Organization of the United States Government

Branch	Members	How chosen	Term	Powers
Legislative	(Congress): Senate Two Senators from each state House of Representatives Number of Representatives varies according to state population	state election state election	6 years 2 years	Makes new laws. Sets federal taxes. Overrules Presidential vetoes. Approves treaties. Impeaches the President or any civil officer. Declares war. Approves Presidential appointments and treaties with foreign nations.
Executive	President with Vice President	national election	4 years	Enforces federal laws. Appoints and removes high federal officials. Commands the armed forces. Conducts foreign affairs. Recommends laws to Congress. Approves or vetoes new laws.
	Executive Departments	Presiden-tial appoint-ment	no set term	Conducts the administration of the national government.
	Independent Agencies	Presiden-tial appoint-ment	no set term	Oversees government regulations.
Judicial	Supreme Court Nine justices: a chief justice and associate justices	Presiden-tial appoint-ment	for life	Interprets laws according to the Constitution. Has the power to declare actions of the Executive and Legislative branches unconstitutional.
	Lower Federal Courts	Presiden-tial appoint-ment	for life	Decides cases that involve the Constitution and federal laws.

Exercise 4 Identify whether the statements are true or false. Correct them according to text A and the table above and translate.

1 The Congress appoints all federal judges.

2 The President may remove any official from office by impeachment.

3 The President holds his office for 5 years.

4 The Vice President is elected together with the President.

5 The Congress approves Presidential appointments.

6 26 amendments to the US Constitution are known as the Bill of rights.

Exercise 5 Read and translate the text paying attention to the diagram in exercise 7. Learn the essential law terms.

Text a political system of the usa part II

The legislative power in the USA is vested* in the Congress, which consists of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are 435 members in the House of Representatives and 100 senators in the Congress. Each state elects two members for the Senate. The Congress is the main law-making body. All important laws are passed by it. The Congress has the power to make laws, but the President may veto any act of the Congress. The Congress can pass laws over the President’s veto by a two-thirds majority. The Congress has also the power to fix the number of judges sitting in the court, but it can’t change powers given to the Supreme Court by the American Constitution. Every state can make its own laws. A state may pass* stricter laws than the federal government if they don’t contradict* the federal law.

The judicial branch is represented by the several levels of federal and state courts. They interpret* and apply* the laws. The State court system is set up like the federal system. Both federal and state courts have courts of original jurisdiction* (they hear cases first) and courts of appellate jurisdiction* (they hear cases on appeal). Local courts are a part of the state system. The highest federal court is the US Supreme Court (SC). It’s the final court of appeal in all disputes involving the federal law. The Supreme Court includes a chief justice* and eight associate justices*, who are appointed for life. They are nominated by a President but must be approved by the Senate. In addition to the Supreme Court the Congress has established eleven federal courts of appeal and below them ninety four federal district courts*. The SC has the “power of judicial review*”. It means the right to declare* laws and acts of the federal, state and local government unconstitutional.

There is one more very important part of the American political scene – the political parties. There are two main political parties in the USA: the Democratic and the Republican. There is little ideological difference between them. Both parties have liberal and conservative wings.

After its 200th birthday the USA still holds the leading position in the world. The country inspired many names – “Land of Opportunity” and “God’s Country”. The USA is often called “the melting pot”, because different nationalities and ethnic groups have assimilated to make a new nation. It is also known as a “nation of immigrants” because the country was developed by generations of immigrants.

to vest – наділяти (правом), надавати права

to pass the law – приймати закон

to contradict – суперечити

to interpret – тлумачити

to apply – застосовувати

original jurisdiction – загальна юрисдикція, суд першої інстанції

appellate jurisdiction – апеляційний суд

chief justice – головуючий у суді США

associate justice – судовий

federal district court – федеральний окружний суд

judicial review – судовий перегляд

to declare – проголошувати, признавати

Exercise 6 Read the following statements and decide if they are true or false. Correct the false ones and translate them.

1 The law-making body of the American government is called the Congress.

2 There is an equal number of Senators representing each state in the USA.

3 Presidential elections in the USA are held every five years.

4 The elected President can serve as long as he wishes.

5 The USA nowadays has a two-party political system.

6 “Judicial review” is a law column in a newspaper in the USA.

Exercise 7 Examine the diagram below to describe the political system of the USA.