Throughout the course of the Mock Congress project, organized by Ms. Sleighton, individuals began to understand the difficulty and challenges faced by congressmen. Prior to meeting with the committees, individuals had to construct a bill based off of one of the assigned topics, unique to each committee. In my situation, I completed my bill on reducing college tuition since I was a member of the Education and the Workforce- Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training. Once the bill was completed, the committees voted on which should pass and which should be terminated; my bill passed in our committee. Next, information about the passing bills were presented to the class, which was supposed to represent the House of Representatives,
The first activity that was presented by Mayhew is due to the tremendous advertising that the members undertake. Through advertising, a congressman is able to build a favorable reputation for himself which will then attract voters. Although the incumbent’s image can have “little or no issue content,” it is still important to gain credibility from the voters so reelection of the specific incumbent can be achieved. Different ways that congressman advertise are through frequent visits to their district, mailings or letters sent to homes, and “nonpolitical speeches to home audiences.” With
What motivates members of Congress to act the way they do? Mayhew would argue in Congress: The Electoral Connection that members of Congress are ‘’single-minded re-election seekers’’ and that re-election is their one and only goal. Whilst the assumption that all members of Congress are ‘‘single-minded re-election seekers’’ does go some distance in analysing the motives behind members of Congress, the reading fails to take into account the other key goals of members of Congress. Other goals include good policy and future career positions. It is important to remember that the achievement of both re-election and other goals are not exclusive, members of Congress often are motivated by more than one goal.
Davidson, Roger H., Walter J. Oleszek, and Frances E. Lee. Congress and Its Members. Washington, D.C.: CQ, 2009. Print.
University of Texas at Austin. Texas Politics, The legislative Branch. Austin, 2nd Edition-Revision 94 2009, Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services.
AP Seminar was my first experience in an environment that was completely dedicated to learning, without the fixation on the letter grades that ‘determine’ success. My peers were my teachers. I discussed, debated, and collaborated with peers that shared various viewpoints on thought provoking issues that challenged my own. I learned to ask the ‘Whys?,’ ‘Hows?,’ and ‘What Ifs?’ and dive deeper into discussion. The environment fostered differences in interests, mindsets, and intellect. My attraction drew me to seek an intellectually diverse learning environment that challenges my preconceived opinions and ideas. Columbia, through the Core system, acknowledges and uniquely accomplishes the same goals of learning as my AP Seminar class. The prospect
Despite American author Mark Twain’s insistence that the members of Congress are idiots, the legislative body of the United States of America holds quite a bit of power. Although the powers of Congress, as granted to them in the Constitution of the United States, have remained the same, the importance placed on those powers has changed overtime, lessening for some, and rising for others.
During the process of Mock Congress I was a Republican. I researched two bills and prepared a convincing speech for each of them. The Republican bill I supported was Bill #4. This was a bill to implement a national sick day policy. This meant that all full-time employees in the United States shall be paid their ordinary daily wage for up to fourteen days per year for days missed due to illness or injury. Throughout this speech I described many beneficial factors that would come with passing this bill. I found this information by going to google and then looking for .org websites on my bill topic. One of the beneficial facts I found was that three-quarters of adults support a policy giving employees a minimum number of paid sick days (Fact Sheet: Paid Sick Days). Another interesting point I found while researching was that paid sick days can be
Running for a position of power is a tough thing to do. There are many things to worry about: your image, your policies, and, especially, your voters. While running for Congress is not as stressful as running for president, it has it own set of obstacles: making a “home style,” representing the people well, and making useful public policy. Listening to the words of Richard Fenno, John Ellwood, and Eric Patashnik can make doing these things a whole lot easier.
a written test, Computer Applications, the test that led me here. As the days quickly went on it
“How a Bill Becomes a Law” from School House Rock is a story of a Bill on Capitol Hill and the journey he makes to become a Law. But they managed to leave out most of the process. To start the long, laborious process of how a bill becomes a law, a member of congress must introduce the piece of legislation. The legislation can be written by any citizen of the united states so long as a member of congress is willing to introduce it. Now within the house, once the bill is introduced, it is filed in triplicate with the clerk of the House. The Senate, however, requires that the presenting member needs to gain recognition of the presiding officer to announce the introduction of a bill during the 90 minute period set aside for speeches by those who
The purpose of this chapter is to discuss relevant points associated with the congressional transitions. Congress has two chambers. The House of Representatives (HR) is known as the lower chamber and the people’s representatives. There are 435 members who are elected or re-elected every two years. Their tenure depends on being responsive to their district’s electorate. Once elected their second responsibility is to the leadership of their caucus which includes all of the members of their national political party. Their third responsibility is to the national political party that they belong to.
“O.K., class,” Mrs. E. told us, “It’s time to start our presentations on the U.S.A.”
The government has always intrigued me, with the many different agencies. One part that I have always wanted to see what happens on the inside is the different congressional offices. If you are a part of a congressional office, you get to help bring change in our world. In serving the people, you help individuals feel as though their voices are heard. In an AP Seminar project, we learned about different perspectives; that project lead me to realizing how many perspectives about a broad range of topics exist in our world. Being a state’s congressman/ woman means you bring all of those perspectives together, to adhere to the wants of that state. I believe it is very important that a voice is given to the voiceless, which is exactly what congress has the ability to do. I believe in our current political climate, that it is important for younger generations, like mine, to be involved in the government, so that in the future they can play an active role in democracy. I want to fully learn how different parts of the government work, and to know how they function, you have to be a part of them, or be taught by someone who is. I want to be a future leader in America, just like Girls Scouts has taught me to be, anything I want to be.
There is not a single person that has been to a school in the United States, whether public or private, that has not encountered at least one of the many cracks in this imperfect system of educating future generations. Hereafter I will lay before my readers some of these cracks that many students have fallen into, and in some cases propose possible common-sense solutions to make the lives of students and their teachers easier in regards to education.
...ing it to committees, marking it up, floor debating it, or having it signed by the president. They all play a part in the process. Congressman definitely have their work cut out for them when they try to introduce ideas into the house or senate. With only about 10% of bills even getting any attention it is a very difficult and probably frustrating job. But that is why our country is so great because of our congressman and the decisions that they must make day in and day out about legislation.