Help with 2009 Congress FRQ

2009 FRQ on Congress-“Model Student Response”

The majority party has many advantages in the House of Representatives. One is that the Speaker of the House comes from the majority party. The Speaker is the most important member of Congress. They control the agenda, decide who gets to speak and when, and make assignments to the committee that determines what representative serves on. All of these powers greatly impact legislation and can increase the chances of getting the majority party’s legislation passed. Also, the chairs of every committee are members of the majority party. Because most of the work in the House is done in committees, the chairs are extremely important in determining the agenda for meetings, conducting business, etc. Even more helpful is the fact that the majority of people on every committee will be from the majority party, again making the ability to pass the majority party’s legislation that much easier.

In the House there are strict time limits on debates because there are so many members. The smaller Senate may filibuster bills, or “talk a bill to death” where members who oppose a bill can continue to speak until a vote is called. This means that passing a bill in the Senate can be much more difficult than in the House.

Also in the House there is a Rules Committee that determines things like whether a bill can be amended, how much time it can be debated, and other rules pertaining to the bill. This strict Rules Committee does not exist in the Senate. This means that members may not necessarily get to add on amendments that they want to in the House, making legislation therefore more difficult to pass in the House.