Homework Question on Legislators Profiles
- These are some of the most important websites we will visit in this class, since Congress members are the most important elected officials besides the President in America. Be sure to visit the Common Cause
- website ( www.commoncause.org ) and EMILY’s List ( www.emilyslist.org ), and go to Congress.org to see recent votes, scorecards on members, and information on contacting members.
- The www.house.gov and www.senate.gov are the main websites for the US House and Senate, and thomas.loc.gov is the authoritative search engine for federal legislation on the Internet, including the text of bills, roll call votes, committee information, the legislative process, and historical documents. Also, don’t miss www.rollcall.com with political and policy information and www.Politics1.com for complete information about Congress.
- Using www.rollcall.com complete the Legislator Profiles report.
- Who is your US Representative and US Senators (or choose a family member that lives in a different state to search for)?
- Who gives them money and how long have they been in office?
- What was the last bill they sponsored and does it benefit you or a friend or family member?
- Do members of Congress represent their constituents (citizens) or are they primarily interested in representing those who give them money?
Homework Answer on Legislators Profiles
My senators are Charles “Chuck” Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and the house representative is Kathleen Rice. Senator Schumer has been in office for a period of 16 years since he was elected in 1999. Senator Gillibrand was elected in 2009 and therefore she has served for a period of six years. Kathleen Rice has only served for a few months since she was recently elected as the house representative of the 4th district in New York.
The senators and our house representative obtain their money from federal funds and grants from lobbies. One of the Rice’s most recently sponsored bills is keeping our Travelers Safe and Secure Act. This bill has benefited me as an individual since it is making travelling more safe and secure. On the other hand Senator Gillibrand has sponsored Pedestrian Safety Act of 2015 which has also benefited thousands of people walking down on the streets including myself.
Politicians are generally expected to represent their constituency members’ preferences. However many people are much convinced that parliamentary representatives considerably deviate from their constituents’ preferences. This happens due to the pressure from lobbies where election campaigns require paying, the pressure from unions and public sector in nations that have an election system that is party-based. Other factors for the divergence are individual interests of the representatives and the party’s guarantors.