A Functional Map of Congressional Independence

A side-by-side look at the First and Second branches on how they perform similar administrative roles

The Legislative Branch is an independent arm of government, responsible for making laws and overseeing their implementation. It is composed of the House, the Senate, and a constellation of support offices and agencies.

Many essential government functions are deliberately duplicated in both the Legislative and Executive branches. This is an intentional effort to ensure Congress can operate free from executive interference, drawing from its own sources of independent power and analytical might.

This structure evolved over time, as Congress expanded its internal capacity in response to the times and repeated Executive Branch encroachments. Accordingly, there remain instances where the activities of one branch require the cooperation of another to be implemented. For example, Congress relies on the Justice Department to bring legal action to implement its subpoenas, a circumstance that has become increasingly problematic.

There are also instances where the Executive Branch successfully prompted the federal courts to adopt positions that undermine the authorities of Congress. This has undermined longstanding institutions like the Joint Committee on the Library and torn asunder the legislative framework for Congress to assert its war powers. Congress has yet to legislate fixes to these intrusions.

In light of recent Executive Branch attempts to assert control over Legislative Branch agencies, it’s worth examining how key governmental functions are distributed between the two branches.

The following chart compares the two branches by function. It is not a comprehensive evaluation of the two branches, and there are additional entities that perform these functions. Nonetheless, the chart can serve as a useful point of reference.

* The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is an independent agency with the vast majority of its members appointed by Congress.

** The House's Office of Whistleblower Ombuds provides support to member officers who receive communications from whistleblowers.

*** As far as I know, no one is responsible for cybersecurity on a legislative branch-wide basis. The House and Senate Sergeant at Arms perform work for their respective chambers, various agencies have their own cybersecurity leaders, and there are several cybersecurity working groups.

**** The House and Senate Ethics Committees are responsible for policing ethics for their responsive chambers; each chamber is responsible for setting those rules. The House Clerk and the Secretary of the Senate are responsible for disclosure of various ethics-related documents.