Evaluate the extent to which Congress is a representative institution

3) Legislation

CWA - Decreasing amount of legislation may not reflect ineffective government; significant legislation has been passed e.g. Affordable Care Act, Trump tax reform. Also, even during periods of gridlock/divided government congress can pass bipartisan legislation - During 2007/8 when Bush was president and Dems controlled Congress, they still passed significant legislation such as additional funding for the Iraq war. MA - The structure of congress makes the passage of legislation difficult; more recently, a decreasing amount of legislation has been passed, and there have been government shutdowns actual and threatened Ex - Trump's largest gov shut down of all time in 2018 despite having a trifecta.

2) Gerrymandering

CWA - Gerrymandered districts provide stong majorities - through the practice of gerrymandering, the political party with the majority can strongly conquer the region while the minority is weakening. Also, this system may lead to better representation as it helps in reducing divisiveness and tackle's state problem. This is so because most supporters and opponents are packed into separate districts, and therefore there is less incentive to listen. Also, the people on the boundaries can enjoy new leadership, which may be fruitful compared to the previous one. MA - Gerrymandering means there are majority safe seats - drawn by State legislators in favour of their own party - this undermines representation. The 'Non-partisanship cook report' found that only 20% of seats were competitive in 2013, compared to over a third in 1998 - this means Congress is unrepresentative as their is a surplus of vote wastage - In 2012 the Democrats lost to the GoP despite winning 1.4 million more votes.

1) Minority representation

CWA - High rates of incumbency suggest constituents are happy with their representatives' performance - also, congress (especially the house) provides more elections which reflect the electorate more accurately - a more effective vehicle than the presidency for representing the interests of a diverse society. Also, Congress has been on the path to representing minority groups effectively - 2022 - 147 women in Congress, move towards 50% MA - The dependence of members of Congress on pressure group donations means they are more attentive to their needs than those of their constituents; congress does not represent the gender or racial composition of the population; gerrymandered districts undermine representation

4) Scrutiny

CWA - Scrutiny has been carried out effectively in the recent past, e.g. into IranContra. It is what the founding fathers wanted - constitutional role of checks and balances - while divided gov may seem to place a barrier in policy making, it can be seen as a way of compromising and a bipartisan approach - FF wanted limited government. MA - Scrutiny is carried out for partisan advantage, either in support of the president when Congress is controlled by the same party, or to undermine him when controlled by different parties; nominations are voted on party lines

Intro

Congress does not reflect the makeup of America as a nation