Congress Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Congress - Essay Example The US Congress consists of 435 voting members in the House of Representatives and 100 voting members in the US Senate, totaling to 535 members of the legislature. This paper will seek to discuss the organization and structure of Congress, membership of Congress, general Congressional authority, and modern problems facing Congress. Organization and Structure of Congress The United States Congress’ organizational structure is based on the Constitution, enacted legislation with presidential assent, and rules created by Senate and the House of Representatives. Congress is a bicameral legislature, meaning it is made up of 2 bodies with legislative power; Senate and the House of Representatives (Smith et al, 2011). Prior to being sent to the executive, legislation has to pass through both chambers and approved. The Senate has one hundred members with the US Vice President being the chamber’s president and being the only official ion government who serves in two government br anches, although in a largely ceremonial role and votes when there is a tie. The actual functional leader is the majority Leader of Senate who is selected by either party depending on which has the most members (Smith et al, 2011), while the minority leader is head of the other party. The lower chamber of Congress is the House of Representatives made up of some 435 members with voting privileges. This chamber is led by the House Speaker elected by members of the party with a majority (Smith et al, 2011). The second most powerful member in this chamber is the majority leader of the house whose selection is also carried out by the party with the majority, while the party with the minority is headed by the Minority leader. Because of these differences in organizational structure, the voting rules in both houses are also different. For the House of Representatives, majority vote of those present is considered in passing legislation, while a supermajority of 60 is used in Senate. Subcomm ittees and committees do most of the duties carried out in both chambers of Congress where legislation under proposal is first considered (Smith et al, 2011). If a committee approves legislation, it becomes a bill and moves to the Senate or House of Representatives to be considered and ultimately voted on. Membership in Congress In the House of Representatives, members represent people living in a district and serve for a term of two years. The results of the US Census are used to apportion Congressional Districts to states with each state having at least one congressman or woman. Regardless of census results, every state has two Senators, each of whom serves six years (Bianco, 2010). Election of Senate members is staggered to ensure that a third of the house is up for election after two years. These groups of Senators are referred to as classes and each state has senators from different classes. The House of Representatives, as suggested by its name, is considered the most represen tative for the American population. Tied to their election, members of Congress work for periods of two years, each of which is referred to as a Congress, beginning from the start of the year after an election (Bianco, 2010). In order to become a member of the House of Representatives, one must be 25 years of age, while a Senator must be at least thirty years of age. With regards to citizenship, the US Constitution holds that hopefuls for membership to the House of

NUMBERS DROP FOR MARRIED WITH CHILDREN Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

NUMBERS DROP FOR MARRIED WITH CHILDREN - Essay Example To be more precise and clear, a few statistical data can be taken into consideration. Over the last five decades, cohabiting couples in the United States have increased tenfold from 0.44 million to 4.2 million. Divorce rates have increased from 9 to 20 per 1000 married couples for the same period. Births to unmarried women have increased from 11% to 38% from 1970 to 2006. Nationally, more than 1.3 million children are born out of wedlock each year. While cohabitation, divorce and unmarried childbearing have increased, marriage in America has alarmingly declined over the last few decades. Married couples with children are one quarters of the total number of households and half of what was in 1960. Some are of the opinion that only the well educated and the well paid are interested in the institution of marriage. It has been observed that marriage not only declined less among the well educated and well paid, but also that they are less likely to divorce. Though college educated women i nitially prefer to live with a partner, they eventually do get married. However, it is worth noting that the constant increase in the number of people attaining college degree from 16.60 million to 88.75 million from 1950s to 1990s has not helped much in improving the statistics related to marriage. So, education is not the sole reason for the changes that are taking place. The increase in the well educated may not have made a direct impact, but indirectly, it has changed various other aspects of life. It has caused a gradual shift in people's priority from religion to science and technology. In the 1950s and 60s, religion played a vital role in keeping the count of cohabitation and unmarried childbearing low. But with the priority shifting, the emphasis is more on career and wealth maximization. Well educated men and women are less likely to marry those who are less educated. This has largely resulted in growth of income inequality. Before 1970, there was a broad based economic pro sperity which has gradually vanished. (http://www.chicagolandmarriage.org/marriage_statistics.htm) Apart from the economic dimension, some look at the same issue with the racial dimension in mind. Childbearing out of wedlock seemed to be more among the black people than the white. However, statistics in the recent past have shown that there has been a drastic decline in such births among the black teenagers (86% to 35% per 1000) as compared to the whites (24% to 12% per 1000). Hence, class based analysis seems to be a better tool. (http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/educ-attn.html) The question still lingers around as to what made the biggest impact, what is the reason for the way things are today. It is a well accepted fact that the present day situation is nothing but an outcome of the past. The number of marriages in the past may have been on the higher side, but there is no reliable statistical information on how many marriages out of those were actually doing well. People, who have spent their childhood in the shadow of a troubled marriage, most of the times, develop a fear towards getting into a serious relationship. Young people who have lived most of their lives in poverty would be of the opinion that marriage is not a commodity they can afford. Therefore, negative aspects in the past have made a negative impact now in