The structure of the Congress.
The constitution of the US grants all the legislative powers of the federal government to the Congress, which consists of two houses: the Senate and The House of Representatives.
1) The Senate is composed of two members from each state, as provided by the constitution. The 17th amendment provided for the direct (by people) election of the senate. To be elected to the senate a person must be at least 30 years of age, a citizen of the US for at
least nine years, and a resident of the state from which he is elected. There
are 100 senators from 50 states, each senator represents his home state Senators are elected for a term of 6 years, but one third of the senate is elected every 2 years {2/3 are always experienced senators). Presiding officer
- Vise President (when he is absent senate chases a President pro tempore)
2) Membership in the House of Representatives based on a number of population, its size is- not mentioned in the constitution. To become a member of the House of Representatives a person
must be at least-25, a citizen for 7 years, and a resident of the state which he represents. 435 members (the number determined by Congress in 1913), each represents a district in his home state. The size of a district today is 530000 persons. Every state is constitutionally guaranteed at least one member of the House of Representative. Representatives are elected for 2 years, in practice most members are reelected several times. Presiding officer - Speaker (2nd to the Vise president in the line of presidential succession).
Big Four – majority party leaders (Democratic and Republican) + the Speaker of the House of Representatives + the Vice-President. They maintain close contacts with the President, exercise strong influence over the making of laws and have a direct hand in the consideration of current home and foreign policy.
12. The president of the US is head of the executive power, or the Chief Executive, in addition he has important legislative and judicial power. The official residence the White House, Washington, DC. Must be at least 35, a resident of the country for at least 14 years and a national born citizen. The President is elected to a four-year term, for no more than two terms.. Everyday work of the government is carried out by 14 departments (ministries, created by Congress: State, Treasury, Defense etc.), the heads of these departments, chosen by the President and approved by the senate, form the Cabinet.
Functions.1) Executive ( carry out the government programs, issue executive orders, which have the force of low, can influence on public opinion)
2) Legislative (recommends laws to Congress, requests money for federal government operations, can veto any bill passed by Congress, though his veto may be overruled by a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress)
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3) Has authority to appoint the heads of all executive departments and agencies and other high-ranking officials [appointments must be approved by senate). Can grant full or conditional pardon to anyone accused of breaking a
federal low.
4) Responsible for foreign relations with other nations (treaties must be approved by 2/3 vote of senate).
Foreign policy (the latter half of 20-21st cent)
1) US acting as a global.-policeman
2)By the time of the collapse of the USSR, the US had military and economic interests in every region of the globe (interventions in Panama, Iraq)
3)Lack of support of environmental treaties (quitted the Kyoto" Protocol)
4)In 2007 03 decided to deploy anti- ,
ballistic systems in the Chech Republic and-Poland. In 2008 Obama was elected as President of the USA. His main aims in foreign policy are: he'd draw down forces in Iraq; open talks with adversaries such as Iran, Syria and Cuba; end torture and close Guantánamo; renounce unilateralism and preventive wars; rebuild ties with allies; and re-engage with the Kyoto climate change initiative. He's also pledged to halt the development of and to seek a "world without nuclear weapons." Obama would start to put the threat of terrorism in its proper perspective, elevating the importance of other threats to security, from poverty to pandemic disease to global warming. Obama promises to increase Pentagon spending, boost the size of the Army and Marines, bolster the Special Forces, expand intelligence agencies and maintain the hundreds of US military bases that dot the globe.
13. The process of president elections.
The method of electing President is peculiar to the US. The presidential election is technically an election of presidential electors, not of a President directly. The people of each state don't vote directly for the president. They elect as many electors as this state has senators and representatives in the congress. These electors are selected exclusively by the corresponding party machines. The candidate with the highest number of votes in each state wins all the electoral votes of the state. The electors of all 50 states and District Columbia (3 electors) compose the Electoral Collage (538 persons), though it never meets as a body. The Electoral College is an example of an indirect election. Instead the electors gather in the state capitals shortly after the election and cast their votes for the candidate with the largest number of popular votes in their respective states. To be elected President, a candidate must receive 270 votes. If no candidate has a majority, the decision should be made by the House of Representatives, with all members from a state voting as a unit. In this state, each state and the District Columbia would be given one vote only. Candidates for the Presidency are chosen by political parties several months before the presidential election, which is held every four years. 2004 - Bush was reelected for his 2ntt term. 2008 – B.Obama. His main aims in foreign policy are: he'd draw down forces in Iraq; open talks with adversaries such as Iran, Syria and Cuba; end torture and close Guantánamo; renounce unilateralism and preventive wars; rebuild ties with allies; and re-engage with the Kyoto climate change initiative. He's also pledged to halt the development of and to seek a "world without nuclear weapons." Obama would start to put the threat of terrorism in its proper perspective, elevating the importance of other threats to security, from poverty to pandemic disease to global warming. Obama promises to increase Pentagon spending, boost the size of the Army and Marines, bolster the Special Forces, expand intelligence agencies and maintain the hundreds of US military bases that dot the globe.
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Constitutional protection.
A constitutional protection against misused executive power is contained in the following provision; "The President, Vice-president and all civil officers of the US, shall be removed from office on impeachment for treason, bribery or other high crimes "
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Under the Constitution power was divided among the three branches of the national government: legislative (the Congress), executive (the President) and judicial (the Supreme Court), Each was given its own authority. These 3 powers established a so-called system of the checks and balances. This system gives each branch the means to restrain the other 2. For example, the President has the power to veto acts passed by Congress, but the Congress may override the veto by a two-thirds majority. But the Supreme Court has the power to declare Acts of Congress (or of any State legislature) or the actions of a President to be illegal (or unconstitutional) if they are in conflict with the Constitution.
The Watergate scandal was an American political scandal during the presidency of Richard Nixon that resulted in the indictment and conviction of several of Nixon's closest advisors, and ultimately his resignation on August 9, 1974. The scandal began with the arrest of five men for breaking and entering into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Office complex in Washington, D.C. on June 17, 1972. The FBI, the Senate Watergate Committee, House Judiciary Committee and the press revealed that this burglary was one of many illegal activities authorized and carried out by Nixon's staff. They also revealed the immense scope of crimes and abuses, which included campaign fraud, political espionage and sabotage, illegal break-ins, improper tax audits, illegal wiretapping on a massive scale, and a secret slush fund laundered in Mexico to pay those who conducted these operations. Nixon and his staff conspired to cover up the break-in as early as six days after it occurred. After two years of mounting evidence against the President and his staff, it was revealed that Nixon had a tape recording system in his offices and that he had recorded many conversations. Recordings from these tapes revealed that he had obstructed justice and attempted to cover up the break-in. This recorded conversation later became known as the Smoking Gun. After a series of court battles, the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the President had to hand over the tapes; he ultimately complied. Facing certain impeachment in the House of Representatives and the strong possibility of a conviction in the Senate, Nixon resigned ten days later, becoming the only U.S. president to have resigned from office.
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Parties in US.
Today the United States has two major political parties. One is the Democratic Party, whose origins go back to the nation's third president, Thomas Jefferson and which formed before 1800 The other is the republican Party, which was formed in the 1850s, by people in the states of the North and West, such as Abraham Lincoln, who wanted the government to prevent the expansion of slavery into new states then being admitted to the union. Party membership in any American party is rarely formal. Members of the Democratic and Republican parties are not registered, they do not have cards and do not pay membership dues. There are no official formalities for admission. Any voter during elections may become a Republican or a Democrat by a simple declaration, that he is a member of this or that party. He takes no responsibilities when he makes that declaration. Associating with a party is strictly and exclusively a. matter of individual self-expression.
One explanation for the long life of the Republican and Democratic parties is that they are not strong ideological organizations, but loose alliances of state and local parties that unite every four years for the presidential election. Most Americans today consider the Democratic Party the more liberal party. As they understand it the Democrats believe that the federal government and the state governments should be active in providing social and economic programs for those who need them, During the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt the government under the Democratic Party established the Social
Security program, which ensures that those who are retired or disabled receive monthly payments from the government.
Republicans are not vividly opposed-to -such programs. However, they believe that many social programs are too costly to the taxpayers and that when taxes are raised to pay for such programs, everyone is hurt. They place more emphasis on private enterprise and often accuse the Democrats of making the government too expensive. For that reason, Americans tend to think of the Republican Party as more conservative.
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