Abstract

The Diminishing Role of Congress
Lickard, Duane | March 24, 1962 issue

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The United States Congress, by single-minded concentration on its nay-saying power, has maimed itself. It is so marvelous an instrument for stopping action that its position in the councils of government and in the eyes of the public has been seriously diminished. The legislative branch has lost prestige and political importance, paradoxically enough, during an era of unprecedented expansion of the sphere of federal government. In its negating power, Congress has authority that other political figures must defer to, of course; but in its concentration on the power not to act, it has assured its own decline rather than made the most of its potential authority as a co-ordinate branch of government.

See Also:

POWER (Social sciences); UNITED States. Congress; SOCIAL influence; LEGISLATIVE bodies -- United States; FEDERAL government; UNITED States
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