From the onset of this paper, the acknowledgement is that initially, there used to be a relation between the presidency and the congress, whereby the two institutions worked jointly without interfering with each other’s power. The Congress had its own vested power and the presidency too had its power. The exercising of the powers by each of the institutions was done maturely and interchangeably, to an extent that any incidences of misunderstandings were totally erased. With the elapse of time, however, it was discovered that the relation between the powers of the presidency and that of the Congress started fading away. Proper recognition of powers between the two became problematic, and presently, it is commonplace observation that the relation between the powers vested in the Presidency and the Congress has diminished. This being the core of this paper, the paper hereby undertakes to dig deeper and unearth the “how and the why” of this matter in order to bring to light the truth.
It is arguably true that no president can afford to evade engagements with the Congress, not unless such a President possesses no legislative initiatives. In the recent times, the world has witnessed most significant bills being ratified by Congress after having a long-standing debate. The Congress has learnt, with experience, not to obstruct the President in his quest for anything termed as substantial drive, with fear that the public is likely to even interfere with Congressional elections in case such a thing happens. Most importantly, the Congress and the President have one thing in common: a policy-bargaining element of a specific bill. Here, the president has the freedom to make any vague statement expressing what he wishes to be introduced into the Congress, but with no particular strings committed to it (Frank, 2007). The Executive Office members will be compelled to start putting particulars on the bill and will make contact with the Congress with view of establishing whether certain issues can trigger problems or not. This move can be done inconspicuously and not publicly (United States government, 2010). The moment the final bill reaches the hands of the Congress both for ratification and debating, it is anticipated that such a bill will be passed with ease since the potential flashpoints will already have been catered for at the initial stages. In instances where certain issues have been factored into the bill yet unrecognized by the Congress, that is the point the backroom dealing will take root to ensure that the bill is passed, and that everyone is pleased with it (Rudalevige, 2012).
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Another change of power between the Congress and the Presidency is that neither the Presidency nor the Congress can accept a public perception of two power-struggling bodies supposed to form the pinnacle of political power within the United States of America. The two institutions have to work jointly to ensure the country that claims to dominate democracy possesses a political structure that will befit the title. Any public arguments arising between the Congress and the President are somehow rare. At the present, it is as though Americans have started losing confidence in the Presidency due to the loss of credibility when it comes to the presidential powers conflicting constantly with that of Congress. What ails this relationship is the manner in which the President offers direction, guidance, and leadership to the House of Congress, but still such advice is seen to be misguided. Worse of all, is that majority of the Congressmen and women have the audacity to throw a debate on what the president has already given to the Congress to implement. When the public sees this twist of conflicts happening, sometimes, little by little, they view the top leadership as losing meaning (Hadenius, 2015).
Many have argued, as hypothesized by Lee (2004), that nowadays both the President and the Congress have lost pure regard to the Constitution of America. Not that the constitution is not followed per se, but that the elements stipulated within the constitution are not just followed to the letter. This could be due to personal interests which often fuel the legislative process in the Congress, going to the President. Since not all the articles of the American Constitution can be mentioned within the context of this paper, the truth of the matter is that the President’s exercise of leadership, direction, discretion, and guidance to the House of Congress should follow the precincts of the constitution. This is not what most analysts and the entire American populace normally witness. To them, they view this negligence of the constitution as dilution of power between the President and the Constitution. Some, according to the view of Radley (2008), have argued that the clearly defined powers of the American President are being trampled upon by the Congress.
It is expected that the President has the powers, the sole mandate and the responsibility of rubberstamping any legislative process proposed, amended and finally passed by the Congress. The President plays a significant role in any legislative process- right from the beginning to the end. What is currently witnessed is the manner in which some of the Congress members argue and debate the direction taken by the President in a bill that has been proposed in the House of Congress. Some of the members often refute the President’s view of the bill and go ahead to vote out such a bill from being passed (Young, 2011). The President on his side, is the ultimate say to such a legislative process, and would often ensure that he signs it into law. To this day, there is no harmony between the Congress and the Presidential powers. The Congress should just do their part and leave the part of the President to be done. The president always can veto any legislation presented before the table in his office, and this should not be questioned (John, 2007).
Another way in which the relation between the Presidential powers and the Congress powers has been eroded revolves around the manner in which the President recommends to the Congress certain measures. As provided for in the American constitution, sometimes the President has to intervene into the activities and affairs going on in the Congress by giving his judgment- a sound judgment which should be expedient and necessary to the wellbeing the Congress and the nation as a whole. Hardly this is done prudentially at the present since the “crafty-like nature” of the Congress has compelled the President to develop a tendency of making his own resolutions and forwarding them to the Congress with or without Congress’ fair approval (Steven, Jason & Ryan, 2006). To the viewpoint of Congress and to some of the American citizenry, this can be termed as “harsh, barbaric, unreasonable and dictatorial to the wellbeing of the Americans” (Greene, 2005).
To conclude, it can be seen that there has been a deviation in the normal conducting of business activities in the Congress and touching on the powers of the President. Way back, this used to be done with decorum, sobriety, full understanding between the two institutions, and utmost consideration of the interests of all Americans. However, it can be concluded that there is mismatch of powers on both institutions. What seems to be forgotten is that, both sides should be jointly working to realize and prove what is laid down in the Constitution, rather than being seen to rise over or opposing another. This does not paint a good pictorial representation to the public and to the world in general, and so should be changed accordingly.
References
Greene, Richard (2005). "Kings in the White House". BBC News . BBC. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
Frank Askin (July 21, 2007). "Congress's Power to Compel". T he Washington Post . Retrieved 2009-09-28.
Hadenius, A. (January 01, 2015). Congress, President, and Parties: Shifting Roles.
John V. Sullivan (July 24, 2007). "How Our Laws Are Made". The Library of Congress . Retrieved 2010-09-11.
Lee Hamilton (2004). "How Congress works and why you should care". Indiana University Press . ISBN 0-253-34425-5. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
Radley Balko (May 22, 2008). "Presidential Power-Tripping". Reason Magazine . Retrieved 2010-09-11.
Rudalevige, A. (December 01, 2012). “A Majority is the Best Repartee”: Barack Obama and Congress, 2009-2012. Social Science Quarterly, 93, 5, 1272-1294.
Steven S. Smith; Jason M. Roberts; Ryan J. Vander Wielen (2006). "The American Congress (Fourth Edition)". Cambridge University Press . Retrieved 2010-09-11.
United States government (2010). "Congressional Reports: Main Page". U.S. Government Printing Office . Retrieved 2010-09-11.
Young, C. J. (August 11, 2011). Connecting the President and the People: Washington's Neutrality, Genet's Challenge, and Hamilton's Fight for Public Support. Journal of the Early Republic, 31, 3, 435-466.
