The structure, powers and functions of the House of Representatives and the Senate, the legislative process, the role of committees, and how effectively Congress represents, legislates and oversees the executive.

What this dot point is asking

AQA wants you to explain the structure, powers and functions of the House and the Senate, describe the legislative process and the role of committees, and evaluate how effectively Congress represents the people, legislates and oversees the executive.

Structure and powers

The legislative process and committees

A bill must pass both chambers in identical form before going to the President for signature or veto. The process is deliberately obstacle-laden: a bill is introduced, referred to a standing committee (and often a subcommittee) for scrutiny and amendment, then debated and voted on the floor, before the same in the other chamber. Standing committees are powerful gatekeepers that can amend or quietly kill a bill, and committee chairs wield great influence. A conference committee reconciles differences between the two chambers' versions. In the Senate, the filibuster allows extended debate that blocks a bill unless 60 senators vote for cloture, giving the minority real power to obstruct and forcing supermajority coalitions for most significant legislation. The result is that few bills become law, and major legislation usually requires cross-party support or unified government.

Functions and effectiveness

Congress performs three core functions:

• Representation: members represent their districts and states, balancing the national interest, party loyalty and constituents (analysed through the trustee, delegate and partisan models), with the House more locally responsive and the Senate more state-based.
• Legislation: passing federal laws and the budget, the core constitutional role, exercised jointly by both chambers.
• Oversight: scrutinising the executive through committee hearings, investigations, the confirmation power and the power of the purse.

Effectiveness is limited by partisanship and polarisation (which have grown sharply and erode bipartisan cooperation), legislative gridlock, the filibuster, and divided government (when different parties control the presidency and one or both chambers). But Congress is not always weak: under unified government it can be highly productive, and its oversight and budget powers give it real leverage over any president. Its strength therefore varies with the partisan balance.