Parliament & Congress

On the Parliament and the Congress

Although the Congress system of the United States traces its roots to the British Parliament system, these two political institutions have considerably evolved over time. As such, I believe that it is fitting to discuss the basic differences of the Parliament and the Congress (Petersen, 2005).

One important diagnostic measure that can be used to highlight the difference between these two institutions is their functions. The Parliament, which is composed of ministers and deputies drawn from the majority in the House of Commons, serves as the point where the formation and maintenance of the government is enacted. The Congress, on the other hand, fulfills legislative functions where policy references may coincide or may not coincide with the separate entity which in this case, is the elected government, i.e. The President and his/her executive branch (ibid).

In terms of elections, the national party organizations in the United States (composed of two represented parties) usually provide campaign assistance to favored individuals while for the House of Commons, constituency committees are composed of local activists select candidates. The House of Commons has nine represented parties (ibid). As such, we can infer that in the United States, getting the favor of one's co-party members is an important factor while in the House of Commons, getting the approval of local activists are sought.

Given the fact that the Parliament possesses executive powers, elections are placed upon government's discretion while for the Congress, elections happen on a specific time, de jure (ibid). The powers of the Congress are also purely legislative. Hence, we can infer that Parliament's power which is both legislative and executive in nature is stronger but provides little opportunity for opposition. The Congress, on the hand, can be seen as a mechanism for check and balances as it is considered a separate and independent entity from the Government.

Reference

Petersen, R.E. (2005). Parliament and Congress: A Brief Comparison of the British House of Commons and the U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved from www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL32206.pdf on May 12, 2009.