The Core Functions of the Congress
The core functions of the congress are making laws for American people and seeing that those laws are respected through public education (Ritchie, 2010). They also pass other laws that aim to benefit the whole country and receive feedback from its citizens (Creighton, 2005). In the American congress, for a bill to become law, it is first forwarded either by a member of the society or head of state but mostly from the congress members. The bill then goes to committee stage where there are subcommittees that have specializations. From committee it moves to House where members do a second reading and amendment. The bill then proceeds to Senate where it can pass or fail. Afterwards it goes to the Conference for error checks before it is finally forwarded to the President for assent and according to me this is a long process that ensures only good bills are passed into law (Amar, 2006)
In regards to whether my senator John Boozman has represented my views in the House, I would say that he did exactly a contrary to what I expected (Rohen, 2008). This is because the ever-increasing rate of unemployment, racism, teenage pregnancies, black violence. These factors affect development, yet the government has the capacity to contain the situation (Silva, 2009).
As an Arkansan, my priorities have been neglected and the meridian income of my state is half that of Utah or New York (Lang, 2007). In addition, on the matter concerning abortion, I stand against it, irrespective of my senator’s stand. I say this because life is precious and only God has power to take or give it (Beckwith, 2007).
Finally, on why some classes of American society do not get equal representation in the Congress, I would single out factors like race, creed and gender discrimination (Ridgeway, 2011). There are also issues of poor education among minorities and low esteem and in my take, I would suggest long jail terms for offenders who discriminate others and encourage civil education (Junn & Haynie, 2008).
References
Amar, A. (2006). America's Constitution: A Biography. New York, NY: Random House Trade Paperbacks.
Beckwith, F. (2007). Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Creighton, J. (2005). The Public Participation Handbook: Making Better Decisions through Citizen Involvement. San Francisco, SF: Jossey Bass.
Junn, J. & Haynie, K. (2008). Race Politics in America: Understanding Minority and Immigrant Politics. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Lang, K. (2007). Poverty and Discrimination. New Jersey, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Ridgeway, C. (2011). Framed by Gender: How Gender Inequality Persists in the Modern World. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Ritchie, D. (2010). The U.S. Congress: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Rosen, H. (2008). Terror in the Heart of Freedom: Citizenship, Sexual Violence, and the Meaning of Race in the Post emancipation South (Gender and American Culture). North Carolina, NC: University of North Carolina Press.
Silva, E. (2009). Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America. Maryland, MA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
