Describe some of the main powers of Congress as well as the different representation functions (roles) of members of Congress.

Question

Describe some of the main powers of Congress as well as the different representation functions (roles) of members of Congress.

Answer 1

As the legislative branch of the United States, Congress holds several significant powers. There's a wide range from lawmaking to budgeting so here are some generalizations of it's abilities:

1. Lawmaking: Congress has the ability to make laws for the US which must pass through both the House of Representatives (HOR) or the Senate before being approved or vetoed by the President.
2. Confirmation and Oversight: Congress has the ability to confirm presidential appointments, ranging from cabinet members to even federal judges.
3. Declaring War: Congress has the power to declare war on other countries as given by the Constitution. While the President is commander-in-chief, Congress is the only branch with the ability to declare war.
4. Impeachment: Congress has the ability to impeach the current President, Vice President, Federal Judges, etc. The HOR bring impeachment charges while the Senate carries out the trials.

As with all 3 branches of the United States government, Congress has the system of checks and balances. One check as explained before is Impeachment where Congress can get rid of the sitting President for crimes which is a direct check to the executive branch. Even declaring war can be seen as a check, since Congress does not need the approval of the President in order to declare war.

When it comes to representation there are many different positions and roles within the government in order to correctly reflect the people. You have legislators who sponsor and introduce bills, political party representatives who speak for their respective parties and push to advance the goals of their party, committee members who have a wide range of fields in order to correctly influence and build the fields they specialize in. The HOR with 435 representatives each for a specific district within a state, and the Senate with 100 members with 2 from each state. All these people comes together in order to give different forms of representation and voices to the public who wish to help build society.