Evaluate the extent to which Congress is effective at carrying out its legislative role. Flashcards
Introduction - Themes
- Pass Rate
- National Emergencies
- Presidential Power
Introduction - Arguments
Congress is extremely ineffective at carrying out its legislative role - the pass rate stand at 2-3% which means it neither passes frequently nor in response to presiding issues within America
Effective - Pass Rate - Point
The low pass rate can be seen as a positive as it means only necessary legislation is passed. Recently, there have been impressive bills passed which illustrates how Congress is effective when carrying out its legislative role
Effective - Pass Rate - Examples
- Congress passed the Affordable Care Act under Obama which completely transformed healthcare
- Biden was able to pass the Inflation Reduction Act which saw $500bn for social care and green energy
Ineffective - Pass Rate - Point
These large bills are few and far between - Trump was only able to pass a major tax cuts bill in his term. Realistically, the partisan polarisation has meant Congress frequently ends up in gridlock and the bills that do pass have to be massively modified
Ineffective - Pass Rate - Examples
- Obamacare had to remove the more radical public health reforms as well as promising it will be be used for abortion
- In January 2022, it took 15 rounds of voting to elect Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker - in the meantime nothing could be done in the House
Effective - National Emergencies - Point
When there is a prominent problem which is posing a threat to the American people, Congress is much more cooperative and can pass bipartisan legislation to dampen the effects
Effective - National Emergencies - Examples
- In May 2022, after the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas where 19 children were shot, Biden was able to secure a bipartisan bill to prevent the sale of firearms to those deemed ‘dangerous’
- Biden was able to pass the $1.4tn Rescue Bill to help with the affects of Covid-19 on the USA
Ineffective - National Emergencies - Point
Biden’s ability to pass the gun control legislation is more of an exception to the rules - there always have to be massive concession made on these bills
Ineffective - National Emergencies - Examples
- After the Sandy Hook Massacre in 2010 - Obama was unable to pass any legislation to implement gun controls and Biden wanted to ban the sale of assault weapons but had to settle
- The Rescue Bill forced a lot of scrutiny - Joe Manchin made it a reconciliation bill which meant it was limited to 1 year
Effective - President - Point
Congress has the ability to reject legislation that is proposed by the executive, which is an important check on the President
Effective - President - Examples
- Trump repeatedly promised to repeal Obamacare, however, he was unsuccessful in his attempt to do so when left-wing Republicans such as Susan Collins refused to back it
- After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wage there was an effort by Biden to codify Roe, but this was unsuccessful as he did not have enough Congressional support to do so
Ineffective - President - Point
The President has an arsenal of informal powers to bypass Congress and achieve what he wishes - the two most important include signing statements and vetoes
Ineffective - President - Examples
- In February 2019, Trump used unilateral powers to declare a ‘national emergency’ to secure funding for a wall between the US and Mexico when Congress refused to comply with his request - he then vetoed Congress’s resolution saying he had overreached
- The Detainee Treatment Act 2006 was passed to prohibit torture at Guantanamo Bay - this passed through Congress. Bush added a signing state at the end saying ‘unless the Commander-in-Chief deems it necessary’ which effectively nullified the bill
