Congress - Oversight & Representation

What Powers of Oversight does Congress Have:

• Constitution does give Congress powers to make laws.
• Subpoena (legally call for) documents and testimony
• Hold individuals in contempt if they fail to comply with Congress’s demands for information
• Senate has the power of confirmation
• Senate has power to ratify treaties.
• Congressional Committee.

When Is Oversight Only Really Effective:

• Oversight is only effective when a party is in control of both houses. There isn’t much oversight over the executive as it isn’t very effective unless both houses are in control.
• Divided government has become the norm which has seen limited oversight of the executive.
• When the Democrats were in control of both houses in 2007, oversight was very effective where they claimed that Bush “hadn’t really changed anything.’
• The Constitution has limited intervention over a president.
• Oversight will keep the administration on its toes and a lack of oversight leads to complacency, arrogance and maladministration.

What Variables Effect Congress’s Oversight Role:

• Party control is one variable e.g Republicans under Trump.
• Popularity of Congress compared with the incumbent president – Congress is not very popular with the public. Lessens the chance of acting as an effective check on the executive branch.
• President’s approval ratings can make Congress seem popular as he is the party leader.
• Size of POTUS’s mandate e.g Reagan won all but one state and this made Congress more powerful.
• National crisis e.g 9/11 will strengthen the president’s hand at Congress’s expense.

Congress & Representation:

Representative of People:

• Not very representative of the people in terms of gender and race. Women are unrepresentative and Congress contorts to the white, older, more professional and Christian than the nation as a whole.
• This is important because politics is meant to uphold the democratic values and Clinton said the American government should “look like America”
• Also raises issues in terms of policy e.g women are more likely to raise issues concerning civil rights and liberties, education and health.
• Different people see issues in different light than others and thus may differ on these views so Congress needs to represent these views:

Models of Representation:

1. Trustee Model: Founded by Burke, it says that Congressmen/women can make their own decisions because they are experts as they have “mature judgement.” Some members of Congress believe the FF gave them this power as the “passions of the day should be dampened” but some argue that it is elitist.
2. Delegate Model: Member is a free agent and is free to vote however they wish. Decisions should be based off constituents though. A model of popular sovereignty in which the people are sovereign. Members of Congress fulfil a true representative function.

Engaging With Constituents:

• Can keep in touch via email and visits and can keep in touch with events through local newspapers. Discover what constituents want by making regular visits back home. This can depend on how far away the member of Congress’s district is. Some make use of this during recess periods when they spend more time at home.
• Engagements Include: Town hall meetings, surgeries, visits around the state, appearing on local radio, interview with local media, addressing local groups, visiting schools and hospitals.
• Views of constituents will vary across the whole district therefore members must balance factors for the local good vs the national good.

Fulfilling A Representative Function:

• Voting on legislation, membership of a standing committee, lobbying the executive, performing constituency casework by helping with passport issues etc, federal matters such as student loans, gaining money through pork-barrel politics.
• Some of the public view PBP as good when their own member of Congress does it but bad when another does it as it is unnecessary government spending. It hit its peak in 2006 but has tailed off in recent years.
• As PBP fades, e-democracy has increased where members of Congress can stay in touch through social media and even use it to show how much of a good job they are doing. Some argue the only way to get in touch with a congressman/woman is through social media.
• Many view it e-democracy as a way to get re-elected as it looks as though congressmen/women are doing their job but many are committed to serving the country and want to improve the lives of the ordinary.

Congress’s Effectiveness in Representation:

• Still has a long way to go in terms of true representation of how America looks but will improve throughout time.
• Members do really care about providing the best services for the public especially in the House where re-election is up every two years.
• On most issues, members will have people in their districts on both sides of the argument and it can be hard finding which one is the majority viewpoint and even then there will still be challenges.
• Until this gridlock is solved, Congress may never truly be representative.

Is Congress The Broken Branch:
Yes:	No:
In terms of legislation, too often characterised by gridlock and inaction	Congress passes hundreds of laws every year
Lack of bipartisanship and compromise	Strong on constituency representation and looking after ‘the people back home’
Senate action often frustrated by filibustering or the threat of it	Congress alone does not cause gridlock in the government
Confirming of POTUS appointments often degenerates into partisan point scoring	Polarisation in Congress is merely reflective of a polarised country
Too many uncompetitive seats pushes parties to ideological extremes	Has successfully called POTUS and their administrations to account
Foreign policy checks on the POTUS are often ineffective e.g declaring war	Slowness in Congress is often because of what the FF wrote in the Constitution.