The Senate and the House of Representatives forms the U.S. Congress. Article one of the Constitution establishes the powers and unique composition of the Senate. After examining the nature of representation and democracy, it is agreeable that all the people need equal representation and provision of equal rights (Caro 23).
During the elections of Senators in different state, the majority rule is usually applied. However, this seems to affect the democratic position of the country and equal representation. In addition, some States have lesser populations compared to others.
For example, the state of New York has a population of 19.5 million people while the State of South Dakota has 0.82 million people. With each state producing only two senators, it is notable that the people are not equally represented going by the state population margins.
As a nation, we all have the right to vote, equal representation, and ability to practice our liberties as the citizens of a free nation. What this means is that the people of the United States need equal representation under the current constitution.
While most of Articles and amendments on the American Constitution are effective towards equal representation, I want to state here that the current Upper House does not fulfill these rights to the people of the land.
That being the case, it would be right to amend the constitution in order to have a good Senate that represents the people of the country in an equal manner (Caro 73).
I would like to base my arguments for this paper on several issues: the nature of representation, the ability to address the needs of the people, the issue of majority vote, the senatorial term, the filibuster, and the election of Senators in the country.
As provided under the current constitution, the Senate fails to offer the right support to the people with some states with large populations having only two senators (Caro 54).
There is need to consider the number of senators from every state based on the population. This is the best approach to have equal opportunities and representation for all the citizens.
From the above issue, it is agreeable there is the need to amend the American Constitution, especially Article one towards better representation. Given the opportunity to amend the constitution, definitely I would consider having a new pattern for the senate to promote the issues affecting our people.
With the necessary amendments in place, the Upper House will have the right number of senators based on the population they represent. This means that the house will make the needs of the citizens a priority (Caro 56).
The other consideration is to have the Senatorial term reduced to four years. This will coincide with the elections for the House of Representatives. By so doing, the Congress will come in place at the same time to ensure policy implementations and ideas are meaningful towards promoting economic growth.
The Congress will also address the needs of the citizens equally. The entire Senate will be coming up for election at the same time. The current two-year elections are inappropriate because the idea does not bring in the house new people and ideas.
As well, the new approach will ensure equal representation of the people (Caro 76). With the elections taking place at the same period, the people will be able to make proper decisions and put in place the right leaders whose ideas match with those of the Lower House. This will make it easier to have the needs of the people met within a shorter period.
For very many years, the Upper House has rejected debates and bills that could have transformed the lives of the people. This has resulted from what the senate calls the filibuster. This is a tactic put in place by the Senate to continue defeating motions and bills in the house.
The house achieves this by prolonging the motions and debates indefinitely. When the senate invokes a cloture, the filibuster ends indefinitely (Caro 78).
Currently, some positive motions and bills remain prolonged because a two-thirds majority is always required. Some constitutional experts have indicated that the tactic is ineffective because it does not allow the senate to consider some bills and debates by prolonging debates.
It would therefore be necessary to amend the current constitution and have a better Senate that addresses the above issues. When these changes are in place, the Senate will be able to practice its constitutional right to monitor and check the functions of the Lower House, and the federal government (Caro 82).
It will be able to offer the best advice to the government and consent to treaties in an effective manner. With a reformed Upper House and its representation, the people of the United Sates will have better representation and achieve economic development.
In conclusion, I would propose the above amendments and changes to promote the dignity of the Senate and ensure it represents the rights and minds of the citizens.
Works Cited
Caro, Robert. Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson III. New York: Random House, 2002. Print.