by Dennis Aubuchon

Created on: October 18, 2008

There is much talk in this election year from the candidates about their plans when they become President. The comments and statements being made by the candidates require that the relationship between the President and Congress be discussed. The individual who holds the position of President of the United States must be a leader who has the best interest of the country in mind when decisions are made. The President must be a person of honor and integrity in the performance of the responsibilities of the office. One of the critical responsibilities, I feel, of a President is to establish a budget and submit it to Congress. The budget submitted does not mean that the end result of the actions taken by Congress will match completely what gets passed and signed into law. Congress reviews the budget and determines what they feel are good programs to be enacted and which require additional discussion between Congress and the President. This requires communication and is an important factor in accomplishing anything. Today with the approval ratings of both Congress and the President it is clear that the relationship between them has problems and the public is not happy with either performance.

The relationship between Congress and the President is part of a checks and balance which was established in our Constitution. This is important. The President must lead and provide direction as to the necessary programs and the proposed budget for them. The President each year presents a state of the union message before a joint session of Congress and in it identifies the goals embedded in the proposed budget. Submitting a budget to Congress as I have previously stated does not mean that the President will get everything. The review of the proposed budget by Congress is the basic relationship between the President and Congress but it much more.

Congress has many responsibilities in conducting their business. Their main responsibility is to enact legislation that is right for the country considering the proposed budget submitted by the President. They also have the prerogative of enacting additional legislation which they feel is needed. The process of enacting legislation in Congress can be cumbersome to say the least. There are various bi-partisan committees in each of the two houses of Congress which deal with specific topics. The legislation that is created during the session of Congress passes through the committees that have jurisdiction on the topic. It is also an

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