Congress

Examples of Congress in the following topics:

• The Role of the Federal Budget

  • Congress which recommends funding levels for the next fiscal year, beginning October 1.
  • To help Congress pass the best budget possible, several government agencies provide data and analysis.
  • After Congress approves an appropriations bill, it is sent to the president, who may sign it into law, or may veto it (as he would a budget when passed by the Congress).
  • Congress may also combine all or some appropriations bills into an omnibus reconciliation bill.
  • Congress is responsible for passing the Federal Budget.

• How Taxes Work in the United States

  • Tax laws are passed by Congress and enforced by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at the federal level.
  • Federal taxes are created by the US Congress, which passes laws mandating what is taxed and the amount of the tax.
  • Congress then takes the tax revenue and apportions it through its power to create and manage the federal budget.
  • Congress is not the body, however, that actually collects taxes.
  • The IRS is responsible for interpreting and enforcing tax legislation passed by Congress.

• In the 1980s and 1990s

  • Congress felt it had to change course again.
  • As federal budget deficits ballooned throughout the late 1980s, however, Congress continued to look for ways to cut federal spending.
  • A new Republican Congress, elected in 1994, sought to wean farmers from their reliance on government assistance.
  • Under the new law, government supports would revert to the old system in 2002 unless Congress were to act to keep market prices and support payments decoupled.
  • In 1998 and again in 1999, Congress passed bailout laws that temporarily boosted farm subsidies the 1996 act had tried to phase out.

• What Taxes Do

  • In the United States, Congress has the power to tax as stated in The United States Constitution, Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1: "The Congress shall have the Power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts, and Excises to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States. " This power was reinforced in the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution: "The Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes on income, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration."
  • It is important to note that Congress has delegated to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the responsibility of administering the tax laws, known as the Internal Revenue Code (the Code).
  • Congress enacts these tax laws, and the IRS enforces them.

• Growth of Government Intervention

  • In 1890, Congress enacted the Sherman Antitrust Act, a law designed to restore competition and free enterprise by breaking up monopolies.
  • Roosevelt and the Congress enacted a host of new laws that gave government the power to intervene in the economy.
  • By the early 1990s, Congress had created more than 100 federal regulatory agencies in fields ranging from trade to communications, from nuclear energy to product safety, and from medicines to employment opportunity.
  • Congress appropriates funds to the agencies and oversees their operations.
  • Despite the official independence of regulatory agencies, members of Congress often seek to influence commissioners on behalf of their constituents.

• Current U.S. Trade Agenda

  • The United States subsequently agreed, in 2000, to normalize trade relations with China, ending a politically charged requirement that Congress vote annually on whether to allow favorable trade terms with Beijing.
  • Despite this widespread effort to liberalize trade, political opposition to trade liberalization was growing in Congress at the end of the century.
  • Although Congress had ratified NAFTA, the pact continued to draw criticism from some sectors and politicians who saw it as unfair.
  • What's more, Congress refused to give the president special negotiating authority seen as essential to successfully reaching new trade agreements.
  • Trade pacts like NAFTA were negotiated under "fast-track" procedures in which Congress relinquished some of its authority by promising to vote on ratification within a specified period of time and by pledging to refrain from seeking to amend the proposed treaty.

• Automatic Stabilizers Versus Discretionary Policy

  • Discretionary policies are generally laws enacted by Congress, which requires that any policy go through the same vetting and marking up process as any other law.
  • Before action can be taken, Congress must first determine that there is an issue and that action needs to be taken.
  • Then Congress needs to design and implement a policy response.

• Structure of the Federal Reserve

  • The Federal Reserve (the Fed) was designed to be independent of the Congress and the government.
  • It operates independently, and is not subject to political pressures directly as is Congress or the President.

• Difficulty in Getting the Timing Right

  • Once the problem has been established, Congress must then arrive at a plan and hold debates.
  • It can take many months before Congress can pass a bill that would address current economic fluctuations.

• Farm Policy of the 20th Century

  • Department of Agriculture established demonstration farms that showed how new techniques could improve crop yields; in 1914, Congress created an Agricultural Extension Service, which enlisted an army of agents to advise farmers and their families about everything from crop fertilizers to home sewing projects.
  • Roosevelt proposed, and Congress approved, laws designed to raise farm prices by limiting production.
  • Congress created the Rural Electrification Administration to extend electric power lines into the countryside.
  • To help consume surplus crops, which were depressing prices and costing taxpayers money, Congress in 1954 created a Food for Peace program that exported U.S. farm goods to needy countries.