Government Formation, Law-making Processes, Formal and Informal Constitutional Powers

Our Founding Fathers of this great nation had a vision of American independence. They had the foresight of a government that was all about the people instead of the authority of a King. The government was created to promote “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,”; a common saying throughout our history. The Framers established five key objectives for the basis of the Constitution. The following are those five resolutions the Framers envisioned:

1. “Sort out original disagreements over depiction in the novel government,
2. Inspire public involvement while regulating both concentrated power and extreme democracy,
3. Safeguard property and commerce,
4. Generate lawfulness for the innovative organization, and
5. Supply an organized advancement to universal associations and domestic defense (Coleman, Goldstein, & Howell, 2014).

With the Framer’s intent in mind, we will look at what shaped our government and influenced the structures of Congress, the law-making processes, Presidential powers, formal and informal Constitutional powers, the federal bureaucracy, and Judicial decision-making.

Congress is structured by the House of Representatives and the Senate. Although both Houses are significant in their worth, they do possess distinct dissimilarities. The House of Representatives is an immensely bigger, unyielding organization more complex and intricate structure and dominated by stringent procedures (O’Connor, Sabato, & Yanus, 2014, pp.175-187). The objective of the House is to epitomize the popular resolve by the members being unequivocally selected by the people (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 175-187). The Constitution bestows the House the supremacy to originate revenue bills, impeach federal bureaucrats, and select a President in the event of a tie within the Electoral College (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 175-187).

The Senate is the second House of Congress, which is quite different from the House of Representatives. For instance, the Senate started out as a club of men with no set guidelines or organization. It was not until the 1960s and 1970s that the Senate became more involved in deliberations (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 175-187). Our Founding Fathers envisioned for the Senate to keep an eye on the House of Representatives to ensure procedures are followed accurately and responsively. The powers instilled in the Senate from the Constitution are to write and pass laws, endorse presidential appointments, and sanction treaties; trials for impeachment take place in the Senate (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 175-187).

Laws are formed by a particular process that is listed as follows:

• “A bill is introduced to Congress,
• It proceeds through four committees in the House of Representatives and three committees in the Senate,
• Debates are conducted if the bill passes,
• Proceeds to the conference committee,
• Receives approval from both Houses, and
• Proceeds to the President for signing or veto (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 187-194)

Recent past legislation that I am sure we all can remember is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. This Act reformed healthcare in the United States. The first part of the wide-ranging health care reform law was passed on March 23, 2010, and is better known as “Obamacare” by the 111th Congress. It was signed by President Barack Obama and predominantly extended Medicaid.

Article II of the United States Constitution bequeaths the President the following formal powers:

“The Appointment Power: provides the President the power to remove and assign public bureaucrats, which goes through the Senate that could cause a delay. Presidents seek out people who possess a blend of integrity, competence, and loyalty. For example, President Obama threatened to utilize recess appointments when Congress postponed confirming sixty-three of Obama’s nominees. As a result, Congress confirmed twenty-seven within a day (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 204-255).

The Power to Convene Congress: inform Congress periodically of “the State of the Union” convening either one or both Houses on “extraordinary Occasions” (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 204-255). For example: In a desperate attempt to up his approval rating months before the election in 1948, President Truman, on the provision of “extraordinary Occasions,” convened Congress. He pursued to pass laws that reinforced civil rights, prolonged Social Security, and fashioned a national health care program. Truman stated that his requests could be completed within fifteen days with the right motivation. As a result, Truman was triumphant in winning the November election (Glass, 2007).

The power to make or break Treaties: which is a formal promise between countries. For example, President George W. Bush legally renounced corroboration for the International Criminal Court, which prosecuted genocide, war crimes, and crimes contrary to humankind. As a result, some faultfinders said that President Bush and Vice President Cheney should face suit for the immoral handling of detainees held by the United States (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 204-255).

The Veto Power: the authority to reject bills that are passed by both Houses, but Congress can override with a two-thirds vote (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 204-255). For example, President Bush vetoed a stem cell research bill in 2006.
The power of Commander in Chief: President is the “Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States.” For example: In 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which put the United States military in South Vietnam (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 204-255).

The Pardoning Power: Gives the President the right to release someone from the retribution or official penalties of a crime after or before a conviction. It also will restore all privileges and rights of being a citizen. For example, The most famous pardon was when President Ford pardoned former President Nixon from any wrongdoing hostile to the United States (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 204-255).”

Along with the formal powers of the Presidency came a few informal powers. The following is a list of those powers with examples of each.

• “Issuing executive orders: (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 204-255). President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation (Executive Orders, n. d.).
• Influencing legislative agenda: (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 204-255). Presidents have influenced foreign policy for decades.
• Activating the military without a declaration of war (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 204-255). In 2011, President Obama approved the use of military force in Libya.

What is the federal bureaucracy? It is the thousands of federal government organizations and establishments that execute and manage national programs and laws, which is recurrently referred to as the “fourth branch of government” (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 236-261). In the beginning, there were three executive departments: treasury, war, and foreign affairs, which was Washington’s cabinet (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 236-261). From there, to offer legal advice to the President, Congress formed the attorney general office (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 236-261).

As necessities intensified, so did the federal executive branch (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 236-261). The already existing post office grew to accommodate an expanding population (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 236-261). The Civil War promoted growth as well by agencies being enacted to curve the issues with distribution and harvesting issues. President Lincoln developed the Department of Agriculture in 1862 to feed troops (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 236-261). Congress developed the Pension Office in 1866 to compensate the veterans of the war (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 236-261).

In order to normalize exchanges of goods following the Civil War, Congress developed the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1887 (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 236-261). This act controlled private commerce in the United States, like the railroads (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 236-261). The Federal Trade Commission was developed to safeguard minute businesses and the people from unjust rivalry. Following WWII, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of 1965 were created (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 236-261).

The factors of judicial decision-making involve following previous case laws, personal ideology and philosophy, and public opinions (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 264-297). The philosophies of the judicial decision-making process point to three distinct guidelines. First, judicial restraint postulates that courts should permit the rulings of other divisions of government even if a judge is offended (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 264-297). Second, judicial activism postulates that judges use their own power to enhance other judges (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 264-297).

Finally, the third philosophy is strict constructionism which is a tactic for a constitutional explanation that accentuates understanding the Constitution as it was originally intended by the Framers (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 264-297). The last factor involves public opinion. The Supreme Court pays attention to what the public deems important by staying up to date on issues that the public claims to be important or vital, along with standard legal briefs and oral arguments (O’Connor et al., 2014, pp. 264-297).
In conclusion, I will highlight some important cases that have molded and shaped our judicial review development in a timeline fashion:
Marbury v. Madison February 24, 1803

The presidential election of 1800 was fiercely contested along partisan lines. In what historians have called the “Revolution of 1800,” Thomas Jefferson narrowly defeated incumbent John Adams, and Jefferson’s Democratic-Republicans displaced Adams’ Federalists as the majority party in both houses of Congress. William Marbury, appointed a justice of the peace for the District of Columbia by Adams shortly before the government transition, did not receive his commission before Adams left office. James Madison, the Secretary of State in the new administration, refused to deliver the commission, and Marbury sued for a writ of mandamus to force Madison to show cause why the commission should not be delivered.

In an opinion written by Chief Justice John Marshall (who had been Secretary of State under Adams), the Supreme Court held that it could not issue the writ because the law authorizing it to do so was in conflict with the Constitution and, therefore, void. The decision in Marbury v. Madison established the principle of judicial review, or the Supreme Court’s authority to review acts of Congress and declare them void if inconsistent with the Constitution. The concept of judicial review, which gave the judiciary the ability to prevent Congress from exceeding its constitutional authority, helped to establish the judiciary as a co-equal branch of government on par with the executive and legislative branches. Judicial review also served to make the Supreme Court the ultimate arbiter of constitutional questions. (Federal Judicial Center, n. d.)

Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife June 12, 1992

In the Lujan case, the Supreme Court ruled that the plaintiffs could not sue two environmental agencies for rescinding a regulation because the plaintiffs could not allege that they had suffered, or were about to suffer, an injury and therefore lacked standing. While the Endangered Species Act had authorized “any person” to bring suit against an agency alleged to be in violation of the act, the court ruled that Congress could not create a general right to sue an agency for violating the law. Because the Constitution specifies that the President is responsible for enforcing the nation’s laws, such a legislative provision would violate the separation of powers. The decision narrowed the concept of standing and made it more difficult for plaintiffs to bring suit in federal court. (Federal Judicial Center, n. d.)

With the preceding two block-quoted court cases, we can conceive the outstanding capabilities of our judicial system. No matter where this country started or where it is today, we, as a nation, have proven it takes endurance to persevere. When there is a problem, the government fixes it, maybe not instantly, but over time. If there are not any laws already in place to accommodate an issue, Congress will discover one that will prevail.

Work Cited

1. Coleman, J. J., Goldstein, K. M., & Howell, W.G. (2014). The Constitution Understanding American politics and government: 2012 edition (pp. 60–99). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education
2. Executive Orders. (N. d.) Presidential Executive Orders. Retrieved from www.presidency.ucsb.edu
3. Federal Judicial Center. (N. d.) Timelines of Federal Judicial History. Retrieved from https://www.fjc.gov/history/timeline/8276
4. Glass, A. (2007) Truman convenes a special session of Congress on July 26, 1948. POLITICO. Retrieved from https://www.politico.com
5. O’Connor, K., Sabato, L. J., & Yanus, A. B. (2014). Congressional Demographics and Leadership. American government: Roots and Reform, 2012 election edition (12th ed., pp. 175–187). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
6. O’Connor, K., Sabato, L. J., & Yanus, A. B. (2014). Powers of Congress. American government: Roots and Reform, 2012 election edition (12th ed., pp. 187–194). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
7. O’Connor, K., Sabato, L. J., & Yanus, A.B. (2014). The Development of the Federal Judiciary. American government: Roots and Reform, 2012 election edition (12th ed., pp. 264–297). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
8. O’Connor, K., Sabato, L.J., & Yanus, A.B. (2014). The Executive Branch and the Federal Bureaucracy. American government: Roots and Reform, 2012 election edition (12th ed., pp. 236–261). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
9. O’Connor, K., Sabato, L. J., & Yanus, A. B. (2014). The Expansion of Presidential Power. American government: Roots and Reform, 2012 election edition (12th ed., pp. 204–255). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

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