United States Congress

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Congress is one the most powerful institutions in
the political landscape of the United States, and
it has a considerable impact on society and the
lives of citizens. Since the United States
upholds the principle of separation of powers,
Congress exercises authority only over the
legislative realm. At the same time, Congress
also has the capacity to influence other branches
of government by employing different tools,
including impeachment and engaging in
oversight. Congress has many methods available to
it to encourage other branches of government to
act in a favorable way. The main one is the
enactment of legislation that can directly impact
the decision-making of different agencies
belonging to other branches (Lowande Potter,
2021). Congress can pass laws that can prohibit
other government branches from engaging in
activities that Congress views as unacceptable.
Another important tool of Congress is the power
of impeachment to which it can subject any
president. The subsequent removal from office is
also one of the main tools that Congress can use
to make the president change their course of
action and make them act in a different way.
Additionally, Congress has the right to give
consent to the ratification of treaties.
Essentially, if the terms of a certain treaty do
not satisfy Congress members, they can refuse to
ratify it, thus forcing the responsible officials
to change the document to comply with Congress
will. Congress has the oversight responsibility,
which implies reviewing, monitoring, and
supervision of federal agencies and the
implementation of various policies. The current
congressional oversight is extremely effective
since it ensures the better functioning of
different agencies of the executive branch. For
instance, the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the
main issues the country has faced over the past
years. Congressional oversight played a major
role in the development of effective measures to
counter the spreading of the virus (Beland et
al., 2021). Moreover, the hearings conducted by
different congressional subcommittees enabled the
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policymakers to design strategies to counter the
negative economic consequences of the pandemic.
Essentially, the efforts of the officials engaged
in the congressional oversight process
facilitated the implementation of a working
strategy to address all aspects of the pandemic.
Thus, the current Congress oversight authority
can be considered effective and capable of
attaining positive results. Congress has managed
to stay effective in the age of Trump and after
and continues to perform its duties in a proper
way. The main characteristic of Congress and its
actions during the period of Trump's presidency
was a high level of bipartisanship and a lack of
consensus between the legislative and executive
branches. As a result, the absence of agreement
on issues such as the building of a wall on the
border with Mexico led to a government shutdown
(Smith, 2021). An example of congressional
oversight during the Trump era was the analysis
of the Congressional Budget Office of Trump's
healthcare legislation, the results of which
discouraged the republicans from adopting the
bill (Smith, 2021). Thus, even during the time of
Trump's presidency, Congress remained effective
and allowed Congress members to make sensible
decisions. Today, during the Biden era, Congress
continues to demonstrate expertise and
professionalism in its activities. Congressional
oversight is an important element of the
democratic system of the United States, which
works effectively by letting congress members
make better decisions. Congress has many tools
for influencing other government branches and
forcing them to act in a certain way, and the
main method is the enactment of legislation. Even
during the Trump era, Congress managed to
demonstrate proper functioning and successfully
delivered on its responsibilities.
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References
Beland, D., Dinan, S., Rocco, P., Waddan, A.
(2021). Social policy responses to COVID-19 in
Canada and the United States Explaining policy
variations between two liberal welfare state
regimes. Social Policy Administration, 55(2),
280-294. Lowande, K., Potter, R. (2021).
Congressional oversight revisited Politics and
procedure in agency rulemaking. The Journal of
Politics, 55(1), 401-408. Smith, L. (2021). Trump
and Congress. Policy Studies, 42(5),
528-543. Ivypanda Study Hub. (2024). The United
States Congress and Passing Legislation. https//i
vypanda.com/essays/the-united-states-congress-and-
passing-legislation/