Legislative: Powers & Functions
Political Studies: Edexcel A Level, topic 17.2.6
Scrutiny
Congress and Parliament scrutinise the executive branch of government, represent their constituents and have lawmaking powers.
Scrutiny in Parliament
- Parliament has many opportunities to scrutinise the executive.
- Question Time, including Prime Minister's Questions, provides the opportunity to question a minister's actions and policies.
- Select committees scrutinise government departments and question the ministers leading them.
- Backbenchers write questions to ministers, and MPs ask about issues which affect their constituents.
- A vote of no confidence can be tabled to try to remove the government and Prime Minister.
Scrutiny in Congress
- Congress scrutinises the executive differently to Parliament.
- Separation of powers means that no executive members are members of Congress, and so there is no oversight on the floor of either chamber, as with Question Time in Parliament.
- Congress can remove a member of the executive from office through impeachment.
- Committees summon members of the executive to answer questions before them, however, the president does not appear before a committee.
- The Senate votes to confirm executive and Supreme Court appointments.
- The Senate votes to ratify treaties.
Lawmaking
Congress and Parliament scrutinise the executive branch of government, represent their constituents and have lawmaking powers.
Lawmaking in the US
- In Congress, the Senate and House of Representatives have equal lawmaking powers.
- Bills must pass through both the House and the Senate, which includes a committee and voting stage before it can be signed into law by the president.
- A bill passed by one chamber is sent to the other chamber, which follows its own committee and voting process.
- If the bill fails in one of the chambers then it dies and does not become law.
Lawmaking in the UK
- In Parliament, the House of Commons has more lawmaking power than the House of Lords.
- The House of Lords can propose amendments and delay legislation, but lacks the power to stop bills passing into law.
Comparing lawmaking 1
- In Parliament, most legislation is from the government's legislative programme.
- In Congress there is no government programme of legislation.
Comparing lawmaking 2
- Parliament has a small number of bills introduced in a session.
- In Congress thousands of bills can be introduced in a session.
- In the 114th Congress, over 10,000 bills were introduced.
- Parliament introduced 193 bills between 2015 and 2016.
- Fewer bills entering Congress are passed into law than in Parliament.
- Members of Congress introduce more bills than members of Parliament.
Representation
Congress and Parliament scrutinise the executive branch of government, represent their constituents and have lawmaking powers.
Comparing representation 1
- Representation of constituents is highly important in Congress.
- Whilst representation of constituents is still important in Parliament, the party has more of an influence over Parliament's members than in Congress.
Comparing representation 2
- Members of Congress prioritise representing their constituents over their party, as constituents choose each party's candidate for Congress and vote for them in elections.
- In the UK, the party has influence over MPs because they select the candidates who stand for election.
- In 2016 the Republican member Tim Huelskamp lost his primary in Kansas to another Republican candidate and so could not stand for congressional election for the Republican Party.
Comparing elections
- The frequency of elections differs between Congress and Parliament which can impact how well members represent their constituents.
- Seats in the House of Representatives are elected every two years and every six years in the Senate.
- In the UK, there is a vote for members of the House of Commons at least every five years, whilst the House of Lords is unelected.
Test yourself on Legislative: Powers & Functions
How can Congress remove a member of the executive?
Which statements about lawmaking in Parliament and Congress are true?