The Business of Legislation

            The 2012 election season appears to be centered on one issue, the economy. Candidates for seats in Congress as well as the White House have been putting importance on job creation and spending cuts. The importance of the economy in this election leads to the question of whether or not business experience is necessary to become a congressman or a senator. The answer is no for two reasons. The first reason is by definition, the second reason is by practicality.

            There are three branches of the Federal Government, and both houses of Congress are part of the legislative branch, so congressmen and senators are legislators. According to Article I, Section I of the Constitution Congress has the power to enact laws and to declare war. The Constitution reads, “All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives” (Article I, Section I). There is no mention here of “business experience”. According to the constitution, legislative experience trumps any other type of experience. If senators and congressmen were required to have business experience, this amendment would change the definition of Congress; Congress is the legislative branch, not the Federal Government’s finance and accounting department, so, by definition, a congressman should not be required to have business experience.

            More important than defying the definition of a legislator, requiring members of Congress to have business experience is not practical. A few of Congress’s major enumerated powers have very little to do with business. For example, “Congress has the power… to Declare war…to raise and support armies…to provide and maintain a navy…to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof” (Article I, Section VIII). Business experience does not automatically qualify a member of Congress for any of these duties. There are some powers of Congress for which business experience would be beneficial, but for every such power there is a power that has little to do with business. It is understandable that voters want candidates for Congress to have business experience since the economy is an important issue this election season, but the reality is that Congress is the legislative branch of the Federal Government, and Congress’s powers reach far beyond the economy.