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United States Government

Who Does the Legislative Branch Work for?

Introduction

Every society requires laws for its existence. In the United States, the legislative branch

of the government, which is represented by the Congress is the body mandated to make laws. It

is one of the three branches of the U.S government. The other ones are the executive and the

judiciary. The legislative branch works for the whole society since it creates laws that hold the

society together. Congress is established by Article I of the Constitution, and it represents the

overall legislative body comprising of the Senate and the House. The Congress has several duties

including political, social and economic mandate

Political

The primary functions of these two bodies are to write, debate upon and pass laws before

sending them to the president for his veto or approval. A bill which has been approved by the

President becomes law immediately. Nonetheless, should the president veto the bill, the

Congress still has recourse. It can override the President’s veto if it manages to raise a two-thirds

majority in both houses. Alternatively, the Congress can rewrite the bill so as to win the approval

of the president. Legislation that has been vetoed is taken back to the originating chamber for

reworking (Fung 1). On the other hand, if a president receives a bill and does not do anything

with it within ten days while the Congress is still in session, the bill becomes law automatically.

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In this regard, the Congress helps the president in ensuring that there are good laws in place for

governance (Nelson and Donovan 65).

Congress is also charged with the responsibility of investigating issues of national

importance in addition to supervision and providing a balance between the executive and

judiciary branches of the government. It also has the authority of declaring war in addition to its

power of coining money. Congress also regulates trade and commerce between states and

internationally. Furthermore, although the president serves as the commander in chief of the

armed forces, it is the Congress that is mandated by the constitution to maintain the military. In

this regard, therefore, the Congress works for the president, the entire executive, the judiciary

and the military.

The Congress has two Houses. The two disparate chambers were formed due to the need

to balance the concerns of states that are smaller but densely populated with those that are large

but sparsely populated. There are one hundred members of the Senate, with two representatives

allowed in each state no matter the population and size. Presently, the House of Representatives

has 435 members. The representation of each state in the House of Representatives is dependent

on the population size of the particular state. Each of the House’s members represents a

geographic district within that state. On their part, Senators represent their entire state (Little and

Ogle 28).

Economic

Each House is bestowed some specific duties. The House can come up with laws with tax

payment requirements for particular groups of people (Hicks 1). Besides, the houses can

determine whether public officials who have been accused of a crime can be tried.

Representatives to the House are eligible for elections for two-year terms. The Senate has powers

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to reject or confirm treaties that the President has signed with foreign nations. It also confirms or

rejects presidential appointments such as foreign ambassadors, cabinet members, and federal

judges. The Senate is also responsible for trying any federal official who has been accused of

crimes. This is followed by a vote of the House to impeach the said official. Apparently,

Senators are elected for 6-year terms. Additionally, the Senate is being presided over by the vice

President, who also has powers to cast his or her vote in case of a tie.

Representatives are elected after every two years. One must be at least the age of 25

years, been a citizen of the United States for not less than seven years and live in the same state

they want to represent to be eligible to be elected as a member of the House of Representatives.

The Speaker is the leader of the House of Representatives and is the third in command in the

presidential succession line.

Social

The Congress gives the people an opportunity to choose a representative who shares the

same ethnic, social, religious, educational and racial background as them. This representative

will act in ways that reflect the way of life and aspirations of his or her constituents. Because of

this assumption, people rarely monitor their representatives very carefully. Therefore,

representatives are elected to the Congress to carry the wishes and aspirations of the people. If he

or she fails to do so, the people vote him/her out and choose someone who can. This way, they

ensure that the Representative or the Senator is accountable to the people.

Conclusion

Laws are essential for the existence of every society. However, for more harmonious

existence, the people should participate in making of these laws. This explains why many

jurisdictions around the world, there exists laws making institutions whose membership are

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directly elected by the people. In the United States, the legislative arm of the government is one

charged with making laws that are in tune with the demands of the citizens. However, the

Congress has some other additional duties, which include oversight, investigations, and

representations.

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Works cited

Fung, Brian. "The House just voted to wipe away the FCC’s landmark Internet privacy

protections." 28 March 2017. The Washington Post. Web. 08 May 2017.

Hicks, Josh. "Legislative branch prepares for spending cuts." 24 Feb. 2013. Washington Post.

Web. 08 May 2017.

Little, Thomas H and David B Ogle. The legislative branch of state government: people, process,

and politics. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2006. Print.

Nelson, Robin and Sandra Donovan. The Congress: a look at the legislative branch.

Minneapolis, Minn.: Lerner Publications, 2012. Print.

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