision making by causing the President to consider how beneficial it would be to nominate controversial people for the positions since Congress must approve. Also, this congressional power often influences the President to make recess appointments to appoint more controversial people without having to have the battle with Congress to get them approved.
The President submits a budget request to Congress for the upcoming fiscal year. The House and Senate committees hold hearings on the budget request and come up with a budget resolution. The President's budget must be reviewed by both houses of Congress before it becomes law. This congressional power influences presidential decision making because it encourages the President to include items that are important to Congress members. The President consults Congress members during the budget making process. Also, the President might leave out policy items that could be controversial to Congress and cause the budget not to be passed by Congress.
Congress uses the legislative oversight power to monitor all programs, activities, and policy implementations within the executive branch, including the numerous U.S. federal agencies. This supervision serves as a check for the President because Congress constitutionally has the right to oversee all legislature.
ReplyDeleteThe Constitution requires that the President seeks advice and consent from Congress, which further balances out the power of the executive branch. For example, the President must choose who he wants in the Chamber, but he must seek the approval of Congress first. This ensures that the President is not misusing his power by placing people in the Chamber for the wrong reasons. Another example is that the President can make treaties, but it must receive two-thirds of the Senate vote in order for it to be ratified. If it were not for this congressional power, the President would have an excessive amount of power that could lead to turmoil.
Congress holds budgetary power because the President is required to submit a budget request that they must look over before it becomes law. This ensures that the President isn't wasting taxpayer's dollars. Instead, they make sure that the budget includes expenses beneficial and necessary to a majority of the country.
Legislative Oversight: This power employs Congress to investigate the performance of the government. The committees in charge of carrying out this task authorize programs for fixing government-wide programs. When they discover a problem or inefficiency, those committees use their power to introduce measures that will hopefully fix the problem.
ReplyDeleteAdvice and Consent: In the Constitution, the Senate is charged with giving advice and consent to certain presidential actions, including the making of treaties and the appointments to significant execute and judicial positions. This power, as one of the checks and balances, keeps the executive branch from getting too strong. The Senate, acting in their constituents' best interest, can influence, for example, the president's Cabinet: the men and women who interact with and advise the president on a regular basis on topics key to the country's health.
Budgetary Power: As the holder of Purse, Congress possesses the majority of money-related powers. Revenue committees raise and distribute money, appropriations committees decide how much money the government will spend on authorized programs, and budget committees set the guidelines on spending and taxes for the other committees to follow. Congress must decide on how much money they need to fund programs and where to find that money. Hopefully those congressmen choose to spend frugally to keep taxes low.