The Congress was created as “the first branch” of government. The Framers of the Constitution expected Congress to wield most of the nation government’s powers, including its most important ones like “power of the purse” and the ultimate authority to declare war. They understood that Congress was essential to sustaining federalism and maintaining the separation of powers (WDB 393).
To be elected to the U.S. Congress, a person becomes a candidate by running in a primary election. Candidates need to form organizations of personal followings and win “their party’s” nomination simply by getting more primary votes than the next candidate. It is quite unusual for an incumbent to lose a primary. Following the primary election, you must run in a general election (WDB 226). In congressional races, money seems to make the decisive difference. The challenger must spend a extraordinary amount of money to become known to the public, while the incumbent regularly send free mail to their constituents and get free publicity by sponsoring legislation or conducting an investigation. Buying name recognition is expensive, so it’s no wonder that most
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It is in the chairmanship of these committees and their subcommittees, that most of the power of Congress is located. A typical Congress has, in each house, about two dozen committees and well over a hundred subcommittees. There are three kinds of committees: standing committees—more or less permanent bodies with specific legislative responsibilities; select committees—groups appointed for a limited purpose, which do not introduce legislation and which exist only a few years; and joint committees—on which both representatives and senators serve. Each member of the House usually serves on two standing committees, but members of the Appropriations, Rules, or Ways and Means committees are limited to one committee (WDB