How Are Decions Made in American Congress

1.How are decisions made in Congress? What are the various factors influencing the decisions of congressional actors? What are the various ways (tactics) used to get legislation successfully through both houses?

As a bill makes its way to become a law members of the Congress look to a variety of sources for indication. They often listen to their own beliefs and values but those views can be shaped by other considerations.

First of all, members of Congress have always constituents in mind. Constituents are the people who live and vote in the same district or state. Legislator will not vote against the wishes of his constituency. But guessing how voters feel about any particular issue often is not easy. If an issue affects the constituency, a representative often will try to determine how the people feel. Staff members often send a lot of letters and make huge amount of phone calls for and against a policy that will be voted on soon. Studies by political scientists show that members vote in conformity with prevailing opinion in their districts about two-thirds of time.

The other sources for voting cues are the opinions of one’s colleagues, especially those who belong to the same party. This tendency is observed concerning items of little concern to people back in the district or for which the legislator has little knowledge. The members turn for advice to colleagues who have served on the committee that handled the particular legislation. On issues that are of little interest to a legislator, logrolling, or vote trading, often occurs.

Another important source of influence are political parties. Many members of Congress elected on partisan ticket feel the obligation to their party and to the president if he is of the same party. It is clear that when it comes to gaining power in Congress, power usually does not come from the work of one person, but with the help of a party with connections. The Parties as long as they are opposing each other will always...