Shaping American Healthcare and Politics Through Checks and Balances

Introduction

The White House is a symbol of power in U.S. politics because it is the official residence of the most powerful individuals in the world. The three branches of the government respect and honor the White House based on its bounding relationships with the Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary.

According to Brodie et al. (468), the admiration of American politics depends on the relationships between the White House and other arms of the government. The successful tenure of any American President relies on the efficiency of the White House to accommodate every member of the government. The most significant accomplishments of the American President lean on their relationship with the three branches of the government.

In other words, the White House is an integral part of American history that binds the government’s Judiciary, Legislature, and Executive arms. President Barrack Hussein Obama and the U.S. 111^th Congress achieved extraordinary things together based on his prowess of uniting leaders from different diversities. Analyzing the achievements of Obama’s administration in enacting the Affordable Healthcare Act illustrates the relationships between the White House and the other arms of the U.S. government.

Overview of the 111^th Congress

The 111^th Congress, a legislative meeting that began in January 2009 to January 2011, is remembered for its submission to the office of the U.S. President. Democrats had majority control over the House of Representatives and the Senate, which last occurred in 1993 with the 103^rd Congress (Stolberg 21). The legislature had a strong connection and bond with the White House based on the number of seats won in the 2009 general elections; Democratic Party became the majority in both Houses (Piotrowski 163).

One hundred Senators, six non-voting delegates, and 435 Representatives were the official members of the 111^th Congress (Kosti et al. 172). Nancy Pelosi was elected the Speaker of the House, while Dick Cheney became the Senate President to foresee the effective running of Congress (Brodie et al., 466). Therefore, the White House had a cordial relationship with Congress because the president-elect proposed top leadership positions in Congress as the Party leader. The official occupant of the White House nominates whips, majority leaders of the Congress, the Speaker of the Lower House, and the President of the Senate.

Affordable Healthcare Act

The signing of the Affordable Healthcare Act (A.C.A.) in 2010 showcases the President’s and Congress’s relationship. The manifesto of President Obama prioritized the well-being of citizens. Stolberg (3) stresses that the President seeks support from Congress to bring the bill of the Patient Protection and A.C.A. to the House of Representatives and Senate floors. The White House organizes meetings with representatives to serve the people’s interests. No governmental activity occurs without the engagement of discussions at the office of the President and his official residence.

The People of America enjoy affordable healthcare services today because of the healthy relationship between Congress and the White House during Obama’s regime. Stolberg (4) stresses that A.C.A. has changed America’s healthcare systems by reducing uncompensated charges. The planning and enactment of the bill into law considered Americans’ rights to health. Thus, the assistance offered to citizens today to access quality health started with the association of representatives in the White House.

Roles Played by the Congress in the Signing of A.C.A.

Congress played a significant role in creating and implementing A.C.A. in the U.S. healthcare system. The Speaker of the House of Representatives introduced the topic to members officially in July 2009. Nancy Pelosi (Speaker of the Lower House), alongside other members of the Democrat Party, revealed to the House the intentions of the government to create an overhaul in the healthcare system. The debate was introduced into the House with the Majority leader, who later made aware of President Obama’s expectations towards the end of his tenure.

The White House and Congress have an open communication channel that allows members of the House to connect to the President to discuss issues affecting the public. President Obama had the dream and desire to provide affordable healthcare services to American Citizens. The plan did not exclude those who did not vote for him, meaning the White House was open to opposition and ruling parties. The voting of the Act into law united Republicans and Democrats together. Therefore, the White House symbolizes American unity, and the people’s interests are developed at the residence without biases and favoritism.

The Republicans were reluctant to pass A.C.A. into law, and the members of the Party used five outlined approaches to weaken the proposal in Congress. First, Pérez-Liñán (616) commented that the opposition party in the Lower House drafted a plan to repeal the existing law and replace it with a new rule. As a result, Oberlander (942) reminds Americans that the Republicans voted in January 2011 to repeal A.C.A. under the H Res 9 resolution.

The party leaders demanded that Congress consider the creation of a special committee to replace the existing law. Members wanted to replace the law with a better bill that included energy, commerce, and appropriation. Republicans opposed the motion of A.C.A. because it was a single-handed law that catered to healthcare needs, but ignored essential humanitarian services.

Secondly, Republicans wanted to repeal some A.C.A. provisions, especially the individual and employer mandates (Hulse 5). Thirdly, the opposition party considered holding a hearing to slow the process of enacting A.C.A. into law (Kosti et al., 177). Delaying the process was a significant strategy by the opposition to create threat to the passing A.C.A.

Moreover, Republicans had the choice to defund the implementation and block the spending associated with the bill to threaten its passage into law. However, the White House had complete control of funding from the treasury. Pérez-Liñán et al. (613) claim that a sitting president has more power if the ruling Party controls both Houses. As a result, the plans by the Republicans to defund the implementation of the Affordable Healthcare Act were futile because the House of Representatives had more members from Democrats than Republicans.

The President had a strong team behind him that supported the overhaul journey of reclaiming a new healthcare system. Analyzing the roles of Democrats in attempting to bring a new policy in the healthcare sector and the drawbacks initiated by Republicans indicates the relationships between the White House and Congress. The delays in implementing A.C.A. did not prevent President Obama from signing the bill into law because the White House shares an open relationship with the legislative arm of the government (Kosti et al., 175). The disagreements between political parties are settled in Congress under the watch and guidance of the sitting President.

Relationship of Judiciary and White House

The President is crucial in creating the Judiciary because they are charged with appointment orders. The U.S. Constitution guarantees the President appoints the Judicial branch of the government. Senate confirms the proposed members of the Judiciary after the appointment of judges by the U.S. President. Thus, the Judiciary cannot exist or perform its duties without a President. The relationship between the White House and the Judiciary is explicit because the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces only appoints the judges and leaves the rest of the work to Congress to complete. For instance, Article III of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress significant discretion to determine the structure and shape of the federal Judiciary (Lee and Schachter 411).

In addition, Congress decides the number of Supreme Court Justices within a given government. The ability of the President to appoint the Supreme Court Judges and involve the Senate in approving such decisions illustrates the existing White House and other government agencies’ working relationships. A stable Judiciary exists when the President accepts and respects the rights of Congress to affirm the listed judge of the Supreme Court.

Role of the Judiciary in the Signing of A.C.A.

The Supreme Court responded to the legal questions surrounding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.P.A.C.A). President Obama did not interfere with the legal procedures and mandate of the Judiciary in determining the legality of the Act. As such, the White House and the Judiciary are concerned with service delivery to the people without discrimination. The President and the Supreme Court shared a common thing of wanting to improve the welfare of Americans through the approval of the A.C.A. (Stolberg 4).

Opposers of the P.P.A.C.A took the bill to the Supreme Court to determine the constitutional elements of the bill. The U.S. Supreme Court addressed the matter of federal funding of Medicaid to convince the people about the significance of A.C.A. The White House facilitated the expansion of Medicaid funding through the Judiciary during Obama’s regime (Hulse 3). Oberlander (948) elaborate that the eligibility of Medicaid depended on expanding funds to medical cover across the fifty states. The poverty level was raised to 133% for health insurance coverage (Oberlander 951). All the states that did not boost funds in the healthcare sector lost state funding for Medicaid.

Conclusion

In summary, the U.S. government has three branches that depend on each other to improve citizen welfare. The White House is an important symbol of power in the history of American politics because it binds the different arms of the government. President Obama’s success story began with his efforts to sign A.C.A. into law through the strengthened relationships among the three branches of the government. The President foresaw the signing of the P.P.A.C.A with the support of the 111^th Congress and the Judiciary.

The participation of both Houses in the deliberation of the Act indicates a strong connection between the White House and Congress. In addition, the involvement of the Judiciary in evaluating the constitutional requirements of law enactment shows the significance of the Supreme Court in making public changes in healthcare systems. The political advantage of controlling the Upper and Lower Houses assisted President Obama in strengthening the bonding of the arms of the government in the passing of A.C.A. The President works jointly with the Judiciary and Legislature to pass bills into rights.

Works Cited

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Lee, Yunsoo, and Hindy Lauer Schachter. “Exploring the Relationship between Trust in Government and Citizen Participation.” International Journal of Public Administration, vol. 42, no. 5. 2018, pp. 405–16. Web.

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Pérez-Liñán, Aníbal, et al. “Presidential Hegemony and Democratic Backsliding in Latin America, 1925–2016.” Democratization, vol. 26, no. 4. 2019, pp. 606–25. Web.

Piotrowski, Suzanne J. “The “Open Government Reform” movement: The case of the open government partnership and U.S. transparency policies.” The American Review of Public Administration, 47.2 (2017): 155-171. Web.

Stolberg, Sheryl Gay. “11 Years On, the Affordable Care Act Defies Opponents and Keeps Expanding.” The New York Times. 2021. Web.