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Unit 8: Constitutional Structure: Legislature

has changed to the extent that the Senate alone has taken upon itself the onus of protecting the Notes
interests of the States as well as of the nation as a whole. Obviously, the position of the lower
house has been overshadowed to a very large extent.
6. One more direction where the Senate has belied the hopes of the framers of the Constitution lies
in the development of a custom called ‘Senatorial courtesy’. The Constitution-makers wanted a
salutary check on the authority of the President, but over the period of last 200 years or so, the
check has developed into a system of organised political blackmail. Everything is determined
by the yardstick of political friendship.
7. The two houses of the Congress work without strong party discipline. There are floor leaders
belonging to both the parties, but they are no match to the whips of the English Parliament. The
members act freely and the passage of a measure requires the support of each other on the basis
of temporary alliances or adjustments. This is called log-rolling.
8. The character of the bills moved in the Congress shows that the members (particularly of the
lower house) are much guided by local and regional interests for the sake of obliging their
constituents with rewards and thereby keeping their electoral prospects high. Due to the usage
of locality rule, the members of the popular chamber fight for petty gains (like the opening of
some federal office in their constituency) and a legislative benefit secured for their sake goes by
the name of ‘pork-barrel’.
9. Owing to the absence of strict party discipline, the American Congress works under the influence
of pressure groups fighting for their respective interests. While the candidate for Presidentship
fights elections on the basis of national and international issues, Senators and Representatives
solicit votes on the basis of local and regional matters. Besides, the legislators exist and thrive
on the support of organised catalytic groups and they can not frustrate the expectations of their
‘masters’ in the interest of their own electoral prospects.
10. The Congress is not a sovereign law-making body like the British Parliament. Its powers of
law-making are limited by the terms of the Constitution. Moreover, a bill passed by the Congress
is subject to the veto of the President which may be over-ridden when it readopts the same bill
by 2/3 majority. However, what can not be over-ridden is the veto of federal judiciary with
Supreme Court at the top. The judges by virtue of their power of judicial review may declare
any law passed by the Congress as ultra vires if it is found to be violative of the constitutional
provisions or due process of law.
11. The Congress works on the principle of separation of powers and checks and balances. The
Constitution has vested legislative authority in it. It has also put it under the control of the
President on one side and of the courts on the other. Because of the system of separation of
powers, the Congress and the President cannot combine and if there is any such tendency, the
Supreme Court is there to undo it.
12. Lobbying is a peculiar American institution. The members of the Congress succumb to the
techniques of the professional lobbyists who influence them with threat, inducement and promise
to do or not to do a particular thing inside the legislative chamber. It is found that even
Congressmen resort to the practice of lobbying for the protection and maintenance of some
specific interests.
Functions and Powers: The Congress has the power to make laws on the following important subjects:
1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common
defence and general welfare of the United States.
2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States; and regulate commerce with foreign nations
and among several states.
3. To establish an uniform rule of naturalisation, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies.
4. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, fix the standards of weights and
measures; and to provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and currency coin
of the United States.

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