After analyzing the actions of Representative John Lewis for
a semester, it is apparent that the two Congresses are not compatible with each
other. Instead, the legislative and representative roles that members of Congress
must play ultimately make their job extremely difficult and compromise hard to
come by. Instead of allowing members to focus on one task, members of Congress
have to balance multiple roles, which make each role more difficult. Part of
the reason why each role is made more difficult is because they are driven
apart because they are not compatible in the current Congress. Members have to
report back to their districts and constituencies, which makes legislating
harder than it needs to be. While some members of Congress may be willing to
compromise on certain issues, their role as representatives hold them back
because they ultimately have to answer to their constituencies every two years.
Because of this the two Congresses are not compatible because each role has the
possibility of contradicting the other for most members of Congress.
One of the
prime examples of the difficulty that Representative Lewis has dealt with in
dealing with the two Congresses deals with the Affordable Care Act. Earlier in
the semester, Lewis was one of the outspoken advocates of the legislation and
took every opportunity he had to suggest that Republicans were trying to kill
legislation that had already been declared constitutional by the Supreme Court.
During this time, support for the Affordable Care Act was much higher than it
is today. Even though the Affordable Care Act was going to hurt one of the
hospitals in Representative Lewis’ district, he still supported the bill
fervently. This is a prime example of the struggle between the roles as
representative and legislator. As a representative, this was negative for Lewis
because the hospital was not the only party affected, as Lewis’ constituents
who used the hospital would also suffer because the Affordable Care Act would
cause the hospital to drop several programs. Even though this legislation would
affect many people in his district, Lewis eventually sided with the legislator
side, believing that the Affordable Care Act was necessary legislation for the
American people. Many times Lewis called the legislation a right and not a
privilege and because of this, he supported the bill even though it would hurt
his district. (John Lewis Shows Strong Support for the Affordable Care
Act)
Lewis’ strict stance regarding the
Affordable Care Act was also a reason for the government shutdown in October.
Much like Lewis, many other members of Congress were unwilling to budge on
their opinions regarding the Affordable Care Act. This ultimately led to an
inability for Congress to compromise and the government shutdown to occur. Even
after the shutdown, Representative Lewis blamed other members of Congress for
their unwillingness to compromise, even though he showed no willingness either.
(John Lewis Critical of Leadership in House)
Lewis had to promote the image that it was not his fault in order to maintain
the support of his constituents. If he pointed any blame at himself, it would
make him seem as though he was not doing his job and was not representing the
people of his district. Instead, Lewis had to make sure that he appeared to be
a strong legislator with influence in Congress in order to show his
constituents that he was still working hard. It seems as though many members of
Congress involve themselves in this practice so that they do not seem like they
are weak or inadequate representatives. This practice has no part in the
legislative process, but it affects the process greatly because it makes it
more difficult for members of Congress to compromise. Therefore, the
representation role creates difficulty for the legislative role, as members of
Congress are concerned with maintaining the support of their constituents,
which makes them unwilling to budge on certain issues.
Members of
Congress also have very busy schedules due to the two Congresses. Instead of
being able to focus primarily on one facet, members have to involve themselves
in lawmaking as well as representing. Because of this, their schedules are
often packed with events that take them away from their legislative duties.
Since Mr. Lewis is one of the most renowned members of the Civil Rights
Movement, he is frequently attending events around the United States. One such
example occurred early on in the semester when Mr. Lewis traveled to
Birmingham, Alabama to attend an event commemorating the lives of four women,
who died in an attack on a church during the Civil Rights Movement. (A Week of Reflection for John Lewis) This
event came during the same week of the crisis in Syria. Therefore, Mr. Lewis
had to leave Washington to attend this ceremony, even though there was a debate
occurring about the actions that should be taken in Syria. If Representative Lewis
were to skip the event, it would look badly in the eyes of his constituents
because of his status as a key member of the Civil Rights Movement. Therefore,
he had to leave Washington and the debate regarding legislative measures in
order to perform his representative duties, which includes promoting civil
liberties.
After
following Representative John Lewis this semester, it is clear that the two
Congresses are not compatible. Instead both roles are arduous alone, but when
forced to coexist they become very difficult to fulfill. As seen with some of
the instances with Lewis, members of Congress ultimately have to pick one of
the roles rather than serve both fully. This is detrimental to the process
because members of Congress now face the difficult task of appeasing both. This
does not seem to be working, as the government shutdown and other failures to
agree have shown that Congress is not firing on all cylinders. A big part of
this problem is that members of Congress are bogged down with serving both
roles, rather than focusing on individual problems. It seems as though this
problem will not only continue, but will become worse in the future.
Sources
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