Report on Committee III

Abstract

Political parties have been the traditional means by which the various groups in our society are able to articu late their views and goals; however, there has been a sig nificant decline in the role of political parties in our society. One basic cause has been the primary system. Problems created by reliance on primaries are that this process en courages more extreme candidates and reliance on style rather than program. It is argued in favor of primaries that conflict between Congress and the president is not a bad thing and the primary system is more democratic than the party system. A possible resolution to this debate is the idea of the regional primary. Concerning the separation of powers, there is an increasing tendency of Congress to delegate un checked authority to the Executive branch. Possible solutions to the problem are congressional oversight, unconstitutional delegation of powers, congressional veto, and the power of impeachment. Finally, there is the problem of Legislative effectiveness and the Executive function of planning. Con gress must work as a whole on plans to deal with the country's problems, but this is a difficult change for Congress to make.