Reference no: EM133596421

Question: Catherine Boudreau's article in POLITICO focuses on the Democratic Party's support for a bill providing for emergency relief spending, and the opposition to that bill coming from the White House. While many members of the Republican Party did not vote for the bill, - to aid those affected by hurricanes - some did, including Representative Austin Scott of Georgia. Representative Scott also criticized President Trump's opposition to the spending bill, "a rare rebuke of the administration from a Republican congressman," Boudreau notes. This article ties in to our recent readings and discussions on Congress, and the role that both Congress and the president play in the budgeting and spending process. As Boudreau writes, Representative Scott criticized the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for opposing the spending bill.

The OMB is a part of the Executive Branch and it sets out the president's priorities for spending money. As we have read in We the People: "The status and power of the OMB have grown in importance with each successive president." (We the People, p. 329). Although Article I, section 8 of the Constitution grants Congress the "powers of the purse," the president, acting through the OMB, also plays an important role in the budgeting process.

While I think it is important that the president plays a role in the budget process, the Constitution gives Congress the "powers of the purse," and so Congress should have the final say in spending money. Members of Congress have closer ties to their constituents than does the president, and it is taxpayers' money that is ultimately being spent. Find a 2. Have a source for the news journal.