Critical Elections and Congressional Policy Making-Free Samples

Question: What does the 2011 and 2013 Congressional debate over raising the federal debt ceiling indicate about the Congressional budget process and the nature of American politics and government? Answer: The relation between the Congressional Debate in 2011 and 2013 pertaining to increase in federal debt ceiling and the Congressional budget process can be comprehended in-depth through a review of the role of Congress on the decisions of the President of the United States of America and the Courts. The behavior of American politics and the effect of the government structure are clearly observable in times of crisis (Brady 1988). Therefore an evaluation of the federal budget process as well as the impacts of the debt ceiling debate would help in determining the answer to the forum question (Mann and Norman 2006). The President holds the privilege of veto legislation, lobbying Congress members, veto threats and preparing legislative agendas. To execute his activities, the President has to adopt two strategies from which the first one pertains to dealing with the Congress while the other involves outsider strategy (Smith 2007. Outsider strategy is executed through the Presidents appeal to the public. On the other hand, the Congress also has substantial impact on the Presidents activities. The foremost capabilities of the Congress include rejection of presidents legislations, nominations, and presidential vetoes among which the latter has been a rare event (Wilson 1985). Despite the numerous advantages the President has over the Congress such as use of nuclear weapons, issuing pardons and establishing friendly ties with foreign nations, Congress has the authority over the budget and hence a brief illustration of the budget process can explain the nature of the impact of the 2011 and 2013 congres sional budget. The Congressional Budget is coordinated under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. The act presents a formal outline for framing certain guidelines for the process of preparing the budget. The President is required to submit the budget proposal for the next fiscal year (Fiorina 1989). Then the Budget Resolution is framed, and alternatives are taken in case of no budget resolution. The Congress prepares the budget plan according to the various sectors of spending otherwise referred to as budget functions and the corresponding revenue to be received by the Congress over a period of five years (Smith et al, 2013). In case there is no Budget Resolution, the Senate and the House decide to substitute budget targets as a replacement of the resolution. Finally, the budget resolution is validated in the House and Senate (Ornstein, Thomas and Michael 2002). The Congress also has the capability to enforce special procedures such as budget reconciliation which is meant for expediting the proces s of compulsory monetary spending and revision of tax laws. The reconciliation process has been used many times during the administration of George W Bush, which increased the predicted deficits due to tax cuts (Fenno 1978). The congressional debate during the summer of 2011 between the President and the US Congress was related to the subject of increasing the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling is the maximum amount of money that the Treasury can borrow (Jacobsen 2004). The Treasury has to seek the permission of the Congress to borrow more money. The observations from the congressional debate facilitate prominent outcomes in terms of clarification on the role of Congress in the federal budget process and the effect of the Congresss authority over the purse on the political as well as administrative scenario of the United States. Reference List Brady, David. 1988. Critical Elections and Congressional Policy Making. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Fenno, Richard. 1978. Home Style: House Members in Their Districts, Boston, CA: Little Brown. Fiorina, Morris. 1989. Congress: Keystone of the Washington Establishment. New Haven. CA: Yale University Press. Jacobsen, Gary C. 2004. The Politics of Congressional Elections, 6th edition, New York, CA: Longman. Mann, Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein. 2006. The Broken Branch: How Congress is Failing America and How to Get Back on Track . New York, CA: Oxford University Press. Ornstein, Norman J., Thomas E. Mann, and Michael Malbin. 2002. Vital Statistics on Congress, 2001-2002. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute Press, 2002. Smith, Steven S. 2007. Party Influence in Congress. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Smith, Steven S, Jason M Roberts, and Ryan J Vander Wielen. 2013.The American Congress. Cambridge University Press - ISBN: 978-1107618244 Wilson, Woodrow. 1985. Congressional Government: A Study in American Politics. Boston, CA: Houghton Mifflin.