Throughout the course, we studied the operating dual nature
of the two Congresses within the second
branch of government. The first
Congress recognizes that each senator or representative must act as a lawmaker
or make decisions based on bills that are sent through the debate on the
Floor. In addition, their second
role as a member of Congress is to act as a representative for his/her own home
district or state. Their decisions
should also be affected by what is best for his/her constituents. I’m not sure if the two Congresses that
were studied throughout this course are completely compatible, but I do not
feel that they are on the path of ultimately destroying one another throughout
the future evolution of Congress.
It is ultimately the decision of each individual member of Congress
whether or not they decide to uphold the responsibility of acting as both
lawmaker and representative. Some
members have been able to uphold and remain accountable to these expectations,
and some members unfortunately have not been able to uphold these
expectations. Although some
members tend to go back and forth between this dual nature of their job, I will
use Congressman and specifically Representative Leonard Lance to show both the
more effective ways of acting in this dual nature as well as ways where it may
be easier for a member of Congress to forget the dual nature of his/her job.
Lance
has passed and pushed for bills such as the MODDERN Cures Act, which recognizes
the needs of many corporations (yes, many of which are supporters and
benefactors in Lance’s previous campaigns) in his own home district. It was a law that was drafted and much-needed
as well as an updated version of the
national drug evaluation process in order to have increased discovery and
development of new treatments for chronic as well as rare diseases. These diseases include Alzheimer’s, ALS
and Parkinson’s. This act was
recognized by the National Mental Health Council and helped Representative
Lance to earn and be named as Legislator
of the Year. The legitimacy
and importance of this award is a bit unclear, but in the eyes of his
constituents it is of great importance and recognition for his genuine efforts. I would wonder if the media is playing
a greater role in the view of this award rather than the truth behind this
particular award, although I do recognize the importance of a bill of this
specific area. My question would
be if it was drafted and talked about at the appropriate time in Congress.
In
addition, while the conflict of the government shutdown was going on, Lance
showed where his true concern was: his home district and his constituents. He took the time to travel back to his
home district in order to speak about and promote for a cause that hit close to
home: breast cancer and early detection.[1] Representative Lance traveled all the
way back home to have a news conference at the Steeplechase Cancer Center in
Somerset County, New Jersey in order to advocate for an earlier-hopefully
future mandated-minimum mammogram age to work towards earlier prevention. Lance was able to connect with his
constituents by additionally sharing a personal story that demonstrated his
dedication to the cause. He talked
about how his mother had been diagnosed and suffered from breast cancer when he
was just twelve years old. With
this he encouraged the necessity for even self-examination as well as all types
of breast examination in younger women.
On the other hand, some critics felt Lance used this as a way to avoid
the real problem at-hand in Congress, since he was specifically one of the
Representatives who stayed stubborn and could not agree on a proper annual
budget. One of his constituents
recognized this possibly viewed neglectful action in saying, “Come election
time, Leonard Lance will be judged on his record, not his rhetoric” (Bitette
2013). I agree with this
constituent, but at the same time Lance chose to put his constituents first
before the compromise of Congress.
In addition, it was not only
Lance from the GOP who would not come to a compromise, but the GOP party and
some other individuals as a whole.
I also don’t know if his constituents will be able to recognize this
come election time and even take this into consideration, as the previous
critic may.
It
seems that much of the fracture between the functioning two Congresses, may be financial
concerns and support of sponsors and the possibility of re-election as well as
political party alignment. I know
while the government shutdown, Representative continued to speak-out against
the shutdown, especially since around 4800 citizens in one of the sections of
Lance’s districts were not going to be collecting their paychecks that week or
the weeks to come. They were sent
home and told that they would not be coming back to work until the government
reopened, yet Lance went against his word and talk against the shutdown and
still continued to align with the GOP and technically voting for the government
shutdown since he did not agree with Obamacare (US House GOP stands firm on Obamacare October 2013). This is one of the main reasons
Americans see what his/her Congressman or woman is saying and then how he/she
is actually acting and making decisions and there seems to be some type of
disconnect. However, in defense of
the Congressmen they would also be criticized and possibly shunned by and lose
support from their sponsors and/or political party if they are indeed deciding
to vote against the majority. This
is where they often decide to do the “right” thing in the eyes of his/her
political party rather than for the specific needs of only their district’s
needs. This brings into question
as to what is the “right” decision each member of Congress should be making
each time a bill or conflict is brought to the floor. There should be some type of healthy balance achieved. Lance, in my opinion, has been making
the best decisions he could make for the good of the majority of the American
people versus the majority of his constituents’ needs. It is impossible to satisfy everyone,
and there will always be a voice of complaint from somewhere.
In
concordance with this thought in a previous blog post, I quoted Lance regarding
the government shutdown when he said, “It is time for partisanship and
brinkmanship to end. It is time
for our leaders to put aside past differences, work around the clock and find
an agreement that avoids a continued shutdown.”[2] The point he makes here is exactly
right, and it is not only the duty of Congress to be making these decisions and
allowing the situation of the government shutdown to occur but also the decision
of the President. Blame is never
right to be placed on solely the actions of the House or the Senate either. It is the duty as acting
representatives and senators that they need to be holding one another
accountable on the Floor during discussion, so important time is not wasted and
that unimportant agendas or speeches are not continuing for hours upon
end. Unfortunately, a lot of this
type of responsibility falls on party leaders and other leaders in Congress (like Lance aluded to) who
may not necessarily care so much about this; however, regardless of political
affiliation or party each member of Congress needs to keep one another in-check
and feel comfortable calling-out (even if it is a member of your own party) the
other member if they are arguing a topic or issue of little importance. I’ve seen through our own Congress
simulation that little can be accomplished with pointless banter back and
forth. It is also important for
each member of Congress to remain as open-minded as possible, while still
remaining as representative as possible of his/her own constituents’ and the
American people. Their priority
lies first with that of the people rather than as strictly lawmakers. They are after all the sole branch of
Congress intended to act as the voice of
the people.
From
studying Congress, and closely following Representative Lance throughout the
course of the semester it seems that a lot of the time, Americans are quite
harsh in their criticism of the workings of Congress. Through the simulation that was performed, as well as
Congress’ activity that was followed throughout the course of the semester
proved just this. More credit
should be given to the amount of time, effort and energy each Member puts into
doing the best for his/her specific district/state that elected them as well as
the American people. Yes, there is
always room for improvement in both the process and inner workings of Congress
as well as the actions and decisions made by each Member; however, Congress as
a whole is doing their best given the situation they are currently in and the
decreasing amount of power they have (especially with respect to the veto power
of the President). It will be
interesting to continue to explore the future evolution of Congress, and if
they are indeed able to fix this fractured view of themselves in the eyes of
the American people.
*Sources cited:
Bitette, Nicole. "Congressman Leonard Lance Voted for
the Shutdown, Resident Says." Westfield
Patch, October 13, 2013. http://westfield.patch.com/groups/politics-and-
elections/p/congressman-leonard-lance-voted-for-the-shutdown-resident- says (accessed
October 13, 2013).
Garber, Phil. "Fed shutdown hits parks, Great Swamp,
Picatinny." Madison Eagle, October 4, 2013.
http://newjerseyhills.com/madison_eagle/news/fed-shutdown-hits-parks-
(accessed
October 4, 2013).
“Lance Introduces MODDERN Cure Act.” (November 2011). Congressman
Leonard Lance Press
Releases.
Press TV, "US House GOP stands firm on Obamacare."
Last modified October 4, 2013. (accessed
October 4, 2013). http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/10/04/327597/house-republicans- obamacare/.
"MODDERN Cures Act to be Reintroduced." (September
2013). Drug Discovery & Development.
Advantage Business Media. Web. http://www.dddmag.com/news/2013/09/moddern-cures-act-be-reintroduced
“MODDERN Cures Act Reintroduced.” (September 2013). Drug
Discovery & Development. Advantage
Business Media.Web. http://www.dddmag.com/news/2013/09/moddern-cures-act-reintroduced
(slightly
different from article above)
[1] http://lance.house.gov/lance-news-articles/courier-news-congressman-visits-somerset-medical-center-to-urge-women-to-continue-mammograms/
(accessed October 13, 2013)
[2] Garber,
Phil. "Fed shutdown hits parks, Great Swamp, Picatinny." Madison
Eagle, October 4,2013. http://newjerseyhills.com/madison_eagle/news/fed-shutdown-hits-parks-(accessed
October 4, 2013). http://newjerseyhills.com/madison_eagle/news/fed-shutdown-hits-parks-great- swamp/article_cbac418a-2b60-11e3-ba7f-0019bb2963f4.html
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