The United States legislative system is composed of three parts, the House of Representatives, the senate, and the president. The president is elected to represent the whole United States. The senate is composed of one- hundred people which equals two representatives from each state. Lastly, there is the House of Representative which is composed of four hundred and thirty -five members. The number of people representing each state in the House of Representatives changes based on the state’s population size. Then they will elect one person from each district of the state to make up the representatives in the house.
For example, let us look at Michigan. Michigan is composed of sixteen districts giving itself sixteen representatives in the house. I am from the first district of Michigan, making my elected representative be Jack Bergman as of two-thousand and seventeen. Jack Bergman is a native Michigander with Northern Michigan roots that trace back all the way to his ancestors. Before Bergman was elected for the house, he served as a general in the Marine Corps, and was an established business man who had started up his own business selling medical equipment.
Jack believes that government’s role is to protect individual rights, to secure a free market economy that creates jobs and opportunities for success, and to empower “We the People”—and not politicians or special interest groups—to make decisions about their lives and livelihoods. ”(Bergman House. Gov) Jack Bergman stands for the beliefs his district is trying to withhold as a representative in the United States House of Representatives as he begins his first term in the House.
As the representative for district one in Michigan, Bergman must understand how the first district of Michigan functions on a day to day life and what we stand for. The first Congressional district of Michigan stretches all the way to the tip of the Upper Peninsula and into the Lower Peninsula cutting almost directly across Michigan in a straight line at Traverse City. The first congressional district contains thirty of the eighty- three counties in Michigan and approximately forty-four percent of Michigan’s land area.
In the Northern district, the land is primarily made up of forests, farm and hunting lands, and most of Michigan’s bodies of fresh water and State parks. In Northern Michigan, the economy is built around the great lakes. Most of the businesses thrive because of tourists that come up in the summer to enjoy all the fresh bodies of water Michigan has to offer them. In the winter, our economies depend on factories and a majority of our restaurants shut down or eliminate their open hours because we depend on the business that comes from the summer tourists to stay open.
If something were to happen to the great lakes, the economy of Northern Michigan in the summer would crumble. The first congressional district’s economy is supported by factories all the rest of the year. Many townsfolk work at local factories and the factories provide support by writing grants for the schools and local community. If the factories were to outsource their work, Michigan’s first district would crumble. By learning how Michigan’s first congressional district operates, Bergman could see what the main issues for the district are.
By understanding how the first district of Michigan operates, Bergman can figure out what the main issues concerning Michigan’s first congressional district are. One of the concerns is the great lakes and working towards protecting them from invasive species as well as keeping them cleaned up. Currently, the invasive species in the great lakes are zebra mussels, sea lamprey, and types of plants. There is not a way to get these invasive species out of the great lakes; however, we can work towards preventing more from getting in.
Right now a major concern for the great lakes is to keep Asian Carp from entering the great lakes. Currently, there is a small fence in place that is stopping them; however, to protect the great lakes and Michigan’s economy that depends on the great lakes Bergman must work to propose stronger methods that would keep the Asian Carp out of our waters for good. Another issue concerning the first district is employment. Northern Michigan depends on the factories that are currently in Michigan to survive and outsourcing of factories would negatively impact the economy.
Therefore, Bergman needs to work towards bringing jobs back to Michigan and persuading companies to stop outsourcing their production lines. Persuading companies to not outsource their factories for cheaper manual labor in other countries, Bergman will be reducing Michigan’s unemployment rate and stabilizing the economy of the first congressional district. Lastly, the concerns regarding the second amendment is another main issue for district one. The first congressional district is strongly for the second amendment.
To them, the second amendment provides a way of life. The northerners use it for self-defense and are registered carriers. They use the second amendment to put food on the tables for their families. Also, its tradition. Families will gather at shooting ranges and shoot together for fun in safe and responsible ways. The second amendment is a big part of who the first district is as a district. District one’s historical party identification of representatives had been almost even and swayed back and forth every couple years.
Starting in the Eighteen- Hundreds, Michigan had been Democratic for about ten years spreading from 1843 to 1855. Then Michigan had gone republican for about another twenty years ranging from 1855 to 1875. Then, Michigan went back and forth between being democratic and republican every three to five years up until March 4th, 1993 where it had been conquered by the Democratic party and had remained that way until the two-thousand and ten election where district one swung the other way becoming republican for the first time in many years.
Now, district one has been represented by the Republican party ever since the victory in two-thousand ten and it remains that way today. The voters of district one has remained true to the identification of their representative in the house and has been continuing to remain republican. (ballotpedia. org) As district one’s representative, Jack Bergman serves on many committees as well as leads a few. Jack Bergman sits on the House Committee for Veterans Affairs and the house committee on the budget.
Bergman is also the chairman on the subcommittee for oversights and investigations, as well as a member on the subcommittee for disability assistance and memorial affairs, and is a member on the subcommittee on oversights and investigations. (govtrack. us) As district one’s representative, Bergman is involved in many committees to voice Michigan’s support and ideas giving us a loud voice. Bergman serves on a long list of committees; however, what all do they work to solve or eradicate? As a member of the house committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the committee is working to offer more benefits for our United States Veterans.
To offer more for the men who risked their lives for our country, the committee works to refine existing laws that benefit would benefit the veterans as well as recommend new legislation. Bergman is also the chairman for the subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations which sits in on and oversees The House committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Bergman also is a member of the subcommittee on Disability assistance and Memorial Affairs which is a subcommittee from the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Another committee Bergman is involved with is the House Committee on the Budget.
The committee on the budget works to reform and make adjustments to United States national budget as well as oversee the Congressional Budget Office. Bergman also serves on the House Committee on Natural Resources by serving on three subcommittees that branch from it. The subcommittees are: Federal Lands, Indian, Insular, and Alaska Native Affairs, and Oversight and Investigations. “The overall committee works to preserve wildlife, oceans, public lands, Native Americans while considering legislation about American energy production” (Govtrack. s)
As a representative for district one, Bergman needs to continue being involved and on multiple committees working for the benefit of the people and listening to what his district wants from them. Personally, as long as Bergman fights the good fight and pushes towards saving our environment and protecting it in any way he can and works towards and fights for offering more for our beloved veterans, then I will be a happy member of district one and continue to pledge my support for him. As a member of district one I support Bergman’s platform.
Bergman’s platform states that he wants to secure the border, strengthen the military, create jobs, and balance the federal budget. I believe Bergman has a solid platform for today’s society. He has support from the communities within his district because they believe in what he is trying to withhold as a congressman. As of now Bergman is fighting the good fight and pledging allegiance to the ways of the United States and as long as he shows his true colors and sports patriotic decisions I will not stand opposed to our district representative.