Government Policies Hand-out 1. Parliament: The role of parliament is a necessary part of UK politics. Parliament has to scrutinise the work of government, they do this by questioning the government ministers and having debates to view the proposed laws and amendments to legislation. Decisions are often made via a vote. Smaller groups will look at specific policy issues and legislation in detail.
Bills can be brought to the floor when a majority of the Senate chooses. Then debate, and it is limited by the rules put together in the Rules Committee. The Committee of the Whole debates and amends the bill but cannot technically pass it. Debate is guided by the Sponsoring Committee and time is divided equally between proponents and opponents. Amendments must be germane to the subject of a bill.
In addition to that, Parliament also has the function of scrutinising and challenging the government on its legislative proposals as well as on a broader, more general level. It has been argued that this is Parliament’s most important function, rather than maintaining it in office. With regards to this point of view, an analysis of the present mechanisms of scrutiny and challenge used by Parliament and their effectiveness offers an insight into its validity. To begin with, Parliament, as the state legislature, plays a role in scrutinising government legislative proposals. Each bill has to go through First reading, Second reading, Committee stage, Report stage and Third reading in both the Commons and Lords.
There are 18 departmental select committees who shadow the work of major government departments, for example the Defence select committee. They carry out enquiries and write reports, and analysing governmental documents, scrutinising them as they do. A third way parliament carries out its scrutiny function is through the opposition, which is made up by the second biggest party in the House of Commons usually, and is
What are the three main ways a citizen can influence a law? First, they can write to their Congressmen and women. They can also-after going through the proper channels-address Congress directly. Finally, if they feel their Constitutional (aka) civil rights were violated in any way, they can instigate a lawsuit. People can also influence Congress by voting.
It is through laws that policies of government are laid down for implementation. It does however have many constitutional roles to fulfil such as the power of the purse, oversight, foreign policy and legislation. It can be argues that Congress does fulfil its constitutional roles as it may deliver effective over sighting, legislation, money bills, representation and foreign policy that may provide good checks and balances. However, most would argue that Congress may not carry its roles effectively thus leading to poor scrutiny (sometimes over scrutinising) which leads to ineffective fulfilment of constitutional roles. The principle organ of the US state is to legislate, represent and scrutinise the other, safely separated, branches of the government.
SELECT COMMITTEES This is a committee which has been established by a resolution in either house for a special purpose and is usually for a limited time. It is a committee of members of Parliament which investigate and report on a particular matter. Select Committees exist in the British Parliament, as well as in other parliaments which are based on the Westminster model, such as those in Australia and New Zealand. In the United Kingdom, committees can be appointed from the House of Commons, like the Foreign Affairs Committee, from the House of Lords, like the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee, or as a "Joint Committee" drawn from both, such as the Joint Committee on House of Lords Reform. The Commons Select Committees are generally responsible for overseeing the work of government departments and agencies, whereas those of the Lords look at general issues, such as the constitution or the economy.
How effectively does Congress undertake its oversight of the Executive branch? The constitution does not explicitly grant Congress oversight responsibility. But it does give Congress the power to make laws, and over the years oversight of the executive branch has come to be seen as an implied power of Congress. Dictionaries define "oversight" as "watchful care," and this approach has proven to be one of the most effective techniques that Congress has adopted to influence the executive branch. Congressional oversight prevents waste and fraud; protects civil liberties and individual rights; ensures executive compliance with the law; gathers information for making laws and educating the public; and evaluates executive performance.
A lobbyist is a person who tries to influence legislation on behalf on a special interest. They are very knowledgeable of the legislative process. Lobbyists assist in the preparation and presentation of information, arrange testimony for congressional hearings, and arrange and attend face-to-face meetings with congressional staff. They have personal discussions with member of the congress in which they explain the position they advocate. There is much pressure being a lobbyist because if they give incorrect information or bad advice one time it is noted and they lose credibility that’s necessary for success.
Preventative techniques and evidence of groupthink will be suggested as a means to help the President avoid groupthink from occurring too often in his administration. There are several key explanations for faulty decision making within any given group. Such explanations have retained a prominent place in the study of group processes, particularly when faulty decisions result in undesirable or unimaginable outcomes (Henningsen, Henningsen, Eden & Cruz, 2006). The five step model of groupthink was first conceptualised by Janis (1972). According to Janis each component of the model needs to occur in order for groupthink to take place.