American Government vs. Parliamentary System

The Congress

• America has a different system of government compared to other countries, with three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.
• The legislative branch is responsible for law-making, while the executive branch administers the laws. These two branches are often combined in other systems.
• Separation of Powers: Each branch has its own constitutional authority, with different constituencies.
• Checks and Balances: Each branch has influence over the others to prevent any one becoming too powerful. This is to prevent the abuse of power.
• Counter-majoritarian: This system is put in place to prevent mob rule.

Alternative: Parliamentary System

• In contrast to the American system, a parliamentary system does not directly elect a chief executive.
• Instead, voters choose members of the legislature, then legislators choose a prime minister.
• The prime minister appoints their own cabinet of ministers.
• Advantages: Generally faster government changes and it has a majoritarian government.
• Disadvantages: Less stable government and possibility of rapid change. Rapid change can result in issues like immigrant laws becoming too quickly enacted.

Presidential System

• In a presidential system, citizens directly elect a chief executive.
• The executive appoints cabinet members who are not members of the legislature.
• Advantages: More voter turnout and participation, it prevents one person or group from gaining too much power, and it creates a generally slow system of government.
• Disadvantages: Often leads to divided government, slow government response, and can lead to issues such as immigrant laws being difficult to pass given separate legislative and executive duties.

Structure of Congress

• The American legislature (Congress) is bicameral, meaning it has two parts: the Senate and the House of Representatives.
• Senate: Two senators per state, regardless of population. Originally state legislatures elected senators; now the people elect them.
• House: Members are elected from districts, with the number of representatives depending on the state's population.

Gerrymandering and Districting

• State districts for the House must be redistricted every time the population changes to ensure all districts have roughly the same number of voters.
• Gerrymandering is the practice of manipulating district boundaries to favor one political party or group over another.
• It's a common practice, and its legality is a topic of ongoing debate.

Committee System

• Congress uses committees to manage the workload of considering legislative bills and other matters.
• Bills are considered in standing (permanent) committees, and subcommittees, which are smaller groups within standing committees.
• Temporary committees with specific aims (joint or special) can be created.

Leadership Roles Examples

• The speaker in the House has the most significant role in the House's leadership, with power over the schedule and other important tasks.
• The president of the Senate (Vice President) acts as a tie-breaker in the Senate.
• Senate and House members lead political parties.

Functions of Congress (representation and education)

• Representation: Congress members serve as delegates for the interests of their constituents, but they can also act as trustees when situations require making decisions based on their judgment and policy expertise, even if it's against popular opinion on the issues.
• Education of Citizens: Congress undertakes tasks such as committee hearings and other efforts to inform the public about government matters.

Typical Lawmaking Steps

• Proposed legislation goes through several stages: drafting, committee review, debate on the floor, and vote.
• Note that a bill can die at any stage during the process. Filibusters are techniques to delay consideration of a bill, often by extending debate time.