The Two Congresses: A Complex Cooperation
Being a
senator for in the Congress of the United States of America is the ultimate
balancing act. To be successful as a
congressman or congresswoman, that person must be attuned to the interests of
many diverse and distinctive groups, both locally and nationally. These members of Congress, such as Senator
Bill Nelson, a Democrat from Florida, become adept at working the relationships
and passions within their constituents in a local setting and the interests
groups vying for their attention nationally.
Nelson, among others, strike balances between national (and party) and
local interests of the people they serve.
Born and
raised primarily in Florida, Bill Nelson has a strong connection to the people
whom he serves in the state. Following
Senator Nelson throughout the semester, it becomes immediately obvious that he
works to his fullest to listen to both his party (evidenced by his 97% rate of
voting with the Democratic position) and his constituents (shown by the bills
and amendments he chooses to support and push through legislation). Locally, Nelson has attacked issues that have
created major issues throughout his state.
Supporting bills such as a new way to approach cyber-bullying (by making
national policy against such an act) and attempting to lower flood insurance
rates exemplify the issues, faced by locals, that the Senator has been trying
to act upon.
Nationally,
Bill Nelson has been the consummate Democrat, supporting both his party, and
especially Democratic President Barack Obama.
Especially evident was Senator Nelson’s role in the Syria debacle, going
as far as sitting in on talks and meetings with the president and other
advisors and foreign dignitaries to attempt to reach a conclusion to the
issue. In addition, Senator Bill Nelson
was chosen as a representative to the new bi-partisan committee to help with
the budget deficit and debt ceiling, indicating a respect among his peers and
the administrators of his political party.
Such a disparity from national issues and local ones creates an
atmosphere for a congressman that often it could be easy to disregard
(intentionally or unintentionally) one aspect or the other, but Senator Nelson
manages to make time for both, even in the midst of potential “crises.”
Having such
a unique job description, in having to attend to the needs of two distinctive
groups of concerned citizens, could be construed as impossible to maintain over
a period of time. However, to the
contrary, having two such exclusive interests creates an interesting opportunity
to join the various interests together.
Interestingly, since both areas of need are equally important to a
person in Nelson’s position, issues pertaining to one area or another often
tend to blend over into the other, with national legislation (such as
resolutions pertaining to the budget) trickling down to affect local
constituents, and local issues becoming national legislation (such as the
pending anti-cyber-bullying bill).
As a
Senator of the state of Florida, Nelson has the distinct opportunity of being
an elected representative to a swing state, one with no strong affiliation to
either the Democrats of Republicans.
While there are strong pockets of each throughout the state, these
elements balance each other out, creating an instance where his votes and
voting records are positive for some, and negative for an almost equal amount
of voting constituents. For most issues,
this would not create a controversy, especially considering his general
popularity within the state, however, for larger issues (when party
affiliations become more apparent) Nelson votes primarily with his party,
nearly regardless of constituent beliefs.
As an example, were his positions on both Obamacare (and the budget) and
Syria, the two main issues of this current Congressional session.
The biggest
and most telling issues speak volumes to a congressman’s ability to balance
local and national issues. For Nelson,
he voted and spoke strictly as a Democrat, supporting Obamacare and the
President’s decisions in Syria as well.
While not discounting his constituents’ voices, he believes his primary
goal is the well being of the nation above all else. However with this in mind, he acts furiously
to help his home state with their issues, especially when they do not oppose
his party’s stances. It is this balance
that exemplifies why the two congresses have worked and will work in the
future.
Creating
the balance that Senator Nelson has achieved between local and national issues
shows how the two congresses, when addressed correctly is system that work in
synchronization with it’s myriad of parts.
Over the past semester, this balance has never been more evident than in
the actions of Nelson. He has maintained
respect and popularity with his support and action on issues of importance to
Floridians, while also maintaining maximum support from his party through his
voting records and speeches. So if one
were to ask Senator Bill Nelson whether the two congresses work together and
are not detrimental to each other, his answer would undoubtedly be yes, just
take a look at my work throughout my representation.
Sources:
previous blog posts
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/bill_nelson/300078
http://www.opencongress.org/people/show/300078_Bill_Nelson
http://www.rollcall.com/members/652.html
No comments:
Post a Comment