Congress and its functions Essay

Congress is mainly known for enacting laws that are brought upon them but they are also responsible for many other things. There are two parts of congress, the senate and the House of Representatives. Aside from making laws congress plays several other roles like conducting congressional hearings on certain issues and potential scandals that arise. Congress speaks on a variety of issues and must assist constituents with government-related issues that occur.
Drafting pieces of legislation is one of the many activities congress is engaged in back in Washington, DC. Committees are put together to help organize the work of congress. There are four types of committees standing, select, joint, and conference. The standing committee are the most important committee of all they consider the vast majority of the laws that are presented to them. The select committee usually studies one particular issue and are formed for specific purposes. The joint committee are made up of member from the House and Senate and like the select committee they have similar duties. The conference committee are put together when the House and the Senate need to come together about different versions of the same bill.
A sub-committee is a small group of people put together to focus on a particular task or area for example personnel or finance. The House and Senate meet separately in the same building, The Capitol in Washington, D.C. Our job is to propose new laws. Both the Senate and House have committees who studies the bill that deals with certain topics like taxes, farming, the environment, etc. If the Senate and House approve of the bill the committees have chosen it will be sent to the president to sign. The Senate is also known as the house of review, both the Senate and the House of Representatives makes and passes federal laws.
Although congress part takes in a great deal of work in Washington, D.C. but meeting with voters in our home district is just as important. As a congress person we need to support particular causes and policies for individuals and communities back in our home district. It's important to be a great listener at times constituents know more about a certain subject than we do. Attending town meetings in our districts is a great opportunity to hear the constituents concerns and opinions while hearing about the work going in Washington. Meeting with constituents allows us to hear from many different types of groups so that we can attempt to address the issues upon returning to Washington.
Congress meets with other politicians to discuss what is happening in government and listen to their ideas to improve things in the district. Pork barreling is the distribution of federal funds to local projects at the will of a congressperson. Back in my home district Georgia wants millions of dollars in federal funds to deepen the Savannah harbor so bigger ship will be able to pass through. Since the federal spending is very limited not all ports will get the money.