Structure, Role, and Powers (AQA A-Level Politics): Revision Notes

Structure, Role, and Powers

Introduction to Congress

Congress serves as the federal legislature of the United States, holding responsibility for creating laws that apply across all 50 states. The institution is housed in the Capitol building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, with this prominent location reflecting its constitutional importance as one of the three branches of government.

As the legislative branch, Congress operates independently from both the executive and judicial branches due to the separation of powers established in the Constitution. This independence allows members of Congress to scrutinise and check the actions of the president and federal government without interference. The USA's federal system means that whilst state legislatures create laws for individual states, Congress creates federal law that supersedes state law where applicable.

The structure of Congress

The US Congress operates with two separate chambers, known as a bicameral structure. This design emerged from careful compromise during the Constitutional Convention and continues to shape how legislation is created today.

The House of Representatives

The House of Representatives functions as the lower chamber of Congress and contains the larger number of members. There are 435 congress(wo)men (also called representatives) who each represent a specific congressional district within their state. These representatives serve relatively short 2-year terms, meaning they face re-election frequently. All 435 seats in the House are contested simultaneously at each congressional election.

The Senate

The Senate serves as the upper chamber and has 100 members called senators. Each state, regardless of its population size, sends exactly two senators to Congress. Senators serve longer 6-year terms to provide greater stability and independence from short-term political pressures. Congressional elections occur every two years, but only one-third of Senate seats are contested at each election, ensuring continuity in the chamber's membership.

Historical origins: the Connecticut Compromise

The bicameral structure of Congress resulted from intense debate during the Philadelphia Convention in 1787. Smaller states supported the New Jersey Plan, which proposed equal representation for all states regardless of population. This would have protected their interests but would have left citizens in larger states underrepresented. Larger states favoured the Virginia Plan, where representation would be based on population size.

Distribution of congressional seats

The allocation of House seats varies significantly across states based on population. California, the most populous state with nearly 40 million residents, has 53 representatives in the House. In contrast, seven smaller states qualify for only one representative each, including geographically large states like Alaska and Montana. This distribution is regularly updated following the census, which occurs every ten years, to reflect population changes across the country.

Roles of Congress

Congress fulfils three essential functions within the American political system. Understanding these roles helps explain why Congress possesses such extensive powers and why its actions can significantly affect both domestic and foreign policy.

Passing legislation

As the legislative body of the federal government, Congress bears primary responsibility for creating new laws. Both the House and Senate must approve any bill before it can become federal law. This law-making function represents Congress's most fundamental role and requires careful coordination between the two chambers.

Representing the people

Members of Congress serve as the direct representatives of American citizens. The Constitution begins with the words "We the People", emphasising that governmental power derives from citizens. Representatives and senators must consider and respond to the interests, concerns, and needs of their constituents when making political decisions.

Overseeing the executive

Congress possesses various powers that enable it to scrutinise and potentially restrain actions taken by the president and federal government departments. This congressional oversight function serves as a crucial check on executive power, helping prevent any single branch from becoming too powerful.

Powers of Congress

Congress exercises a wide range of constitutional powers that enable it to fulfil its three main roles. These powers can be grouped into several categories.

Legislative powers

Congress holds the exclusive authority to initiate federal legislation. Any proposed law, called a bill, must receive approval from both the House of Representatives and the Senate before proceeding to the president. Once both chambers pass a bill in identical form, it moves to the president who can sign it into law, veto it, or leave it on their desk.

If the president leaves a bill on their desk without signing or vetoing it, the bill automatically becomes law after 10 days. However, if Congress adjourns (ends its session) during those 10 days, the president can use a pocket veto to kill the bill without Congress having the opportunity to override the veto.

Overriding a presidential veto

When the president vetoes a bill, Congress can choose to amend the legislation, abandon it entirely, or attempt to override the veto. Successfully overriding a presidential veto requires a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate, making this a challenging threshold to reach. This power ensures that Congress retains ultimate legislative authority whilst still respecting the president's role in the law-making process.

Initiating constitutional amendments

Congress can propose amendments to the Constitution when it identifies necessary changes to the nation's fundamental law. Any proposed amendment requires a two-thirds majority in both chambers before Congress sends it to the states for ratification. Three-quarters of state legislatures must then approve the amendment before it becomes part of the Constitution.

Ratifying treaties

Whilst the president negotiates international treaties, these agreements cannot take effect without Senate approval. The Senate must ratify (officially approve) treaties with a two-thirds majority vote. This requirement, exclusive to the Senate, ensures that significant international commitments receive careful scrutiny before the USA commits to them.

Declaring war

Both chambers of Congress must vote to approve a formal declaration of war before the USA can officially enter into armed conflict. However, this power has not been used since 1941, as modern presidents tend to avoid seeking formal war declarations. Instead, they often rely on other legal authorisations for military action.

Congressional oversight

Congress must approve all federal budgets, giving it significant control over how the government spends taxpayer money. Additionally, congressional committees conduct investigations and hold hearings to examine the actions and policies of executive branch departments and agencies. This oversight function helps ensure accountability and transparency in government operations.

Confirming presidential appointments

The Senate holds the exclusive power to confirm or reject presidential appointments to important positions. All nominees to the federal judiciary, including Supreme Court justices, require Senate confirmation. Many high-level appointments to executive branch departments also need Senate approval before the appointee can assume office. This confirmation process allows Congress to vet candidates and potentially block appointments it considers unsuitable.

Impeachment and removal from office

Impeachment represents Congress's most severe check on other government officials. Only the House of Representatives can impeach (formally charge) a public official with wrongdoing, requiring just a simple majority vote. However, only the Senate can conduct the trial and determine guilt or innocence. A two-thirds majority in the Senate is needed for a guilty verdict, which results in the official's immediate removal from office.

Electoral College contingency

In the rare event that no presidential candidate receives a majority of Electoral College votes (a hung Electoral College), Congress has the power to elect the president and vice president. This power has not been needed since 1824, as the Electoral College typically produces a clear winner.

The legislative process in Congress

Understanding how a bill becomes law requires examining the multi-stage process that legislation must navigate through both chambers of Congress.

Introduction stage

Bills can originate in either the House or the Senate. The introduction stage serves as a formality where the bill is officially filed, but no debate or vote occurs at this point. The bill is then assigned to the appropriate committee for detailed examination.

Committee stage

The committee stage represents the most critical phase in the legislative process. Bills are sent to standing committees composed of members who possess expertise in the bill's subject area. These committees hold hearings where witnesses provide testimony, and members scrutinise the bill's details. The committee can amend the bill if it wishes and ultimately decides whether to release the bill to the full chamber for consideration.

Timetabling

If a committee releases a bill, it must be scheduled for debate on the chamber floor. The House Rules Committee sets the rules for debate in the House, including whether amendments can be made during floor consideration. The Senate uses a different approach, reaching unanimous consent agreements that establish the terms for debate. These procedural differences reflect the contrasting sizes and traditions of the two chambers.

Floor debate and vote on passage

Once timetabled, the full House or Senate debates the bill. Members can propose amendments during this stage (if the rules permit), and the chamber may modify the bill. After debate concludes, the entire chamber votes on whether to pass the bill.

Conference committee

Because a bill must pass both chambers in identical form, differences between the House and Senate versions must be resolved. A conference committee, made up of members from the relevant standing committees in both chambers, meets to negotiate a single, unified version of the bill. They produce a "conference report" containing the final compromise bill, which must then return to both the House and Senate for approval.

Presidential action

After both chambers approve the final bill, it proceeds to the president. The president has three options: sign the bill into law, veto it, or leave it on their desk (where it becomes law after 10 days unless Congress adjourns, triggering a pocket veto). If the president vetoes the bill, Congress can attempt to override the veto with a two-thirds majority in both chambers.

Composition of Congress

All members of Congress must be elected to their positions and meet specific constitutional requirements related to age, citizenship, and residency.

Age requirements

The Constitution establishes minimum age requirements that vary between the chambers. Representatives in the House must be at least 25 years old, whilst senators must be at least 30 years old. These age minimums reflect the Founding Fathers' belief that senators should possess greater maturity and experience.

Citizenship requirements

Congress members must have been US citizens for a specified minimum period. Representatives need at least seven years of citizenship, whilst senators require at least nine years. These requirements ensure that members have sufficient experience with American society and governance before serving in Congress.

Residency requirements

Both senators and representatives must reside in the state they represent. This requirement ensures that members of Congress have direct knowledge of and connection to their constituents' concerns and interests.

Remember!