Determine which party is in the majority and in the minority in both the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate

Determine which party is in the majority and in the minority in both the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate

Political Science 1

Final Exam

Due Date: December17, 2017

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For your final exam you will be required to write an essay where you will analyze the current United States Congress. Please demonstrate your ability to be analytical in understanding the role which political party affiliation and ideology play in determining public policy. Please assume the role of a congress member and answer the following questions:

1. Determine which party is in the majority and in the minority in both the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.

2. How many Republicans, Democrats, Independents, are in the House and the U.S. Senate?

3. Identify a bill that would introduce if you were a member of Congress. Research the issue. Why is the issue important? Who will it impact? What are the pros and the cons of the issue. As a member of Congress, determine your political party affiliation. Which committee would you send this bill to in the House? Who are the members on this committee? What is the party affiliation for each member? Which committee would you send this bill to in the Senate? Who are the members on this committee? What is the party affiliation for each member?

4. How many votes would you need for your bill to pass the House committee? How many votes would you need for your bill to pass the Senate committee? How might the political party affiliation of each member affect whether your bill survives the committee?

5. If your bill reaches the House floor, how many Democrats, Republicans, and Independents might vote for your bill? If your bill reaches the Senate floor, how many Democrats, Republicans, and Independents might vote for your bill?

6. Will the bill survive Congress? Why or why not? Please elaborate.

please include work cited page

Helpful Resources:

http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/cong.aspx

http://www.house.gov (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

https://www.senate.gov

The world over, there are varied systems of parliament. In the United States of America, the system of parliament in place is bicameral in nature and it consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. These two chambers of the federal government have their capital in Washington, D. C, where they meet and legislate on multifarious laws depending on their respective jurisdictions. Initially, the Congress used to be comprised of members from two parties: The Republican Party, which goes by the moniker The Grand Old Party (GOP), and the Democratic Party. However, there has been a shift in the nature of representation in the recent past wherein members of other smaller groups, from the Independents to Libertarians, have made it to the Congress. Having said that, the status quo is still pretty much dominant and they determine the fates of various bills and policy changes that pass through the chambers.

The last time that there was a proper election to choose Congressional members was in the year 2014. During this year, the Republicans gained unprecedented history in their battle for supremacy against the Democrats and progressives. Riding on the wave that was created by the disruptive Donald Trump and some of the unpopular policies of the departing Barack Obama to conservatives, the Republicans became the majority party in the House whilst Democrats became the minority party. Indeed, the Republicans gained control of both houses of Congress as well as the Senate. The Republicans boasted of 54 members in the Senate and also a whopping 248 seats in the House of Representatives. However, after the mid-term primaries, the present number stands at 239 Republicans in the House of Representatives, 193 Democrats and zero Independents (clerk.house.gov). It is instrumental to note that the clerk.house.gov states that there are 3 unfilled seats in the House, which would bring the total number to 435 members. In the Senate, there are a total of 52 Republicans, 46 Democrats and 2 Independents.

If I were a member of Congress, I would supplement the efforts of Sen. Cory Booker D-N.J on the legalization of marijuana at both the federal and state levels. The crux of this bill would be expunging individuals who have been incarcerated due to possession and use of marijuana. The bill is important on various fronts. One, it will give justice to people who have been wrongly convicted of possession and use. Two, it will retroactively ensure that all those who are convicted are released and their records wiped. Third, it will give states powers to invest in marijuana research as well as encourage researchers to legally explore the use of marijuana in the treatment of numerous ailments. In its current legal state, marijuana has been used to criminalize and incarcerate a whole generation of black men and women. Therefore, the issue is significant since the current laws possess racial undertones and its potential in the medical field is being suppressed by retrogressive conservative laws. The Bill, if passed, will majorly give reprieve to the members of the black community.

The bill has various pros as mentioned above. First, it will ensure that black individuals who have been wrongfully convicted are pardoned. Second, it is going to address one of the most fundamental racial issues of our time. Third, the bill will expand the realms of marijuana’s use in medicine. On the other hand, there is only a single disadvantage in the sense that it will be costly to implement the provisions of the bill and certain criminal elements may benefit from it. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the number of these criminals will be negligent in the grand scheme of things and they can be easily monitored by the police.

Determine which party is in the majority and in the minority in both the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate

If I were a Congressional member, I would be affiliated to the Democratic caucus. The Democrats and Independents provide progressive policies that are relevant to the current state of our nation. Upon the completion of the bill, I would send it to the Committee on Judiciary, specifically the Constitution and Civil Justice subcommittee. This Judiciary Committee consists of the following Republicans: Steve King, Ron Desantis, Louie Gohmert, Krean C. Handel and a vacancy. On the other hand, the Democrats that make the committee are: Steve Cohen, Jamie Raskin, and Jerrold Naddler. In the Senate, the Bill would be sent to the Judiciary Committee that has the following members from the Republican side: Chuck Grassley (IA), Orrin G. Hatch (UT), John Cornyn (TX), Ted Cruz (TX), Jeff Flake (AZ), Thom Tillis (NC), Lindsey Graham (SC), Michael S. Lee (UT), Ben Sasse (NE), Mike Crapo (ID), and John Kennedy (LA). The Democrats have Diana Feinstein (CA), Patrick Leahy (VT), Dick Durbin (IL), Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) Amy Klobuchar (MN), Al Franken (MN), Christopher A. Coons (DE), and .

Upon reaching the House, the bill will need an approval of the Judiciary Subcommittee. For this to happen, a vote will be undertaken to determine the kind of report that the full committee will adopt. According to the standing orders, the committee needs to have a third of its members to take the vote, upon which a simple majority suffices for the adoption of the report (house.gov). The same procedure applies to the Senate committee-a simple majority of the quorum at both the committee and subcommittee level. The bill is essentially a progressive one in nature. Consequently, Democrats will vote for the bill while Republicans will oppose it at the committee level. Given that the Republicans are the majority, the bill might not survive.

However, should the bill reach the house floor, I am guaranteed of receiving 193 votes from the Democrats and none from the Republicans. I would have expected to receive all the votes from Independents if they were in the house. On the Senate floor, I would anticipate 46 Democratic votes plus the 2 votes from the 2 Independents. On the Republican side, I would expect at least 2 from their Senators who come from predominantly liberal and black electorates.

If the Bill reaches the both the bicameral houses, it is highly likely not going to succeed. As already mentioned, the Republicans are the majority in both chambers. Yes, the Bill could pass the House and head to the Senate. In the Senate, the best it can do is a tie. Nevertheless, according to the Senate Standing Orders, such a tie can only be broken by the Vice-President Mike Pence. Given his history, he is a staunch religious person who subscribes to the conservative line of reasoning to the effect that marijuana is illegal and it should remain so. As such, he will not break ranks with his party on such a bill. Therefore, the bill is doomed to failure.

which party is in the majority and in the minority in both the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate

Works Cited

“About the legislative processs-The committeess.” Https://Www.congress.gov/Resources/Display/Content/How Our Laws Are Made – Learn About the Legislative Process#HowOurLawsAreMade-LearnAbouttheLegislativeProcess-TheCommittee%22Rises%22.

“Committees.” United States Senate, https://www.senate.gov.

“Member-Info.” Ofice of the Clerk of U.S. House Representatives, clerk.house.gov/member_info/cong.aspx.

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

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Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Determine which party is in the majority and in the minority in both the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

• Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
• There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
• Include in-text citations in your response
• Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
• Follow APA-7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

• A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
• Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
• Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
• Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
• Follow APA 7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

• Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
• Here are some helpful links
• The is a great resource