POWERS DENIED TO STATE GOVERNMENTS

To tax exports

To suspend writ of habeas

corpus To change state boundaries

without consent of states

involved

To abridge the Bill of Rights

To pass ex post facto laws To pass bills of attainder To deny due process of law

To grant titles of nobility

To coin money To enter into treaties To tax agencies of the federal government To tax imports or exports

HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW

Representatives. The number of representatives each state sends to the House depends upon the number of districts in each state. Each district chooses one representative. The number of districts in each state is determined by popula­tion. The most heavily populated states have more districts and, therefore, more representatives than the sparsely populated states. There are currently 435 representatives in the House. Each representative is elected to a two-year term.

The Senate is the smaller of the two bodies. Each state, regardless of population, has two senators. The senatorial term is six years. Every two years, one third of the Senate stands for election.

Each house of Congress is engaged in making laws, and each may initiate legislation. A law first begins as a "bill." Once a bill is introduced, it is sent to the appropriate committee. Each house of Congress has committees which specialize in a particular area of legislation, such as foreign affairs, defense,

144 AMERICA IN CLOSE-UP

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT

JUDICIAL BRANCH

CHECKS AND BALANCES

banking, and agriculture. When a bill is in committee, members study it and then send it to the Senate or House chamber where it was first introduced. After a debate, the bill is voted on. If it passes, it is sent to the other house where it goes through a similar process.

The Senate may reject a bill proposed in the House of Representatives or add amendments. If that happens, a "conference committee" made up of members from both houses tries to work out a compromise. If both sides agree on the new version, the bill is sent to the president for his signature. At this point, the bill becomes a law.

The executive branch of government is responsible for administering the laws passed by Congress. The president of the United States presides over the executive branch. He is elected to a four-year term and can be re-elected to a second term. The vice-president, who is elected with the president, is assigned only two constitutional duties. The first is to preside over the Senate. However, the vice-president may vote only in the event of a tie. The second duty is to assume the presidency if the president dies, becomes disabled, or is removed from office.

The Constitution gives the president many important powers. As chief executive, the president appoints secretaries of the major departments that make up the president's cabinet. Today there are 13 major departments in the executive branch: the Departments of State, Treasury, Defense, Justice, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, and Education. As chief executive, the president also appoints senior officials of the many agencies in the expan­sive bureaucracy.

As head of state, the president represents the country abroad, entertains foreign leaders, and addresses the public. As director of foreign policy, he appoints foreign ambassadors and makes treaties with other nations. The president also serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and as head of his political party.

In the United States, the president and legislature are elected separately, housed separately, and they operate separately. This division is a unique feature of the American system. In the parliamentary systems that operate in most western democracies, the national leader, or prime minister, is chosen by the parliament.

The third branch of government is the judicial branch, which is headed by the Supreme Court. Under the Supreme Court, there are many state and federal courts. An important function of the judicial branch is to determine whether laws of Congress or actions of the president violate the Consti­tution. The structure and functions of the judicial system are discussed more thoroughly in Unit 6.

The division of government power among three separate but equal branches provides for a system of checks and balances. Each branch checks or limits the power of the other branches. For example, although Congress makes laws, the president can veto them. Even if the president vetoes a law, Congress may check the president by overriding his veto with a two-thirds vote.

The Supreme Court can overturn laws passed by Congress and signed by the president. The selection of federal and Supreme Court judges is made by the other two branches. The president appoints judges, but the Senate reviews his candidates and has the power to reject his choices. With this system of checks and balances, no branch of government has superior power.

THE POLITICAL SYSTEM 145

Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances

The President

Executive office of

the president;

executive and cabinet

departments;

independent

government agencies

EXECUTIVE

Congress can change laws; initiate a constitutional amendment; restrict jurisdiction of courts to hear

certain types of cases; create whole new court systems

or abolish existing ones;

expand or contract times and places that

federal courts sit

The Congress House—Senate

May reject each other's bills

The Senate must confirm the

president's judicial appointments;

Congress can impeach and remove

judges from office

The Court can declare laws unconstitutional

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 871