The House of Representatives has the authority to propose taxes, but the Senate must approve the bill first. In the House of Representative, the Speaker has a lot more say in how things are run than Senate leaders, who have to rely on persuasion to manage business.(Burns, 306) The House members form committees and subcommittees to debate issues.
“Congress tends to have more power in domestic than foreign affairs.” (Sell Lecture Notes, p.6) Congress shares responsibility with the president in declaring war, negotiating treaties with other countries and proving funds for soldiers and weapons. This is when conflicts come to head. The Vietnam War is a perfect example of this conflict, when the President waged war without a formal declaration of war from Congress. Because of this Congress then passed the War Powers Act in 1973. (Sell Lecture Notes, p.2)
The Presidency has many responsibilities and powers. This position requires the management of the Country by implementing the laws, nominations of officials, grant pardons, serve as Commander-in-Chief of the military, veto lows passed by Congress, and negotiate treaties. The President is also responsible proposing yearly budgets and helping boost economic development.
The many divided tasks between Congress and the Presidency has made it difficult for agreements to be made and has caused much conflict. This is what the framers of the Constitution was relying on when they divided the powers and responsibilities so that checks and balances were put in place for all three branches of the government. (Burns, 329) Examples of issues in conflict are decisions on how health insurance should be reformed and Social Security policies.
Works Cited
Burns, James. Government by the People. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., 2001.
Young, William D.. Source Readings for American Government. Orlando: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1999.
Sell, T.M. Lecture Notes. Congress and The Presidency.