Congress

A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties or other groups.^[1] The term, originally denoting a parley during battle in the Late Middle Ages, is derived from the Latin congressus.^[2] (

The dictionary definition of congressus at Wiktionary)

In the mid-1770s, the term was chosen by the 13 British colonies for the Continental Congress to emphasize the status of each colony represented there as a self-governing entity. Subsequent to the use of congress as the name for the legislature of the U.S. federal government (beginning in 1789), the term has been adopted by many nations to refer to their national legislatures.

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[Music] Article I of the U.S. Constitution grants all legislative powers to a bicameral Congress: a House of Representatives and a Senate that are the result of a "Great Compromise" seeking to balance the effects of popular majorities with the interests of the states. Our system currently provides for a two-year term of office for House members from the 435 population-based districts. In the Senate, voters of each state elect two Senators, who serve 6-year terms that overlap (such that only one-third of the chamber is up for election in any given election cycle). The two chambers are fundamentally equal in their legislative roles and functions. Only the House can originate revenue legislation, and only the Senate confirms presidential nominations and approves treaties, but the enactment of law always requires both chambers to separately agree to the same bill in the same form before presenting it to the President. Because each chamber has the constitutional authority to make its own rules, the House and Senate have developed some very different ways of processing legislation, perhaps partially flowing from their constitutional differences. In general, House rules and practices allow a numerical majority to process legislation relatively quickly. Senate rules and procedures, on the other hand, favor deliberation over quick action, as they provide significant procedural leverage to individual Senators. Congressional action is typically planned and coordinated by party leaders in each chamber, who have been chosen by members of their own caucus or conference - that is, the group of members in a chamber who share a party affiliation. Majority party leaders in the House have important powers and prerogatives to effectively set the policy agenda and decide which proposals will receive floor consideration. In the Senate, the leader of the majority party is generally expected to propose items for consideration, but formal tools that allow a numerical majority to take action are few. Instead, majority party leadership typically must negotiate with minority party leaders (and often all Senators) to effectively conduct Senate floor action. In both chambers, much of the policy expertise resides in the standing committees - panels of members from both parties that typically take the lead in developing and assessing legislation. Members typically serve on a small number of committees, often for many years, allowing them to become highly knowledgeable in certain policy areas. All committees are chaired by a member of the majority party, though chairs often work closely with the committee's ranking member, the most senior member of the minority party on the committee. In almost all cases, the ratio of majority party to minority party members on a committee roughly reflects the overall partisan ratio in the congressional chamber. Committee members and staff focus much of their time on drafting and considering legislative proposals, but committees engage in other activities, as well. Once law is enacted, Congress has the prerogative and responsibility to provide oversight of policy implementation, and its committees take the lead in this effort. Both chambers provide their committees with significant powers and latitude for oversight and investigations into questions of public policy and its effects. While the engine of legislative ideas and action is Congress itself, the President has influence in the legislative process, as well. The President recommends an annual budget for federal agencies and often suggests legislation. Perhaps more significantly, the power to veto legislation can affect the content of bills passed by Congress. Since it is quite unusual for law to be enacted over a presidential veto, Congress typically must accommodate the president's position on proposed policies. The process by which a bill becomes law is rarely predictable and can vary significantly from bill to bill. In fact, for many bills, the process will not follow the sequence of congressional stages that are often understood to make up the legislative process. The presentations on specific topics that follow present a more detailed look at each of the common stages through which a bill may move, but keep in mind that complications and variations abound in practice.

1 Political congress
2 Labor congresses
3 Non-political congresses
4 References
5 External links

Political congress

Congresses of nations

The following congresses were formal meetings of representatives of different nations:

The Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668), which ended the War of Devolution
The Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), which ended the War of the Austrian Succession
The Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle (1818)
The Congress of Berlin (1878), which settled the Eastern Question after the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878)
The Congress of Gniezno (1000)
The Congress of Laibach (1821)
The Congress of Panama, an 1826 meeting organized by Simon Bolivar.
The Congress of Paris (1856), which ended the Crimean War
The Congress of Troppau (1820)
The Congress of Tucumán (1816)
The Congress of Utrecht (1712-1713)
The Congress of Verona (1822)
The Congress of Vienna (1814-15), which settled the shape of Europe after the Napoleonic Wars
The Congress of the Council of Europe.

Congresses within nations

Countries with Congresses and presidential systems:

The Congress of Guatemala (Spanish: Congreso de la República) is the unicameral legislature of Guatemala.
The National Congress of Honduras (Spanish: Congreso nacional) is the legislative branch of the government of Honduras.
The Congress of Mexico (Spanish: Congreso de la Unión) is the legislative branch of Mexican government.
The Congress of Paraguay is the bicameral legislature of Paraguay.
The Congress of the Argentine Nation (Spanish: Congreso de la Nación Argentina) is the legislative branch of the government of Argentina.
The Congress of the Dominican Republic is the bicameral legislature of the Dominican Republic.
The Palau National Congress (Palauan: Olbiil era Kelulau) is the bicameral legislative branch of the Republic of Palau.
The Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia is the unicameral legislature of the Federated States of Micronesia.
The Congress of the Philippines (Filipino: Kongreso ng Pilipinas) is the legislative branch of the Philippine government.
The Congress of the Republic of Peru (Spanish: Congreso de la República) is the unicameral legislature of Peru.
The Congress of Colombia (Spanish: Congreso de la República) is the bicameral legislature of Colombia.
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislative branch of the United States federal government.
The National Congress of Bolivia was the national legislature of Bolivia before being replaced by the Plurinational Legislative Assembly.
The National Congress of Brazil (Portuguese: Congresso Nacional) is Brazil's bicameral legislature.
The National Congress of Chile (Spanish: Congreso Nacional) is the legislative branch of the government of Chile.
The National Congress of Ecuador was the unicameral legislature of Ecuador before being replaced by the National Assembly.
The Congress of Mauritania
France: Although France has a Parliament, the term Congress is used on two circumstances:
- the Congress of the French Parliament, name used specifically when both houses sit together as a single body, usually at the Palace of Versailles, to vote on revisions to the Constitution, to listen to an address by the President of the French Republic, and, in the past, to elect the President of the Republic
- the Congress of New Caledonia, a territorial assembly

Association congresses

ICCA Congress & Exhibition

Historic congresses

The Continental Congress (1774-1781) was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution.
The Congress of the Confederation (1781-1789) was the legislature of the United States under the Articles of Confederation.
The National Congress of Belgium was a temporary legislative assembly in 1830, which created a constitution for the new state.

Other countries with Congresses

In France, the Congress of France (congrès) denotes a formal and rarely convened joint session of both houses of Parliament to ratify an amendment to the Constitution or to listen to a speech by the President of the French Republic.
Spanish Congress of Deputies (Spanish: Congreso de los Diputados), the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch.
The legislature of the People's Republic of China is known in English as the National People's Congress.
The Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union was the legislature and nominal supreme institution of state power in the Soviet Union from 1989 to 1991.
- Congress of People's Deputies of Russia, a Russian institution modeled after USSR one, existed in 1990—1993.

Political parties and organizations

Congress is included in the name of several political parties, especially those in former British colonies:

Party congresses

Many political parties also have a party congress every few years to make decisions for the party and elect governing bodies. This is sometimes called a political convention.

Miscellaneous political congresses

Labor congresses

Non-political congresses

Scientific congress

Congress is an alternative name for a large national or international academic conference.

For instance, the World Congress on Men's Health [1] is an annual meeting on men's medical issues.

Athletic sports congress

Organizations in some athletic sports, such as bowling, have historically been named "congresses". The predecessors to the United States Bowling Congress, formed in 1995, were the male-only American Bowling Congress founded in 1895, and the female-only Women's International Bowling Congress founded in 1927, which combined in 1995 to form the USBC.

Chess congress

A Chess congress is a chess tournament, in one city, where a large number of contestants gather to play competitive chess over a limited period of time; typically one day to one week.

References

^ "congress". Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Online. London, England, UK: Longman. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
^ "congress". Oxford English Dictionry Online. Oxford, England, UK: Oxford University Press. Retrieved March 9, 2018.

External links

Look up congress in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

This page was last edited on 14 February 2019, at 13:09

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