The Role of Congress

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Congress has helped develop the Presidency as we know it today. This is because Congress argues over proposals and legislation proposed by the President. They are a major determent in whether bills turn into laws. But it’s not easy. One reason for this is because there are many powerful groups out there who argue about what should be discussed such as air pollution with the EPA or jobs. In order to run more efficiently, there are certain responsibilities that Congress has given to the President over time. But that doesn’t mean Congress is losing any power or authority. It just means that they are giving up a responsibility that they don’t need. One of these responsibilities that were given to the President is the raising and lowering of tariffs. When it came to this issue, Congress can’t act decisively on its own. So even though Congress appropriates funds, they gave the President this fiscal responsibility. Again I want to stress that they didn’t lose any authority or power because of this. All they lost was a responsibility that they no longer have to worry about as it’s the President’s responsibility now. Still, the president has no authority or power regarding this issue. However, when he was given this fiscal responsibility, Congress also gave him staff assistance in the form of the Bureau of the Budget. This department helps the President make up the budget he wants to propose. During peacetime, the President is given other authorities by Congress. One of these authorities that he/she has is that they can initiate the reorganization of the white house staff. However, they can only rid themselves of a certain amount of people. They can’t totally reorganize the staff such as getting rid of whole agencies and departments. T... ... middle of paper ... ...t from exercising authority in these cases. These inherent powers have been used both at home and overseas. The most common use of emergency powers is when a state of emergency is issued. But there have been other cases when they were needed. One of the most famous and earliest uses of emergency powers was when Abraham Lincoln used them to suspend the writ of habeas corpus during the Civil War in order to unite a divided country. One thing a declaration of emergency can do is provide federal aid to an area or country in need. Examples of this include such tragic disasters as Hurricane Katrina not to mention the most recent Hurricane Irene which devastated the east coast. In conclusion, Congress has helped develop the Presidency through many means whether it was allowing the president to exercise authority during an emergency or giving the President certain powers.

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