They also must balance the demands of the district with the interest of the nation, as well as determining the appropriate level of political party loyalty. A set of actions and habits necessary for the safe, effective, and mutually beneficial participation in a society.
Form of government in which the people are sovereign the ultimate source of power and authorize representatives to make and carry out laws. A system of distinct powers built into the Constitution to prevent an accumulation of power in one branch. Mason [Virginia] argued strongly for an election of the larger branch [of the legislature] by the people. It was to be the grand depository of the democratic principles of government.
It was, so to speak, to be our House of Commons—It ought to know and sympathize with every part of the community; and ought therefore to be taken not only from the different parts of the whole republic, but from different districts of the larger members of it, which have in several instances, particularly in Virginia, different interests and views arising from difference of produce, of habits, etc. We ought to attend to the rights of every class of people.
Outside the U. Under a parliamentary system, the chief executive, usually called a prime minister, is a member of parliament, but the Constitution establishes the legislature and the executive as two independent, but closely connected, branches.
Click to read the full lesson plan. Congress , and answer the Critical Thinking Questions. Students should respond to this question in their class journal or notebook: What are six things that make the job of a member of the U.
Congress a challenge? Have students share their list with a partner or with the class as time permits. Have students research a controversial bill or other important vote that has occurred in the U. Congress, either in the recent past or the distant past, and have them write their own scenario, indicating the competing interests faced by two different members of Congress, how those representatives voted, why they voted the way they did, and the students assessment of whether they were acting as a delegate or a trustee.
Explore Our American Portraits: Engaging narratives from across American History that allow your students to step into the past and meet the men and women, both well-known and forgotten, who have helped shape our history. Congress 90 minutes. Font Size: a a a. Please select your preferred method for sharing:. Add Email Recipients Recipient 1: Required. Recipient Founding Principles Civic Virtue A set of actions and habits necessary for the safe, effective, and mutually beneficial participation in a society.
Separation of Powers A system of distinct powers built into the Constitution to prevent an accumulation of power in one branch. Quotes Mr. Generally, these observers suggest that Members pursue three primary goals: gaining reelection, securing influence within Congress, and making good public policy. The relative priority a Member may assign to these goals can affect a wide range of choices regarding a congressional career, including 1 the emphasis given to different roles and duties; 2 activities in the Washington, DC, and district or state offices; 3 staffing choices in Member and committee offices; and 4 preference for committee assignments.
It can also affect a Member's approaches to legislative work, constituent relations, media relations, party issues, and electoral activities. As part of a broader evaluation of House administrative practices in the mids, 9 the House Commission on Administrative Review surveyed Members of the House and asked them to describe the major jobs, duties, and functions that they believed they were expected to perform.
At the same time, the commission hired the research firm Louis Harris and Associates to conduct a survey of the public to gauge its expectations of Congress and its Members. The Member survey found that the three most frequently mentioned duties and activities were the drafting and introduction of legislation; helping constituents solve problems; and representing the interests of their districts and constituents.
Other expectations included position taking and constituent education. According to the public survey conducted by the commission, the most common expectations of Members were to represent the people and district according to the wishes of the majority; to solve problems in the district; and to keep in contact with the people in the district through regular visits and meetings in the district and polls or questionnaires.
Other public expectations included regular attendance in legislative sessions and voting on legislation. Table 2 summarizes the most frequently mentioned responses to the public survey. Table 1. Source: U. Washington: GPO, , vol. Percentages are based on responses by Members of the House to the question, " Despite differences in point of view, both the Member and public survey results describe common interests in local representation, constituency services, legislative activity, and regular contact between the Member and the district.
The differences between Member and public expectations may reflect the different perspectives on the work of a Member of Congress. Where Members are daily confronted with representational, legislative, and institutional duties, the public focuses on representational, legislative, and service responsibilities, apparently without recognizing a broader underlying institutional, procedural, and operational framework in which Members of Congress operate. Some observers suggest that this narrow public focus is in part a reflection of the attention the public gives, or does not give, to political matters in general.
Common Member and public interest in local representation, constituency service issues, legislative activity, and regular contact between the Member and the constituency may partially explain how individual Members of Congress receive broad public satisfaction or approval of their performance while Congress as an institution, where Members engage the procedural and operational barriers the public disdains, routinely trails the executive and judicial branches in public approval.
Table 2. Work to solve problems in the district, help the people, and respond to the issues and needs of the district. To represent the people and district, and to vote according to the wish of the majority of their constituents. Percentages are based on 1, public responses to the question, "what kinds of jobs, duties, or functions do you expect a good Congressman to perform?
The responses to the Member and public surveys suggest that the roles and duties of a Member of Congress can be identified in part as an outgrowth of congressional and public expectations.
These congressional roles may be described by focusing on some of the underlying tasks typically required to carry them out. Because some of the duties are complex, and some of the underlying tasks often overlap, some of the roles may overlap.
The roles described below are derived from. Broadly, a system of representative government assumes that the will of the people is consulted and accommodated when making public policies that affect them. Consequently, representational activity is present in all of the roles of a Member of Congress. Representational activity is seen in the legislative process, constituent service, oversight, and investigation duties that Members carry out. In Congress, Members are elected to represent the interests of the people in their congressional district or state.
In addition, they represent regional and national interests in matters which might come before Congress. On the local level, Members of the House represent congressional districts of populations ranging approximately from , Rhode Island's two congressional districts to , Montana's single district constituents.
Representational work may involve legislative activity, such as analyzing the provisions of proposed legislation for their potential impact on the area represented, or constituent service activity, such as assisting individuals, local governments, and organizations in obtaining federal grants and benefits. Styles of representation differ. Some Members might view themselves as responding to instructions from their constituents—sometimes called the "delegate" style.
Others might prefer to act upon their own initiative and rely upon their own judgment—sometimes called the "trustee" style. In practice, when considering new legislation or the effects of implementing existing law, the opinion of their constituency often may be uppermost in a Member's mind.
Constituent views, however, may vary in intensity from issue to issue, or fall on several sides of an issue, and the Member would typically take into account opinions from other sources as well. Consequently, most Members typically balance or reconcile these competing viewpoints with their own judgment when casting their votes, providing constituent service, or conducting oversight. Another facet of representation involves presenting a view of government activity to constituents and the broader American public.
Members of Congress regularly draw attention to policy issues and federal government activities in order to educate constituents and other citizens and to encourage more robust citizen participation in public affairs. This educational function is typically performed through newsletters and special mailings sent to residents in the district or state, or through a variety of media outlets, which may include a Member website, and appearances and interviews on local television and radio programs.
In developing and debating legislative proposals, Members may take different approaches to learn how best to represent the interests of their district or state, together with the interests of the nation. This may require identifying local, national, and international issues or problems which need legislative action, and proposing or supporting legislation which addresses them. Throughout the legislative process, Members of Congress routinely attend committee hearings and briefings, hold meetings and conversations with executive branch officials and with lobbyists representing various interested groups, and have discussions with congressional colleagues.
In addition, many Members receive staff briefings based on a broad range of sources, including congressional support agencies, local and national media outlets, specialized policy-oriented literature, and background material on legislative issues, among others.
An important venue for congressional activities is the committee, through which much of the work of Congress is organized. Committees typically are the first place in which legislative policy proposals receive substantive consideration. Members of Congress are assigned to a number of committees and subcommittees simultaneously, and are expected to develop issue expertise in the policy areas that come before these panels.
Typically, each Senator is assigned to three committees and at least eight subcommittees. With the exception of Members who serve on committees that their party has designated as exclusive, each Representative is typically assigned to two standing committees and four subcommittees.
Committee members usually participate in hearings to question witnesses; engage in markup sessions to draft, amend, and refine the text of legislation; and vote on whether to send specific measures to the floor of their chamber. Members also testify before other congressional committees on matters of interest to their district or state, or on matters in which the Member has developed expertise.
In addition to these duties, Senate committee membership involves review of executive and judicial nominations and may include consideration of treaties. Some Members, generally those with more seniority, also participate in conference committees. Conference committees are convened to work out differences when the House and Senate pass different versions of the same bill. Members of conference committees participate in the final resolution of policy disputes, legislative-executive bargaining, and significant policy decisions.
Members generally participate in floor debate most fully when measures of importance to their home district or state are involved, or when matters reported from their legislative committees are under consideration. Floor activity might include preparing statements, conducting research to defend or deter provisions of a bill, and offering amendments.
Congressional unpopularity is nothing new. The Britannica Concise Encyclopedia notes that as a collective entity, Congress has never been popular. Many members of Congress even run for re-election by running against Congress — by emphasizing their differences with the congressional majorities. They have less admiration for senators and representatives who represent other constituencies and promote other interests. I refuse to take it personally. I have looked into history … We were unpopular when Lincoln was a congressman.
We were unpopular when John Quincy Adams was a congressman.
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