The American Congress

The United States Congress is the first constitutional institution in the United States and is considered the legislative body in the political system, consisting of two chambers:

1. The United States Senate
2. The House of Representatives

History

The idea of establishing Congress was based on the tradition of representative councils that were transferred from Britain, and had roots in American colonies in the early 17th century. The colonial assemblies had broad powers, and over time they became more representative of the interests of the colonists against those of the British colonial administrators, who were appointed by Britain. As tensions between Britain and the American colonies increased in the 1760s, the colonial assemblies adopted the cause of the colonists. The First Continental Congress, which convened in Philadelphia in 1774, can be considered as the first national legislative body. In 1776, the Second Continental Congress declared independence from Britain. The Second Continental Congress functioned as a national government until 1781, when the states adopted the Federal Union Memorandum and established the Confederation Congress. The Confederation Congress operated without an executive or judicial branch and soon showed its weakness.

In 1787, delegates to the Constitutional Convention drafted a new plan for the government - the United States Constitution - which left the legislative authority important but balanced it with the powers of the executive and judicial branches. The Constitution called for the establishment of two chambers in the new Congress instead of one previously, with equal representation in one chamber (the Senate) and proportional representation based on population in the other (the House of Representatives). The formation of two chambers led to a bitter dispute between delegates from small states, who preferred equal representation for each state, and delegates from large states, who wanted representation based on population.

Position on the Middle East issue

Congress has the authority to oversee and monitor public interests. It determines their occurrence, defines their privileges, and oversees their management. It also exercises a type of judicial power through impeachment proceedings against federal employees accused of treason, bribery, or crimes committed against the state. The House of Representatives has the right to initiate impeachment after hearing an investigative committee report, while the Senate becomes a court that considers the case in secret sessions. This chamber can take a decision with two-thirds majority to remove the employee immediately.

The Senate has important powers over appointments and foreign policy without those of the House of Representatives. The President must obtain the consent of this chamber when appointing ministers, ambassadors, consuls, senior federal employees, and members of the Supreme Court. The Senate convenes with a two-thirds majority of its members present, and one notable incident was the refusal of the Senate to ratify the Treaty of Versailles after World War I, which led to the United States remaining outside the League of Nations founded by President Wilson. The Senate has also recently insisted on linking the implementation of the trade agreement between the Soviet Union and the United States with permission for Soviet Jews to immigrate to Israel.