Congress and Presidency Questions

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Question I: Congressional Behavior

Congress is a typical two-house legislature of the United States government. Individuals occupying both houses are elected through popular vote by US citizens. All elected persons have responsibilities to the nation and citizens, which fundamentally helps form personal and collective goals. Nonetheless, some objectives act as typical precursors to Congress members’ behavior, particularly during election periods. For instance, every congress representative is expected to provide comprehensive bureaucratic oversite for the nation’s and people’s benefits. However, most representatives fail to provide adequate oversite, giving the few political payoffs. Consequently, most members’ goals are directed towards reelection rather than providing comprehensive oversite. In this context, many representatives only deliver oversite when it serves their constituents or particular interest groups.

Likewise, the reelection incentive also plays a significant role in controlling representatives’ behavior. Citizens typically use votes as rewards or punishment for congress members’ actions in office. Voters are typical automobile drivers who know their destination, appropriate routes (policies), and can steer the vessels (legislators) to given terminuses. On the other hand, most legislators are typical political figures who always seek to retain their positions. Therefore, most congress members work tirelessly to magnify constituents’ policy preferences to appease citizens. They also toil diligently to match current citizen’s preferences to secure reelection in office. In this context, the reelection incentive drives legislators to make more responsible decisions individual and collective decisions to deliver constituents’ and voters’ policy and outcome preferences. Generally, legislators believe that small inconsistencies could threaten their time in office, thus prompting them to satisfy current and future citizens’ preferences individually and collectively.

Question II: Congressional Committee System

Technically, Congress is relatively wide, housing 535 members who handle vast domestic, military, global, criminal, and regulatory issues. Addressing all the issues effectively requires division into specialized groups, which Congress does through the committee system. Both the house and senate have committees and subcommittees that produce bills and facilitate Congressional agendas. There are over 200 committees, and majority and minority members from both houses compete for positions. Members and chairs have significant legislative power, including the capacity to halt a bill’s progress. Most importantly, Congress members bring their expertise in various committee positions, ultimately helping deliver vast congressional responsibilities.

Despite the salient pros, committee frameworks can be largely influenced by politically-fueled public issues. For instance, the Republicans took advantage of the Benghazi Congress committee to build partisan ideologies. Republicans structured the investigations to favor their ideologies or tarnish Hilary Clinton’s public image. Likewise, Democrats also worked relentlessly to trump Republican ideologies. Consequently, the antagonism brought unprecedented partisan dynamics in the house.

Question III: Presidential Power

Indeed, the ideology of presidential power has expanded incredibly since its enactment, though the evolution is not always welcomed. For instance, the legislature was traditionally the most powerful branch, but contemporary Congress is twice as powerful as the executive. The presidency has become the most significant branch, mainly in foreign affairs and national security. Among the most profound factors that have facilitated the expansions of the presidency is the lack of constitutional specificity in the subject. Most elements like “executive power” are designed under indeterminate terms, thus granting unspecified presidential authority. Further, unlike other federal branches the presidency is awarded intrinsic powers, including authority to address emergencies or keeping state affairs confidential. Such matters are not addressed anywhere in the constitution, ultimately supporting the expansion of the presidential capacity. Furthermore, prioritizing information in the modern age awards the Presidency profound access and control of data. The executive branch controls vast resources and has more access to information than other divisions. Consequently, the executive’s powers increase incredibly, given its expertise and capacity to control information resources.

Question IV: Neustadt and Kernell

Neustadt believes that the president is required to go beyond their authority to effectively influence national policy. They have to bargain influence in Congress and the executive, including agency heads, cabinet secretaries, and bureaucrats. Influencing the latter is particularly vital as they could have leverage against the Presidency. Conclusively, Neustadt notion contains three major elements that influence the president’s effectiveness. First, the president must convince his executives to match their responsibilities with his individual requirements. Second, the president must bargain and leverage the conceptions other people have about him. Third, he must weigh what the public thinks of him and what other men’s audience think of them in relation to the president’s ideologies. Conclusively, the Presidency’s power is delivered by the leader’s government vantage point.

On the other hand, Kernell believes that contemporary US presidents must leverage “going public” to prompt Congress to pass their bills. The approach isn’t the only plausible tool, and selecting it over negotiations has salient consequences. Nonetheless, Kernell affirms that the divided nature of the US government makes bargaining less desirable yet successful, inherently driving president’s to “going public.” Kernell’s theory reinforces Neustadt’s notion of matching a president’s individual goals with other men’s ideologies. “Going public” requires a president to seek other politicians’ and audiences’ support. Delivering tailor-made messages to various constituents and audiences can help gather their support to successfully drive Congress into passing bills.