Summary Edexcel Government and Politics: US Congress essay plans
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Course
US Politics
Institution
PEARSON (PEARSON)
8 detailed 30-mark essay plans with matched arguments including examples
1. Evaluate the view that the Senate is the most powerful chamber in Congress
2. Evaluate the view that Congress is effective in its role of representation
3. Evaluate the view that Congress is effective in its role of ov...
Evaluate the view that the Senate is the most powerful chamber in Congress
Senate more powerful HOR more powerful
Senate has final say over the HOR in HOR does bring forward impeachment
choosing who is impeached - senate needs discretion of the HOR for
- e.g. although 3 presidents have been impeachment
trialled for impeachment the senate has - e.g. 2008 = representative of Ohio
voted all three times dismissing the sponsored 35 different charges of
impeachment impeachment against Bush and further 3
- senate is final adjudicator against VP Cheney
- HOR has power to yield impeachment by
charging presidents which constraints
executive
Senate is able to choose VP if the election HOR elect the president under a deadlock
is in deadlock - e.g. used in both 1800 and 1824 to elect
- e.g. 1837 = 33-16 vote elected Johnson as Jefferson and Quincy Adams
VP - president is far more important due to his
- VP is president of the senate-important numerous powers such as signing
for senate to have a say and they have an legislation and appointing justices
important role in electing a major figure
which could impact the president’s
decisions making
- VP has been a crucial vote breaker in
legislation making in congress so it is
extremely important in terms of the
creation of legislation
Senate has the power to ratify treaties Treaties are rare
- check on president's power over foreign - presidents implied powers e.g. executive
policy, Senate scrutinises treaties that are orders mean that power of treaty
made and can choose to approve or reject ratification is rare
them by a 2/3 vote - e.g. Obama executive agreement 2015
- e.g. 2012, Senate voted to reject the UN Paris agreement, Trump reversal of Paris
convention on the Rights of Persons with agreement, Biden reinstallment of Paris
disabilities, republicans expressing concern agreement
over extra government regulation it might - loophole = senate does not have a greater
entail check on president on foreign policy than
- senate has more checks on president than HOR
HOR = senate more powerful as it extend
into interfering with other branches
, Evaluate the view that Congress is effective in its role of representation
Effective Not effective
Elected into power Short election cycle
- represent concerns of constituency - 2 years = more time spent campaigning to
- e.g. AOC = condemned overturning of Roe ensure election than passing bills and
v Wade by SCOTUS representing constituents
- senators more general issues whereas - pork barrel politics = trading favours for
representatives concern themselves with political gain and support e.g. Alaskan
smaller and more direct issues in their bridge = $233m = only benefits a few
district
- e.g. Democratic Congressman Colin
Peterson of Minnesota’s 7th district has
often voted against gun control and pro-
choice abortion laws as a result of the
conservative views of his district, despite
his party maintaining a liberal ideology
- concerns of re-election
Descriptively representative- religiously Religious ‘none’s’ are not represented
diverse - e.g. 26% of Americans are not religious
- e.g. after 2020 midterm, Congress but just one Senator claims to be religiously
included the first two Muslim women to unaffiliated
serve the house - despite decline in Christianity, they are
still overrepresented in proportion to their
share of the public e.g. nearly nine in ten
congressional members are Christian (88%)
compared with 65% of US adults overall
Descriptively representative- age Older generations still account for the
- number of Millennials and Gen Zs in majority of lawmakers
Congress has risen - 53% of House and 68% of Senate
- 7% of House members are millennials - can’t adapt political state based off
- 2022 midterm = first gen z congressmen modern issues e.g. problems with guns,
Maxwell Frost = fighting for more modern abortion
issues e.g. against mass shootings
Evaluate the view that Congress is effective in its role of oversight
Effective Ineffective
Congress can impeach the President and Impeachment is rarely effective
SC judges - e.g. first time Trump was impeached,
- e.g. Nixon was impeached and Alabama Senate acquitted him of charges //
Judge Mark fuller- resigned following US capitol, trump impeached for
- e.g. trump impeached twice for after inciting attack
inciting insurrection at US capitol - partisanship makes removal from office
difficult even when they are clearly liable
Checks and balances prevent tyranny, Divided hyper partisanship- refusal to
forcing compromise between different compromise and weak when united
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