Congressional and Presidential Powers essays

Congressional and Presidential Powers essays Congress has several powers awarded by the Constitution and several others that it has obtained with time. They have the power to regulate trade (tariff adjustments, export controls, and economic sanctions), declare war (although problematic at times because there is no clear definition of war), "advice and consent" Presidential appointments (control confirmation of appointments of the Cabinet and Diplomats), approve all treaties, appropriate all required funding of international activities, and approve the budget (Power of the Purse). Congress enforces its power in several ways: it holds hearings on topics, it has a substantial research and analytical group that is constantly investigating new issues, it creates committees that focus on specific issues or areas, and has the power to affect many of the decisions a President can make. With time, Congress has changed internally. Traditionally Congress was not so institutionalized and there was no party competition, today there is less bipartisanship and more disputes between and even within the parties, and more isolationism. After the Cold War, they have shown a lack on interest in foreign policy, evidence of this is the reduction of foreign aid awarded to countries. This lack of interest was evident until post-September 11, but even so still relies more on the President to lead them and create a course of action. Congress has changed over time. Most Congressmen today do not have much foreign policy experience, they are less internationalist and more unilateralist; they use parliamentary procedures to delay legislation; individual "issue leaders" fight for what they want; and politicians are partisan and single issue oriented. Before, Congress used to play the role of observer in foreign policy, now they want to be the headliners. Presidential and Congressional Relations Both branches have attempted to acquire more power or at least show that they ar ...