US GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL PARTIES

PART ONE

US GOVERNMENT

1 The operation of the US government is based on the US Constitution which was adopted by Congress in 1789.

Under the federal system of government some of the most important powers are given to the federal (or national) government. The rest of the powers are exercised by the states. The national government is composed of three branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. Certain powers are given to each of the branches, but these powers overlap in such a way that the powers of one branch are limited by the powers of the others. This arrangement is known as the system of checks and balances. It is a basic part of the structure of the American governmental system. No person or institution can have unlimited authority. Each branch of the national government shares and limits some of the powers of the other branches.

2 The system of "checks and balances" is clearly illustrated by the president's relations with the Congress. The president proposes legislation, but the Congress does not have to enact it. He cannot put a treaty into effect without approval by two-thirds of the Senate. In 1973 the legislature limited the President's powers as commander-in-chief by prohibiting commandment of armed forces abroad for combat without specific congressional approval. The Senate must approve most of the president's appointments to the executive and judicial branches.

3 Another example of "checks and balances" is that the Congress must authorize money that is used to pay for programs which are administered by the executive branch. In this way the legislature exercises an important check on the executive branch and the power of the president. The financial authority or spending power of the legislature checks the spending power of the president.

A System of "Checks and Balances"

4 The Constitution provides for three equal and separate branches but each is to some extent dependent on the other two and there is a partial interweaving of their functions.

5 Executive Branch

President suggests legislation to Congress Issues executive orders, rules and regulations with the force of legislation May veto legislation passed by Congress

President appoints federal judges May grant pardons from punishment for offences against the United States

6 Legislative Branch

Appropriates for Executive May create or abolish Executive Departments May impeach and try members of the Executive Branch May override a Presidential veto The Senate must approve Presidential appointments and treaties

Appropriates funds for the Judiciary May create or abolish lower federal courts May impeach and try members of the judiciary Decides how many justices may sit on the Supreme Court

Judicial Branch

May declare Congressional legislation unconstitutional

May declare any Presidential or Executive action unconstitutional

8 The national government's power is not limited by states' power. The only powers the states have are those the Federal government has not reserved for itself. But in a dispute the Federal government can and will use military force if necessary, e. g. integration of schools in Little Rock, Arkansas in the 1850s.

9 The powers of the national and state governments are limited by certain constitutional guarantees of civil liberties for individual citizens. These guarantees are known as the Bill of Rights. They are amendments to the original constitution. They forbid the government from restricting or limiting such civil liberties as freedom of speech, of religion, and of the press, and they guarantee to all citizens (at least in principle) certain legal procedures and rights.

10 The powers of the federal (national) government include the right to declare war; the right to tax; the right to borrow and coin money, and to regulate its value; the right to regulate commerce between the states; the right to maintain a postal system.

11 Every state has its own constitution. It also has the three-branches-of-government structure. State chief executives are called governors, and state legislators are usually known as representatives and senators.

12 The powers of the state are to control education, regulate corporations and businesses within the state, determine most election procedures, and regulate local governments. The states also make and administer civil (citizens' private rights) and criminal laws.

13 The Constitution has been amended 26 times. An amendment may be proposed by the federal legislature or by a constitutional convention, or a meeting of representatives from two-thirds of the states. In either case the amendment must be approved by three-fourths of the state legislature.

The Executive Power

14 The President, as chief executive, is the most important government figure. The president negotiates foreign treaties and appoints government heads. He commands the armed forces and sends and receives diplomatic officials. In effect, he makes foreign policy. As head of the executive branch he sees to it that laws enacted by the legislature are carried out. He is also the leader of his political party. The president and the vice-president are the only officials chosen in a nation-wide election.

Rank does not confer privilege or give power. It imposes responsibility. (Peter Ducker)

15 According to the Constitution a president's office is limited to two terms of 4 years each. It also describes how a president can be removed from office (impeachment procedure).

16 The executive branch consists of 13 departments and many independent agencies. The department heads (most of them called secretaries, except the Attorney General) form the president's cabinet. The president has many sources of advice and assistance — both private and public, including representatives of the departments and agencies. He also relies very much on members of his own White House staff.

The Executive Departments

17 Department Head of Department

1. State Secretary of State

2. Treasury Secretary of the Treasury

3. Defense Secretary of Defense

4. Justice Attorney General

5. Interior Secretary of the Interior

6. Agriculture Secretary of Agriculture

7. Commerce Secretary of Commerce

8. Labor Secretary of Labor

9. Health and Human Services Secretary of Health and Human Services

10. Housing and Urban Development Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

11. Transportation Secretary of Transportation

12. Energy Secretary of Energy

13. Education Secretary of Education

18 Almost three million civilians work in the departments and agencies of the executive branch. This number exceeds the total employed by America's seven largest corporations. These government employees make up the federal bureaucracy. These are civil servants who are hired under a system in which merit and training are supposed to be the basis of employment and promotion. There are approximately ten thousand civil service job classifications which range from a bridge engineer to a clerk. 10% of these federal employees work in Washington DC; 6% work outside the U.S.; the rest are located throughout the 50 suites.

The Legislature

19 The legislative branch of the federal government is represented by Congress. There are two houses of Congress: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate is composed of 100 voting members, two from each of the 50 states. They are elected for a six-year term and the number of their terms is unlimited. The House of Representatives has 435 voting members in addition to two representatives from Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia who are not entitled to vote. The members of the House are called representatives or congressmen (or congresswomen). They are elected for a two-year term.

20 Many members of the Congress are regularly re-elected, and so some of them serve for over 20 years.

21 The number of representatives from each state depends on the state population. Every ten years the U.S. Census reports the distribution of the population throughout the entire country. The congressional seats are then re-distributed accordingly. California claims the largest delegation. New York ranks second. Alaska, Nevada, and some others have only one representative.

Makeup of the Congress

	House of Representatives	Senate
Total membership…	435	100
Number of members for each state...	According to population	2
Elected by...	Voters of Congressional District For Representatives at Large, voters of the entire state	Voters of the entire state
Term of office...	2 years	6 years
Vacancy...	Filled by special electron or at next general electron	Special election or temporary appointment by State Governor until special or regular electron
Presiding Officer…	Speaker	Vice President of the United States
Exclusive powers of each house...	(1) Originates revenue bills (2) Impeaches civil officers (3) Elects a President if no candidate has a majority of the electoral vote	(1) Approves or rejects treaties (2) Tries impeached officers (3) Confirms or rejects appointments made by the President (4) Elects a Vice President if no candidate has a majority of the electoral vote

22 Within Congress there exist party leaders who are selected by congressional party caucuses1 (party meetings).

23 Either house —the Senate or the House of Representatives may offer a bill (but only the House proposes finance bills). All bills are immediately referred to a legislative committee. These committees are organized by special areas such as education, agriculture, and foreign affairs. Each committee is made up of representatives of both parties and each committee has its own staff.

24 The committee responsible for a particular bill holds hearings on it. Experts appear before the committee and offer suggestions and opinions about the bill. After the hearings, the committee reports its recommendations to the House. These recommendations may include suggested changes in the bill, or the committee may propose an entirely new one. Committee recommendations are of great importance because, when the legislators vote on a bill, they usually follow the committee report. If a committee chooses not to consider the bill, the bill dies. It is nearly impossible for a bill to reach the House or Senate floor without first winning committee approval.

If I were to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well he closed for any other business. I do the very best I know how, the very best I can, and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what is said against me won't amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, then angels swearing I was right would make no difference. (Abraham Lincoln)

25 Following the committee action the bill is debated on the floor of each house. Then the vote is taken. A voice vote, the most common and the quickest, involves a general chorus or Yeas or Nays. The chairperson decides which side has the majority. In a roll-call vote each vote is recorded separately. If a bill is defeated in either house, it dies. If the House of Representatives and the Senate approve similar bills with some different provisions, both bills go to a conference committee, in which selected legislators work to adjust the differences.

26 The bill becomes law following one or several steps by the president. He may approve the bill and sign it; he may sign the bill with a statement expressing his disapproval; or he may simply not sign the bill, in which case it automatically becomes law after ten days. But if the president wants to prevent the bill from becoming law, he vetoes it. But the proposal may still become law if two thirds of each house of Congress then vote for it, thus overriding, or defeating the president's veto. This does not happen often. The president may also use the "pocket veto" by withholding his signature within ten days of congressional adjournment.

How a Bill Becomes a Law

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	SENAТЕ
1. Bill is introduced, numbered, printed... 2. ...and referred to, committee which studies it and issues a report to the full House... 3. ...which debates the kill and votes for or against passage.	4. The bill, now called an "act", is delivered to the Senate: here, too, it is assigned to a committee... 5. ...debated and voted on, perhaps with amendments. Since Senate and House versions must be identical, it is referred to…

A CONFERENCE СОММ1ТГЕЕ...

composed of equal numbers of members from each house. When differences have been resolved, the new bill goes back to both houses for approval...

...and then to the President who may either sign it into law or veto it; if vetoed, Congress can override.

27 Congress also performs the function of investigation, which involves examination of government activities to determine if the executive branch is performing its duties properly and if new legislation is needed.

28 Congress also plays an informative role. It informs the public about different and important subjects, such as crime or space exploration. The most widely publicized Senate investigations in the 1970s was the "Watergate hearings", when a special Senate committee investigated charges of illegal activities by members of the White House staff during President Nixon's administration. In the 1980s the so-called "Iran-gate" hearings drew wide-spread attention.

The Judicial Branch

29 There is a Supreme Court of the United States, the members of which are appointed for life by the president with Senate approval and federal courts which are created by Congress.

30 The Supreme Court is composed of nine judges, who are called justices. It is the highest court in the nation. It interprets the laws and reviews them to determine whether they conform to the U.S. Constitution. If the majority of justices rule that the law in question violates the Constitution, the law is declared unconstitutional and becomes invalid. This process is known as judicial review. All lower courts follow the rulings of the Supreme Court.

31 Federal Courts have the power to rule on both criminal and civil cases. Criminal action under federal jurisdiction includes such cases as treason, destruction of government property, counterfeiting, hijacking, and narcotic violations. Civil cases include violations of other people's rights, such as damaging property, violating a contract, or making libelous statements. If found guilty, a person may be required to pay a certain amount of money, called damages, but he or she is never sent to prison. A convicted criminal, on the other hand, may be imprisoned.

32 The Bill of Rights guarantees a trial by jury in all criminal cases. A jury is a group of citizens —usually 12 persons —who make the decision on a case.

33 The lowest federal court is the district court. Each state has at least one district court. Cases from such a court may be reviewed by the next higher court, and the U.S. Court of Appeals.

34 For the first 75 years of Supreme Court history, the most important cases involved conflicts over the authority of the national government. From the middle 1800s until the late 1930s the major decisions of the Court concerned economic regulation — control of business activities and setting economic policy by the federal government. During the past 50 years the most important Supreme Court cases have concerned civil rights, civil liberties, and issues of criminal law. Recently, cases involving environmental and consumer law have been gaining importance.

35 Most state judges are elected for limited terms. State courts handle criminal and other cases that do not come under federal jurisdiction.

36 The often ambiguous line between state and federal authority has resulted in recurring conflicts between federal and state officials throughout American history.

COMMENTARY

1. party caucus — an assembly of party members and representatives normally relating to nominations of party leaders and selection of platform agendas.

VOCABULARY Word Combinations

to pass a constitution – принять конституцию a federal system of government - федеральная правительственная система to exercise power - осуществлять власть the legislative branch - законодательная власть the judicial branch - судебная власть a system of checks and balances - система контроля и сдерживания to put a treaty into effect – привести договор в действие to authorize money – выделить деньги to administer a program – осуществлять руководство над программой to exercise a check on some branch - осуществлять контроль над какой-л. ветвью власти to check the spending power – контролировать налогообложение civil liberties – гражданские свободы to guarantee legal procedures and rights - гарантировать правовые процедуры и гражданские права to negotiate a treaty - вести переговоры о заключении договора to appoint government heads – назначать глав ведомств to command the armed forces – командовать вооружен-ми силами to choose in a nation-wide election - выбирать на общенациональных выборах to remove from office - снимать с поста to be entitled to vote - иметь право голоса a party caucus – партийное руководство

to hold hearings – проводить слушания to take a vote – провести голосование a voice vote – открытое голосование a roll-call vote - поименное голосование to adjust differences – урегулировать разногласия to veto a law – наложить вето на законопроект congressional adjournment - отсрочка to draw widespread attention – привлечь широкое внимание judicial review – пересмотр (судом) принятого решения a case of treason - дело о государственной измене a case of counterfeiting - дело о подделке документов to damage property - нанести ущерб чьей-л. собственности to violate a contract - нарушить контракт to make a libelous statement - сделать клеветническое заявление to pay damages – оплатить ущерб environmental and consumer law – закон об использовании окружающей среды to gain importance – стать важным to come under federal (state) jurisdiction – находиться в ведении законодательства штата recurring conflicts – повторяющиеся конфликты

Words

to overlap – накладывание друг на друга

legislature (legislation) – законодательный орган

amendment - поправка

to override – отвергнуть, перекрыть большинством

to rule (on a case);

ruling ambiguous

COMPREHENSION