So, You’ve Got a New Congress: Wait, What Does Congress Do Again?

With all of the election buzz and campaign advertising (how many automated calls did you get?), it’s easy to forget what our representatives actually DO once they’re in office.

So now that we have a new Congress, what better time to review Congress’ responsibilities! That way when you call to congratulate your reps, you can also let them know what they can do for you.

Making laws

Of course, Congress’ primary responsibility is to make laws. You may remember a chart like this one from your 8th Grade Civics Textbook:

What the chart above and that famous educational cartoon, "How a Bill Becomes a Law," forget to illustrate is an elemental part of legislation-making: party strategy. Bills are often passed or killed because of deals made among legislators and strategies launched by party leaders. These tactics are central to lawmaking, so we the people, who are represented by Congress, should be aware of them.

For example, during the 109th congressional term, Republican leaders launched contentious bills in the Senate instead of the House. The House had a much larger Republican majority than the Senate, so bills that President Bush favors would have an easier time there. The Senate, while under Republican control, had a strong Democratic minority that has the power to block, or, filibuster a bill.

Check back with WomenMatter to understand how the latest party strategies are influencing lawmaking.

Confirmation

Confirming nominees is another important part of Congress’ (specifically the Senate’s) job description.

In addition to the lower courts, the Senate confirms Supreme Court Justices as one of their major powers.

The confirmation process for justices consists of hearings conducted by the Senate Judiciary Committee and a floor vote in the Senate. The hearings are meant to help the Senate and the American people to get to know the nominee and determine if she or he is capable of and suitable for the Supreme Court of the United States.

The most potent way for the minority to block a judicial nomination (or a new law for that matter) is through a filibuster, which forces the majority to come up with 60 votes in order to confirm the nomination. Therefore, the number of seats attained by the majority party determines how easily they will be able to override a filibuster.

When one party rules both the executive and legislative branches and when the parties are clearly divided on issues that judicial appointees can greatly influence, filibusters are likely.

When the minority has little power to protect its constituents, it is inevitable that it will use its constitutional power -- the filibuster -- to prevent the tyranny of the majority.

For example, Democrats were using the filibuster regularly to block President Bush’s court appointments, so Republicans wanted to change Senate rules in order to keep Democrats from filibustering nominees, a strategy that Democrats called "the nuclear option," and that Republicans referred to as "the constitutional option."

Oversight

In addition to making laws and confirming justices, the legislative branch is supposed to watch over the executive branch to make sure it does its job. In this day and age, Congress is especially concerned with oversight of homeland security.

However, throughout the 20th Century, the Executive Branch has acted without congressional oversight on matters of national security. For example, in 1952, President Harry Truman told Commerce Secretary Charles Sawyer to seize U.S. steel mills in order to prevent a strike that would have threatened the military effort in Korea. Truman didn’t notify Congress until twelve days later.

Similarly, George W. Bush didn’t check first with the other two branches when he authorized domestic wiretapping and potentially violated FISA. When this happened, many historians and analysts argued that Congress’ is ineffective when it comes to oversight - especially intelligence oversight.

Is it someone’s fault or is it the system?

Why is Congress unsuccessful when it comes to intelligence oversight? Aziz Huq, associate counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, has a theory. In the May 15, 2006 issue of Legal Times, Huq asserts that the problem is twofold. For starters, the Constitution’s separation of power -- in which the three branches provide oversight for one another -- has been eroded by partisanship. He argues that party affiliation determines a legislator’s behavior toward the president, not practical reason on national security.

Second, Huq says, the intelligence machine has no structure of judicial, legislative, or executive controls. He explains that the intelligence system has evolved over time (and quickly during the Cold War) without a decided-upon framework through which the three branches could work. We see evidence of this evolution with NSA wiretapping.

Huq recommends that the minority party control intelligence agencies. This would take care of the partisanship problem and the lack of congressional participation in one fell swoop. What do you think of this idea? The 9-11 Committee found that lack of congressional oversight contributed to the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. How else could Congress contribute to national security?

Partisanship affects all of Congress’ jobs

Clearly, partisanship influences lawmaking, confirming, and oversight, so the new division in Congress will greatly affect all of these areas.

Check back with WomenMatter to understand how the new Congress is operating and how its operations affect you.

Your voice doesn’t go quiet after Election Day. You can still participate in the process by letting your representatives know how you feel.

For more on this topic, click here.

What do you think?

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WomenMatter encourages women to educate themselves on the issues and then approach their representatives with ideas. For more on Women’s Rights, click here.

Even though the election is over, your voice is vital. Make sure your leaders know what’s important to you. To see how your representatives vote and to contact them, click here.

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