Congressman what do they do

In this understanding, the Member sets broad policies to fulfill his or her duties, and the appropriate staff act to carry them out. Nevertheless, the work carried out by staff is typically attributed to the effort of the Member. Many scholars of Congress see these Member choices and delegation arrangements as dependent in part on their goals.

Generally, these observers suggest that Members pursue three primary goals: gaining reelection, securing influence within Congress, and making good public policy. The relative priority a Member may assign to these goals can affect a wide range of choices regarding a congressional career, including 1 the emphasis given to different roles and duties; 2 activities in the Washington, DC, and district or state offices; 3 staffing choices in Member and committee offices; and 4 preference for committee assignments.

It can also affect a Member's approaches to legislative work, constituent relations, media relations, party issues, and electoral activities. As part of a broader evaluation of House administrative practices in the mids, 9 the House Commission on Administrative Review surveyed Members of the House and asked them to describe the major jobs, duties, and functions that they believed they were expected to perform. At the same time, the commission hired the research firm Louis Harris and Associates to conduct a survey of the public to gauge its expectations of Congress and its Members.

The Member survey found that the three most frequently mentioned duties and activities were the drafting and introduction of legislation; helping constituents solve problems; and representing the interests of their districts and constituents.

Other expectations included position taking and constituent education. According to the public survey conducted by the commission, the most common expectations of Members were to represent the people and district according to the wishes of the majority; to solve problems in the district; and to keep in contact with the people in the district through regular visits and meetings in the district and polls or questionnaires.

Other public expectations included regular attendance in legislative sessions and voting on legislation. Table 2 summarizes the most frequently mentioned responses to the public survey. Table 1. Source: U. Washington: GPO, , vol. Percentages are based on responses by Members of the House to the question, " Despite differences in point of view, both the Member and public survey results describe common interests in local representation, constituency services, legislative activity, and regular contact between the Member and the district.

The differences between Member and public expectations may reflect the different perspectives on the work of a Member of Congress. Where Members are daily confronted with representational, legislative, and institutional duties, the public focuses on representational, legislative, and service responsibilities, apparently without recognizing a broader underlying institutional, procedural, and operational framework in which Members of Congress operate.

Some observers suggest that this narrow public focus is in part a reflection of the attention the public gives, or does not give, to political matters in general.

Common Member and public interest in local representation, constituency service issues, legislative activity, and regular contact between the Member and the constituency may partially explain how individual Members of Congress receive broad public satisfaction or approval of their performance while Congress as an institution, where Members engage the procedural and operational barriers the public disdains, routinely trails the executive and judicial branches in public approval.

Table 2. Work to solve problems in the district, help the people, and respond to the issues and needs of the district. To represent the people and district, and to vote according to the wish of the majority of their constituents. Percentages are based on 1, public responses to the question, "what kinds of jobs, duties, or functions do you expect a good Congressman to perform? The responses to the Member and public surveys suggest that the roles and duties of a Member of Congress can be identified in part as an outgrowth of congressional and public expectations.

These congressional roles may be described by focusing on some of the underlying tasks typically required to carry them out. Because some of the duties are complex, and some of the underlying tasks often overlap, some of the roles may overlap. The roles described below are derived from. Broadly, a system of representative government assumes that the will of the people is consulted and accommodated when making public policies that affect them.

Consequently, representational activity is present in all of the roles of a Member of Congress. Representational activity is seen in the legislative process, constituent service, oversight, and investigation duties that Members carry out. In Congress, Members are elected to represent the interests of the people in their congressional district or state.

In addition, they represent regional and national interests in matters which might come before Congress. On the local level, Members of the House represent congressional districts of populations ranging approximately from , Rhode Island's two congressional districts to , Montana's single district constituents.

Representational work may involve legislative activity, such as analyzing the provisions of proposed legislation for their potential impact on the area represented, or constituent service activity, such as assisting individuals, local governments, and organizations in obtaining federal grants and benefits.

Styles of representation differ. Some Members might view themselves as responding to instructions from their constituents—sometimes called the "delegate" style. Others might prefer to act upon their own initiative and rely upon their own judgment—sometimes called the "trustee" style. In practice, when considering new legislation or the effects of implementing existing law, the opinion of their constituency often may be uppermost in a Member's mind.

Constituent views, however, may vary in intensity from issue to issue, or fall on several sides of an issue, and the Member would typically take into account opinions from other sources as well. Consequently, most Members typically balance or reconcile these competing viewpoints with their own judgment when casting their votes, providing constituent service, or conducting oversight.

Another facet of representation involves presenting a view of government activity to constituents and the broader American public.

Members of Congress regularly draw attention to policy issues and federal government activities in order to educate constituents and other citizens and to encourage more robust citizen participation in public affairs. This educational function is typically performed through newsletters and special mailings sent to residents in the district or state, or through a variety of media outlets, which may include a Member website, and appearances and interviews on local television and radio programs.

In developing and debating legislative proposals, Members may take different approaches to learn how best to represent the interests of their district or state, together with the interests of the nation.

This may require identifying local, national, and international issues or problems which need legislative action, and proposing or supporting legislation which addresses them. Throughout the legislative process, Members of Congress routinely attend committee hearings and briefings, hold meetings and conversations with executive branch officials and with lobbyists representing various interested groups, and have discussions with congressional colleagues.

In addition, many Members receive staff briefings based on a broad range of sources, including congressional support agencies, local and national media outlets, specialized policy-oriented literature, and background material on legislative issues, among others. An important venue for congressional activities is the committee, through which much of the work of Congress is organized. Committees typically are the first place in which legislative policy proposals receive substantive consideration.

Members of Congress are assigned to a number of committees and subcommittees simultaneously, and are expected to develop issue expertise in the policy areas that come before these panels. Typically, each Senator is assigned to three committees and at least eight subcommittees. With the exception of Members who serve on committees that their party has designated as exclusive, each Representative is typically assigned to two standing committees and four subcommittees. Committee members usually participate in hearings to question witnesses; engage in markup sessions to draft, amend, and refine the text of legislation; and vote on whether to send specific measures to the floor of their chamber.

Members also testify before other congressional committees on matters of interest to their district or state, or on matters in which the Member has developed expertise. In addition to these duties, Senate committee membership involves review of executive and judicial nominations and may include consideration of treaties. Some Members, generally those with more seniority, also participate in conference committees. Conference committees are convened to work out differences when the House and Senate pass different versions of the same bill.

Moreover, the House of Representatives has certain exclusive rights for the execution of its tasks:. Directly to the content Directly to the main navigation Directly to the service menu. Political Organization Organization chart. Home How Parliament works Democracy in the Netherlands.

The Thirteenth Amendment banned slavery, for instance, so a bill reviving slavery would have zero effect. Congressmen and congresswoman don't just originate bills. They also study bills' effects and costs and propose any amendments they think important. They vote based on the bill's merits and the views of voters in their home district. They may also have to negotiate with and persuade other members to support their point of view. Looking out for people in their home district isn't a Constitutional duty, but it's important.

District residents who run into trouble with federal bureaucracy frequently turn to their elected officials for help. A congresswoman can't dictate to a federal agency but they can help explain the problem, find solutions and cut through red tape. For congressional staffers it's one of the best parts of the gig.

To become a congressman or congresswoman, you must be at least 25 years old, be a U. And, of course, you have to get elected to office.