POLI 1501 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Legislative Veto, Divided Government
13 Mar 2019
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Document Summary
Substantive legislation - making laws (laws and policies of the u. s. ) Tremendous tool to use against the president. Congress engages in substantive legislation in foreign policy. Doesn"t use much to dictate american foreign policy. Diplomacy - congress recognizes that legislation can be permanent and very difficult to change. Legislation cannot be changed quickly (rigorous process) Blame - some scholars argue that members of congress want to avoid the blame. When things go well in foreign policy, the president usually gets credit. People don"t tend to think of their local representative as being involved. Local representatives are worried that they will get blamed for meddling in foreign affairs. More important goals - some scholars argue that giving this authority up allows the u. s. to achieve more important goals. Some things that are good for one district are not good for other districts. Limiting themselves to making yes or no decisions only. It doesn"t seem like congress actually influences foreign policy.
