104th United States Congress Essays

  • Argumentative Essay: The Defense Of Marriage Act

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    defined, and not respected? The Defense of Marriage act, created by the house of congress, on January 3rd, 1996 (Defense of Marriage Bill). Passed 342-67, Republican over democratic vote ratio. (Govtrack.us) Created by the 104th congress, 396th house vote (Govtrack.us), and ruled unconstitutional by the Judicial This act did not make it illegal to have a spouse of the opposite sex, for it left that up to the states, although it made it so a gay, or lesbian couples could not get the same benefits

  • Members of Congress Should Have Term Limits

    1810 Words  | 4 Pages

    When the United States was founded, the theme behind the new government was to establish an efficient system without doling out too much power to any one person. The Founders intended to prevent a rebirth of tyranny, which they had just escaped by breaking away from England. However, when members of Congress such as Tom Foley, who served as a Representative from 1964 through 1995, and Jack Brooks, who served as a Representative from 1952 through 1994, remain in the legislative system for over forty

  • The Food Quality Protection Act of 1996

    1138 Words  | 3 Pages

    held over just one day loner due to rapidly mounting panic and opposition from some major players in the pesticide industry. This would been a major loss considering Congressman Bliley had been fighting for this reform legislation since the 102nd Congress (Sray 49 ). The Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 amends the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenicide Act that had been a burden to both growers and consumers. The bill Requires the Environmental Protection

  • Federalism and Poverty in the United States

    1687 Words  | 4 Pages

    and Poverty in the United States Many Americans believe that the federal government is too big, both in the number of agencies it directs and in the scope of its powers. Some people also think that the daily business of Capitol Hill has no effect on their lives, in part because they believe that politicians do not understand their problems. This dissatisfaction with Washington, D.C., in recent years has renewed debate over the division of power between federal and state and local governments

  • Cooperative Federalism Essay

    590 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Federalism is the sharing of power between national and state governments.” (Monk, “Federalism”). Founded over 200 years ago, we use federalism in many ways even today. We use it to divide powers between the national and state governments, meaning that the national government does not have complete say over some of the states’ laws and regulations. Federalism was first created and founded by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and George Washington. Their goal was to try and balance order with

  • Soft Moneys Elimination From Governmental Campaigns

    1411 Words  | 3 Pages

    Campaigns      The current use of soft money in the US Governmental elections is phenomenal. The majority of candidates funding comes from soft money donations. Congress has attempted to close these funding loop holes; however they have had little success. Soft money violates standards set by congress by utilizing the loop hole found in the Federal Election Commission’s laws of Federal Campaigns. This practice of campaign funding should be eliminated from all governmental elections

  • Growth Of Presidential Power Essay

    1267 Words  | 3 Pages

    These powers are indefinite, and have greatly expanded ever since Theodore Roosevelt’s Presidency. The President may mobilize troops, and with this action, may begin undeclared war - all without the checks of Congress. Though Congress is the only body allowed to declare war, the President may marshal forces to other countries that therefore ignites military action or “undeclared war”. Historically, these military powers have been occurring more often and expanding. A large

  • Similarities Between The Articles Of Confederation And The Constitution

    1403 Words  | 3 Pages

    The founding fathers composed the United State 's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, which was put into effect in 1781. Moreover, this constitution was known as the “league of friendship” and had major faults embedded within it. Consequently, these major faults lead to the formulation of a new constitution, the United States Constitution, which was put into effect in 1789, in which we still use today. The constitutions are both similar in retrospect but when one compares them directly

  • The Pros And Cons Of Presidential Power

    2407 Words  | 5 Pages

    Presidential power has always been controversial. Congress and the Judiciary have clashed with both Bush and Clinton administrations over matters of executive privilege, impeachment, and the war on terror. Almost all modern presidents have moved to expand their power. So it is an even bet that given the foreign policy challenges of Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, and North Korea—not to mention the disruptions to the domestic economy of the credit crisis—Barack Obama will soon be drawing on the well of executive

  • Should Congressmen Have Term Limits Essay

    705 Words  | 2 Pages

    current system of the U.S. government. Congressmen and Congresswomen having term limits will lead to diversity because open seats in Congress will bring attention to new types of people. What is meant by new types of people is when Edward H. Crane mentions in his article Congressional Term Limits on paragraph 7 Proposition 140 in California, which is limiting the state Assembly to three two year terms. This proposition made the 1992 Assembly elections result in “ In an article on that freshman class

  • Term Limits For Congress Essay

    969 Words  | 2 Pages

    influence on the campaign elections of Congress is Reappointment and Redistricting. “Reapportionment is the reallocation of seats in the House of Representatives on the basis of the changes in a state’s population since the last census. Redistricting is the redrawing of congressional boundaries within a state” (Harrison, pg. 357). That being said, the incumbent gains an advantage because districting is often manipulated in their favor. Term-Limits for Congress are another internal factor that influences

  • Congressional Oversight Essay

    693 Words  | 2 Pages

    monitoring, and supervision of federal agencies, programs, activities, and policy implementation.”[1] There is a congressional committee and a system in place in order for Congress to largely exercise this power. With that said oversight goes back to the early days of the republic which also includes activities and contexts of Congress. Some of the activities and contexts included are: investigative, appropriations, and legislative hearings; by committees, select committee’s special investigations, and

  • Gibbons Vs Ogden Essay

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ogden Part A Gibbons v. Ogden was a case in which the United States Supreme Court upheld that the powers are given to regulate commerce, granted to Congress by the commerce clause of the United States Constitution, the authority to regulate the navigation of waterways. In 1809 Robert Livingston and Robert Fulton were given exclusive shipping privileges of all the waters within the jurisdiction of that State by the Legislature of the State of New York, to boats or vessels powered by coal or steam

  • Power Essay: Hard Power Vs. Soft Power

    1469 Words  | 3 Pages

    Congresswoman Linda Sanchez once said, “As a member of Congress, I’m often reminded that in baseball, as in diplomacy, you have to know when to hit, when to run, and when to show grace.” I felt that this quote impeccably describes the relationship between the many theoretical approaches involved with diplomacy. Although, there are a vast number of methods practiced in diplomacy, the two most prevalent are soft power and hard power, which were both coined by political scientist Joseph Nye. Today,

  • Judicial Review Pros And Cons

    589 Words  | 2 Pages

    Judicial review is the power of the courts to declare acts of Congress to be in conflict with the Constitution. Judicial review is often seen as controversial and has contending views. Additionally, many people believe the founders would not approve use of the judicial review based on essays from 1788. In addition, many people respond to the Supreme Court’s use of the judicial review differently, such as the President views it differently than the average American citizen. And while judicial restraint

  • Muller vs. Oregon

    1291 Words  | 3 Pages

    so much. Oregon saw this and created a law in 1903 that stated that women were only allowed to work a maximum of ten hours a day. Similar laws had been passed in other states so it made some people wonder, did the Oregon law violate the women's freedom of contract implicit in the liberty protected by due process? In other states, people had broken these laws or brought them before the court claiming that the restraint on the number of hours was unconstitutional and the fourteenth amendment was used

  • Persuasive Speech On Women's Rights

    853 Words  | 2 Pages

    unacceptable for them to be managers, administrators, doctors, lawyers, and Members of Congress. The unspoken assumption is that women are different. They do not have executive ability orderly minds, stability, leadership skills, and they are too emotional. It has been observed before, that society for a long time, discriminated It is for this reason that I wish to introduce today a proposal that has been before every Congress for the last 40 years and that sooner or later must become part of the basic law

  • French Civil Law Essay

    715 Words  | 2 Pages

    Private law deals with basic civil litigations involving private people and it also deals with petty crimes. It can be described as being “the basic law of the land” . In contrast, public law deals with “the effectuation of the public interest by state action.” It deals with ‘constitutional’ law, criminal law and administrative law and it also deals with disputes involving

  • Presidency and Foreign Policy Making

    1680 Words  | 4 Pages

    authority in regard to foreign policy making, and whether the Congress ought to hold a significant role in the foreign decision making process, it is imperative to take into account the executive powers vested on the U.S presidency. This paper posits that the Presidency should be considered to be dominant, while at other times the Congress should be considered to be the dominant authority. In this perspective, it is essential that the Congress plays an important role in the foreign policy making process

  • The True Meaning of Separation of Church and State’ by Bill Flax

    1748 Words  | 4 Pages

    issue that reigns havoc in many countries and because of this American citizens are afforded religious freedom through the US constitution. The goal of the United States government has never been to make our nation irreligious but to uphold the values of religious freedom. In the 2011 article ‘The True Meaning of Separation of Church and State’ by Bill Flax, “Faith is no civil contract, but a personal matter not to be profaned by politics.” These are the exact intentions of the US Constitution and