Jason Cannon
Unit 5
11/30/13
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/11/30/unproductive-congress-record-low/3691993/
Synopsis:
2013 is on track to be the lowest law-passing year for Congress in the last 66 years (since they started recording). By the first part of November, 52 laws had passed. The previous lowest was in 1995 in which 88 laws passed. Some of the bills that have not passed have been the immigration reform bill (which is waiting in the House), farm and defense bills, and an annual spending budget bill. The House and Senate both passed budget bills for themselves, but together they did not pass an annual spending bill. The article also said that the House and Senate could not successfully change the sequester (automatic, sweeping budget cuts) now present.
Detailed Analysis/Comments:
The article quoted a think tank member, Matt Bennett, as saying, "We do not see any evidence that there is a real possibility for breakthrough next year." I don't see why there would be a breakthrough next year, with Congress being the same. An obvious reason for the inefficiency of this Congress is the fact that a different party occupies each house. But why would this Congress pass much fewer laws than other divided Congresses? A contributing factor could be the fact that the political parties have become more and more ideological and have increasingly been influenced by the extremists of the party.
Clarine Riddle said, "Some
will say that this is the new normal, that the era of big reforms brought
together through bipartisan compromises is over. We're
certainly hopeful. We want to be part of turning it around." How will they turn this around? Something definitely needs to change either within political parties or within Congress itself. I like the idea of parties working together to pass laws that will benefit the entire country. Right now it seems like everyone is doing what they can to keep themselves safe. I don't think it is bad that Congress cannot easily pass laws, but I think that it should be able to compromise and get more done. The majority of each party (more moderate than the extremists) needs to speak up and get things done.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Friday, November 29, 2013
Obama visits protesters fasting in support of immigration reform
Jason Cannon
Unit 5
11/29/13
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/29/obama-visits-protesters-fasting-in-support-of-immigration-reform/
Synopsis:
President Obama visited a group that was fasting for immigration reform. This group has only been drinking water to try to get congress to pass immigration reforms. A few months ago, the Senate passed a reform bill that would make it possible for current undocumented immigrants to become citizens as well as strengthen the border security. Obama has since strongly supported immigration reform. He said in a California speech, "I want them to know we hear you. We're with you. The whole country hears you." The House Speaker will probably bring up the reform bill in separate parts.
Detailed Analysis/Comments:
This situation shows the power of interest groups in our government. The fact that Obama went and visited this group shows that they are powerful. Although these groups may not seem to have a great influence on the government, they do influence it. Sometimes they influence the government indirectly by drawing national attention to an issue. The more that media covers this fasting group, the more the people will become involved. When the country is involved, the government has a hard time avoiding the issue. I think that although this interest group seems insignificant, they could have an influence on the House of Representatives.
In the article, it mentions that there are members of the House of Representatives that will not vote for this bill. I think it will be hard for the bill to pass the House because of the way party ideology stands in the way on this issue. The power of the party is prevalent in Congress and influences the members greatly, especially in the House where the terms are much shorter.
It was interesting that John Boehner, the House Speaker, mentioned bringing up parts of the bill separately. This shows the power of the Speaker of the House in determining the business of the House as well as how that business is presented. I think that this will have a negative effect on the reform. If he splits the bill into the border element and the current illegal immigrant element, I think the House will vote to strengthen the borders but will deny the part about allowing undocumented immigrants to gain citizenship. I think that the Senate bill seems reasonable.
Unit 5
11/29/13
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/29/obama-visits-protesters-fasting-in-support-of-immigration-reform/
Synopsis:
President Obama visited a group that was fasting for immigration reform. This group has only been drinking water to try to get congress to pass immigration reforms. A few months ago, the Senate passed a reform bill that would make it possible for current undocumented immigrants to become citizens as well as strengthen the border security. Obama has since strongly supported immigration reform. He said in a California speech, "I want them to know we hear you. We're with you. The whole country hears you." The House Speaker will probably bring up the reform bill in separate parts.
Detailed Analysis/Comments:
This situation shows the power of interest groups in our government. The fact that Obama went and visited this group shows that they are powerful. Although these groups may not seem to have a great influence on the government, they do influence it. Sometimes they influence the government indirectly by drawing national attention to an issue. The more that media covers this fasting group, the more the people will become involved. When the country is involved, the government has a hard time avoiding the issue. I think that although this interest group seems insignificant, they could have an influence on the House of Representatives.
In the article, it mentions that there are members of the House of Representatives that will not vote for this bill. I think it will be hard for the bill to pass the House because of the way party ideology stands in the way on this issue. The power of the party is prevalent in Congress and influences the members greatly, especially in the House where the terms are much shorter.
It was interesting that John Boehner, the House Speaker, mentioned bringing up parts of the bill separately. This shows the power of the Speaker of the House in determining the business of the House as well as how that business is presented. I think that this will have a negative effect on the reform. If he splits the bill into the border element and the current illegal immigrant element, I think the House will vote to strengthen the borders but will deny the part about allowing undocumented immigrants to gain citizenship. I think that the Senate bill seems reasonable.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
House Democrats help pass Republican-led healthcare bill
Jason Cannon
Unit 4 (Congress, Bill-Law)
11/15/13
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24966051
Synopsis:
A bill was passed in the House today that would give insurance companies the ability to sell insurance plans that do not comply with the Obamacare standards. The White House was very against this bill and said they would reject it if it passed the Senate. It is not likely that it will pass Senate. 39 Democrats in the House voted for this bill. The article mentioned that this may be due to the fact that elections are coming up and they don't want to look bad because of Obamacare. This article also talked about the struggling healthcare website and the concerns it is bringing. Obama said on Thursday that those with current plans that did not meet Obamacare standards could have one year before they had to comply. He is currently meeting with several healthcare business leaders to find the best way to get Americans into healthcare plans.
Comments:
I think that this whole situation shows that Obamacare was not at all ready to be rolled out on October 1st. The fact that they still don't have the website working is a big indicator that they should have at least waited a few months. Also, the fact that Obama is scrambling around and talking to healthcare industry leaders now about how to best get people signed up for plans shows that Obamacare was not ready.
The 39 House Democrats who voted for this bill showed their unease with the system. It would have been interesting to see if those same members of congress would have voted the same way had they been in the Senate. Because the House terms are only two years, the representatives have to be much more reactive to the people in order to have chance for reelection. I think the vote of these 39 representatives demonstrates the uncertain views of many Americans when it comes to Obamacare.
I also find fault with Obamacare in that several people have been told that they need to upgrade plans despite Obama's initial statement that no one who had healthcare would have to change. You would think that Obama would know about his own healthcare plan enough not to say something like that. It is obvious that many people are not okay with having to switch plans as demonstrated by Obama's statement on Thursday that people could hold onto their old plan for a year. It seems that he is not very secure and confident in what he is doing in terms of Obamacare.
The bill proposed by the House will almost certainly not become a law because it must pass the Senate (democratically controlled) and the President (who probably would not destroy his own system even though he seems very unsure about it). This is just another example of the checks and balances system at work in the United States and highlights what it takes for a bill to become a law.
Unit 4 (Congress, Bill-Law)
11/15/13
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24966051
Synopsis:
A bill was passed in the House today that would give insurance companies the ability to sell insurance plans that do not comply with the Obamacare standards. The White House was very against this bill and said they would reject it if it passed the Senate. It is not likely that it will pass Senate. 39 Democrats in the House voted for this bill. The article mentioned that this may be due to the fact that elections are coming up and they don't want to look bad because of Obamacare. This article also talked about the struggling healthcare website and the concerns it is bringing. Obama said on Thursday that those with current plans that did not meet Obamacare standards could have one year before they had to comply. He is currently meeting with several healthcare business leaders to find the best way to get Americans into healthcare plans.
Comments:
I think that this whole situation shows that Obamacare was not at all ready to be rolled out on October 1st. The fact that they still don't have the website working is a big indicator that they should have at least waited a few months. Also, the fact that Obama is scrambling around and talking to healthcare industry leaders now about how to best get people signed up for plans shows that Obamacare was not ready.
The 39 House Democrats who voted for this bill showed their unease with the system. It would have been interesting to see if those same members of congress would have voted the same way had they been in the Senate. Because the House terms are only two years, the representatives have to be much more reactive to the people in order to have chance for reelection. I think the vote of these 39 representatives demonstrates the uncertain views of many Americans when it comes to Obamacare.
I also find fault with Obamacare in that several people have been told that they need to upgrade plans despite Obama's initial statement that no one who had healthcare would have to change. You would think that Obama would know about his own healthcare plan enough not to say something like that. It is obvious that many people are not okay with having to switch plans as demonstrated by Obama's statement on Thursday that people could hold onto their old plan for a year. It seems that he is not very secure and confident in what he is doing in terms of Obamacare.
The bill proposed by the House will almost certainly not become a law because it must pass the Senate (democratically controlled) and the President (who probably would not destroy his own system even though he seems very unsure about it). This is just another example of the checks and balances system at work in the United States and highlights what it takes for a bill to become a law.
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