Balance of Power: Presidential – Congressional Relations

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Introduction

The government consists of three main branches that oversee the operations of a country. This partitioning of the government ensures that none of the branches exercises too much power. The president chairs the National Security Council that considers national security and foreign security policy matters. This happens together with senior national security advisors and the cabinet officials.

This can be seen to differ from the common myth that a President is extremely powerful. The Constitution gives the president and the Congress different roles in waging wars, though it remains unclear where one’s war begins and where the other one’s ends¹.

Analysis of the balance of Power between the President and the Congress in matters of National Security Policies

As mentioned earlier, the Constitution shares the nation’s war powers between Congress and the president. Congress has the entire power of declaring war while the president remains the commander in chief of the armed forces, which means that the government entity that controls the operations of the military forces is the president.

This shows the parts played for each one of the government entities, that is, the president and Congress². In the case of a war, there will be both entities involved in making the decisions of when a war can be commenced, continued or stopped.

In the policymaking, it remains clear that the president can command the military without congressional support only to fight against an attack. Declaration of war by Congress can be essential to wage an offensive.

The War Powers Resolutions require that the president should report to Congress within two days after sending defense forces into a hostile environment. If the Congress does not declare war within sixty days against such a situation, the president should be expected to withdraw the military troops. The other balance of power comes through presidential veto that returns a bill that has already passed through the Congress.

Most bills can be said to affect the running of a nation; thus, they are extremely important to the people of a country. The ability of Congress to pass a bill into a law is limited by the presidential veto power³. After Congress passes the bill, it goes to the president first, where he either signs it or sends it back. If the president sends it back, he must state his objections to the bill’s origin.

In case the president does not sign the bill in to law within 10 days (Sundays excluded), the bill shall become a law, unless Congress decides otherwise. The veto message usually consists of an explanation as to why he dismissed the bill, which he then sends to Congress and the entire nation.

The other way to veto a bill can happen when Congress adjourns or takes a break officially, within the ten days that the president has had the bill⁴.

Conclusion

Through the above explanations, one can see that when sensitive policies that affect the national security become implemented, there are regulations that give the president and Congress various powers. These exists balance of power between the president and Congress such that none of the two can gain too much power over the nation.

Separation of powers prevents tyranny, which can occur if one person has the power to make, implement, enforce or interpret the laws. The National Security Council, which consists of statutory and non- statutory members, ensures that the president and Congress follow the laws and policies.

Bibliography

Lucas, J. R. Balance of power. New York: AMACOM, American Management Association, 1998.

Patterson, Richard North. Balance of power. New York: Ballantine Books, 2003.

Sheehan, Michael. The balance of power: history and theory. New York: Routledge, 1996.

Thurber, James A. Rivals of power: Presidential- Congressional relations. New York Cengage Learing, 2009.

Footnotes

¹ Richard North Patterson. Balance of power. New York: Ballantine Books, 2003, p. 23.

² James A. Thurber. Rivals of power: Presidential- Congressional relations. New York: Cengage Learing, 2009, p. 18.

³ Michael Sheehan. The balance of power: history and theory. New York: Routledge, 1996, p. 45.

⁴ Lucas, J. R. Balance of power. New York: AMACOM, American Management Association, 1998, p. 71.

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Balance of Power: Presidential – Congressional Relations

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