What Does Congress Do?
What Does Congress Do?
In order to best explain what Congress does, we can use the analytical lenses of constitutionalism, institutionalism and behavioralism. Before we can discuss what Congress does, it is important to understand the basic make up of our legislative body. We can view the basic makeup of Congress within the view of Constitutionalism.
The United States Constitution provides the structure of our legislative body. It gives us a bicameral legislature. This means that we have two chambers; the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Constitution contains rules that give the basic guidelines on how we elect our representatives, how long they will serve and the outline of how the legislative process works.
To arrive at Congress, …show more content…
Once elected, a representative is expected by their constituents to represent. A congressman must make a decision on how they will represent their constituents back home. Smith describes three different types of representatives: a delegate, a trustee and a politico. Many Americans expect their representative to go to Congress and represent their own personal feelings. This delegate style proves difficult for a Congressman who has a vast amount of varying opinions in his constituents. This could lead the Congressman to act as a trustee. Smith describes a trustee as “representing his or her constituents by exercising independent judgment about the interests of district, state or nation” (Smith, 30). A politico combines the style of delegate and trustee and will represent the ideas of constituents but still act on his own personal views in some matters. The difficult part of representing in Congress is reconciling all the different views and expectations of their constituents. Members of Congress also represent their constituents by representing as a part of their
In order to best explain what Congress does, we can use the analytical lenses of constitutionalism, institutionalism and behavioralism. Before we can discuss what Congress does, it is important to understand the basic make up of our legislative body. We can view the basic makeup of Congress within the view of Constitutionalism.
The United States Constitution provides the structure of our legislative body. It gives us a bicameral legislature. This means that we have two chambers; the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Constitution contains rules that give the basic guidelines on how we elect our representatives, how long they will serve and the outline of how the legislative process works.
To arrive at Congress, …show more content…
Once elected, a representative is expected by their constituents to represent. A congressman must make a decision on how they will represent their constituents back home. Smith describes three different types of representatives: a delegate, a trustee and a politico. Many Americans expect their representative to go to Congress and represent their own personal feelings. This delegate style proves difficult for a Congressman who has a vast amount of varying opinions in his constituents. This could lead the Congressman to act as a trustee. Smith describes a trustee as “representing his or her constituents by exercising independent judgment about the interests of district, state or nation” (Smith, 30). A politico combines the style of delegate and trustee and will represent the ideas of constituents but still act on his own personal views in some matters. The difficult part of representing in Congress is reconciling all the different views and expectations of their constituents. Members of Congress also represent their constituents by representing as a part of their