Congressional Representation : Richard F. Fenno Essay

In his book Hardball, Chris Matthews discusses the useful strategies for getting ahead in politics that he observed during his time working in Washington, D.C. He breaks up his observations into chapters with different lessons. Three of the most important lessons are “It's Not Who You Know; It's Who You Get to Know,” (Chapter 1) “All Politics is Local,” (Chapter 2) and “Dance With the One That Brung Ya.” (Chapter 4). These chapters illustrate how important making and keeping connections and relationships is in Washington. The “game of politics” is played by using these relationships to gain favors, votes, support, etc. According to Matthews, the people who get ahead are the ones who make and keep these important connections and relationships with other politicians and the public.

This written report is appertaining to the book How Congress Works and Why You Should Care, written by Lee H. Hamilton. This book is published by Indiana University Press in Bloomington, IL, it was copyrighted in 2004 by the publisher.

Most individuals with a general background knowledge of the United States Federal Government system are aware that in order for a bill to become a law, it must first pass a majority vote in Congress. There is, however, a very important step in the legislative process that sometimes goes unnoticed. The committee system of the legislation process ensures that the appropriate attention is given to each bill introduced to Congress. Each member of both chambers are assigned to committees and subcommittees, and are expected to become subject matter experts in their respective roles as committee members.

In agency representation the constituents give the politicians the ability to make decisions on their behalf when they don’t know the issue, the constituents expect them to work in their best interest. An issue that has recently been in the news is President Obama’s efforts to close Guantanamo Bay. Since the issue has not attracted the attention of a lot of people it is up to congress to vote in the public’s best interest. Yet, according to New York Times, congress has been blocking the president’s efforts to shut the prison down. The United States spends $2.5 million per detainee in Guantanamo and it currently holds 532 detainees. Acting as agencies on the behalf of the American people, Congress should work with President Obama because the money that the United States could save will be spent on issues that directly affect the public. This raises the question of how well does congress represent its

The Role of the Senate and House of Representatives The Congress of the United States consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives which means the USA is bi-cambial. The Congress of the United States was created by Article I, Section 1, of the Constitution, adopted by the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787. The Senate is composed of 100 Members, 2 from each State, who are elected to serve for a term of 6 years.

The legislative branch is the most powerful branch in government. The legislative branch is in charge of making and passing laws. They have the power to override a president’s decision, stop laws from being passed, and basically control all decisions the governments makes. The legislative branch, also called the congress, consists of the House of Representatives and the senate. The reason for two houses of congress is to balance out the concerns of smaller but more populated states against states that are larger but with less population (www.Usgovinfo.com).

In 1910, Cannon was Speaker of the House as well as Head of the Rules Committee, giving him incomparable power in the House. However, George Norris, backed by the Progressives in Congress, called for a vote to give the power of electing the Rules Committee to the House, to avoid the monopoly of power. This example, of recognizing power and dispersing it away from one individual, furthered American ideology of avoiding dictatorial rule (Burns, 1988). During the film Charles MacDowell, a newspaperman, states, “The Congress is where we speak, the Congress is where we are. The Congress is where ordinary mortals go about the business of compromise; compromise that gets us through the day” (MacDowell, 1988). This statement is relevant, for me, as it imposes the necessity of compromise in Congress. The way that Mr. MacDowell states the functionality of Congress, makes it apparent that in this country the power truly lies with people of all beliefs. Therefore, to maintain fairness, compromise must ensue. Another statement that challenged my personal belief of how Congress operates, was made by Barbara Fields, a historian, stating “I wonder whether the ideal of democracy lives, in real sense, in our

A “Young Guard” of politicians were emerged in Congress. More interested in purifying the Uion rather than patching it up

The inter workings of Congress have been studied extensively by Richard Fenno and David R. Mayhew. Mayhew’s study of Congress took place in Washington, while Richard Fenno conducted his research by following politicians within their congressional district. Mayhew attributes three primary goals to congressmen- getting reelected, achieving influence within Congress and making “good Policy”. Fenno also attributes three basic goals, having influence inside the House than other congressmen. Second, helping their constituents and thereby insuring their reelection, and lastly helping make good policy. The purpose of this paper is to research a member of Congress and to make a direct connection between his activity in Washington and his home district. The paper will answer whether the congressmen is a delegate or trustee. Are the actions a pursuit for reelection? Are the committee assignments a path for movement within the House or outside? What legislation has he/she sponsored or co-sponsored and does it directly reflect his/her districts political view. And finally, do major industries and interest groups within his/she district affect the way he/she votes.

Members of Congress are voted to office by their electorate as their representatives at the congress level of democracy. In their capacity, they may decide to exercise their powers by the will of the people or according to their personal judgment. When the members of Congress opt to be the people’s delegate, their actions in the House and other congressional engagements are a reflection of the will of their district. As such, the delegate representative does not have or exercise the autonomy to represent and decide for their district. Instead, a strenuous consultation process is required to keep the people in control of all relevant decisions.

In “Congressional Government”, Woodrow Wilson tries to explain the system of Congress and in it he thoroughly discusses the predominance of Congressional Committees in the legislative body. He argues that our legislature is more analogous to a conglomerate, not a homogenous body and that “we are ruled by a score and a half of ‘little legislatures’”(Wilson p. 323). There is little unity in the House and party organization is not strong according to Wilson. The many distinct, disconnected committees has leads Congress to have weak leadership and therefore decreases decision making. Also Wilson shows how multiple committee jurisdictions creates a system where there is no clear voice on the issue and since committees differ in political ideology broad questions of policy suffer. Lawrence C. Dodd also discusses the committee system in “Congress and the Quest for Power”. In it, he argues that the solution to congressmen’s need for power is a decentralized congress with a committee system that allows members to gain considerable power in their small committees. “Each member wants to exercise power, to make the key policy decisions. … Given this widespread power motive, an obvious way to resolve the conflict is to disperse power”(Dodd p. 335). Dodd argues that the solution to member Congress constantly seeking power is the current

“One of the key problems today is that politics is such a disgrace, good people don’t go into government,” Said by Donald Trump, the current President of the United States. Good people do not go into government, but when they do and they begin to do things that are best for the country they are hated, ostracized, shamed, and criticized. This book makes me feel like there is something seriously wrong with the way our Senate and House of Representatives are run and how the politicians make decisions for the people. Three examples of this are John Quincy Adams, Edmund G. Ross, and George W. Norris. Each was ostracized by the senate or people in a different way for what nowadays they are praised for.

As political scientists, we are aiming to dive deeper into understanding political behavior and the circumstances that sound it. Specifically whether political party affiliation, committee involvement, and donor contribution have a deep-rooted impact on political behavior within foreign policy of the representatives from New York, North Dakota, and Texas on H.R. 2393: Country of Origin Labeling Amendments Act of 2015.

He makes the reader think about the job qualities and how easy it is to be a congressman, He bashes congressmen by telling the reader about committing fraud and blaming it on others, just as a congressman does. “While the average American makes $40,000 - $50,000 a year, your congressman stuffs $174,000 annually” (Beck 47). This quote gives us an example on how congressmen are getting paid too much and are not having to do as much as others for what they are paid. Also he mention laws that congressmen didn’t have to obey until 1995. In his final note of this chapter he helps us understand how government is cheating us by giving money to the politicians over people in need.

Congress has many functions to keep it working and functioning. They do many things to make laws, make sure they’re fair, and much more. There are also many committees with important jobs. There are many things that influence congressional elections such as reapportionment, redistricting, much more. There are many people who make up the House and Senate and they have many important jobs to keep things running smoothly.