US Government

What are the 3 branches of government?

What are the 3 branches of government?

Legislative (makes laws), Executive (enforces laws), Judicial (interprets laws)

Congress

made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate + special agencies and offices that provide support services to Congress, part of the Legislative Branch

Legislative Branch

makes laws; made up of Congress (House of Reps. and Senate)

Roles:

• drafting proposed laws

• having the authority to declare war

• confirming or rejecting presidential nomination for head of federal agencies, federal judges, and Supreme Court

House of Representatives

part of Congress (Legislative Branch)

• has 435 representatives

  • depends on the population of an area

  • must have at least 1 representative per state

  • 3 extra for the District of Columbia (DC)

• representatives serve a 2-year term

• must be at least 25 years old

• must be a citizen for 7 years

• House can propose tax laws

• House can impeach present

Senate

part of Congress (Legislative branch)

• 100 members; 2 for every 50 state

• senators serve a 6-year term

• must be at least 30 years old

• must have been a citizen for 9 years

• Senate can approve Presidential appointments

• Senate approves treaties from a foreign government

• Senate tries President after impeachment

• The Vice President is the President of the Senate, a tie-breaker during voting

General Powers of Congress

• Propose and pass legislation (make laws)

• Coin Money

• Declare War

• Raise an Army

• Regulate Commerce (taxation)

• establish Federal courts

• establish rules of naturalization/immigration

Roles in the Executive Branch

made up of the President, Vice President, and the Cabinet + executive departments, independent agencies, and other boards, commissions, and committees

Executive Branch

enforce laws

• made up of the President, Vice President, and the Cabinet

• 4-year term (can be eight in total if they’re reelected)

• must be 35 years old

• must be a resident for 14 years or must be a US citizen by birth

President

must be elected based on receiving the majority of electoral votes (at least 270)

Roles/Power

• commander of some state’s military

• leader of the federal government

• Commander and Chief of the US Army

• the president has the power to approve/veto laws

• the president makes treaties with foreign governments

• the president nominates the judges for the Supreme Court (judicial branch)

• can grant pardons or retrieve

• advises the Senate

Vice President

presides the president

Roles/Powers

• supports the president

• becomes president if the president is unable to fill their role

  • the main role is to stay alive to be able to fill the president’s role if necessary

• presides (president) of the US Senate and breaks ties in Senate votes

• does the stuff the president usually doesn’t want to do

The Cabinet

• cabinet members = advisors to the president, each has their own focus that they can provide knowledge about to the president

• includes the vice president, heads of executive departments (15 in total), and other high-ranking government officials

• Cabinet members are elected by the President but are approved by the Senate

Electoral (College) Votes

• 270 votes out of 538 needed to win (majority of votes)

• the majority takes all system —> for each state the majority of electoral votes from one side means all the electoral votes of that state go toward that side

  • Ex. if Massachusetts Democratic electoral votes win all the votes go to the Democratic candidate

  • no representation in states that always swing to one side

Electoral Votes Calculation:

435 Representatives

100 Senators

3 District of Columbia (D.C)

= 538 Electoral College Votes in total

*electors determined by the population, # of Senators + # of Congressional Representatives

Who Presides the President

1) President

2) Vice President

3) Speaker of the House

4) Elect new president

Judicial Branch

interprets laws

• made up by the Supreme + Federal Court

• serve life long term

• 9 representatives

  • uneven # so the odds always must go one way

  • most of our representatives are Republican right now; the Supreme Court is swayed

• nominated by the President and approved by the Senate

• The Head of the Supreme Court = Chief Justice

Judicial Branch Powers

• can declare laws unconstitutional

• can settles disputes involving the US

• Chief Justice and Supreme Court presides over the impeachment trial of the president

• Evaluates law by:

  • interpreting the meaning of the law

  • applying laws to individual cases

  • decided if laws violate the Constitution

Electoral College Pros

• Prevents too many viable Presidential candidates from running--reinforces stable 2 party system

• Ensures interests of all states are represented (particularly those of small, rural states)

• Guarantees certainty to outcome--magnifies the difference between winner and loser in most cases

Electoral College Cons

• The Electoral College is fundamentally undemocratic and ignores will of the majority

• The original reason for the Electoral College is no longer relevant

• The Electoral College gives too much power to swing states and allows the election to be decided by a small handful of states (which are mostly the same in every election)

• Depresses voter turnout in non-swing states

Checks and Balances: Legislative and Executive

• the president can veto congressional legislation

• congress controls budget

• congress approves presidential nominations

• congress can pass laws with a 2/3 majority vote over the presidents’ veto

• congress can impeach and/or remove them from office

(some examples)

Checks and Balances: Legislative and Judicial

• the court can declare laws unconstitutional

• the Senate confirms the presidents nominations for the judicial courts

• congress can impeach judges and remove them

Checks and Balances: Executive and Judicial

• the president nominates judges

• the Supreme Court can declare presidential acts unconstitutional

Checks and Balances

the ability to respond to the actions of the other branches of government

• prevent any one branch having too much power; tyranny

Democratic Party

• Role of Gov.:Bigger, active government/Higher Taxes

• Social Policy: Gov. should actively help the disadvantaged: social security/welfare/health care

• Business: Gov. should regulate quality, emissions,practices, etc.

• Abortion: pro-choice (right to abortion)

• Environmental: protection oriented:entitlements like welfare,action, public education

• Rights/Responsibility Emphasis: "Government should help those who can't help themselves"

• Symbol: blue, donkey
  

Republican Party

• Role of Gov.: smaller, less obtrusive government, Lower taxes, Government programs only when needed

• Social Policy: Private charities to help the poor, "faith based initiatives", Importance of incentive/work programs

• Business: Laissez faire (less government regulation)--market forces determine most efficient way of producing things

• Abortion: pro-life/anti-abortion

• Environmental: Responsible use of natural resources/exploitation of natural resources to help working people

• Rights/Responsibility oriented: Emphasizes indiv. choice: 

  • A)private/charter schools

  • B)medical plans

  • C)retirement money-private investment

• Symbols: red, elephant

Pigeon Hold

To put aside or ignore a bill to not have to deal with it, so it gets forgotten about purposefully

A Mark-Up

refers to the meeting of a Committee held to review the text of a bill before reporting it out.  Committee members offer and vote on proposed changes to the bill’s language, known as amendments.  Most mark-ups end with a vote to send the new version of the bill to the floor for final approval

Pork-Barrel Legislation

 Appropriations of public funds by Congress (or other legislative assemblies) for projects that do not serve the interests of any large portion of the country's citizenry but are nevertheless vigorously promoted by a small group of legislators because they will pump outside taxpayers' money and resources into the local districts these legislators represent.

Logrolling

A practice common in the U.S. Congress and in many other legislative assemblies in which two (or more) legislators agree for each to trade his vote on one bill he cares little about in exchange for the other's vote on a bill that is personally much more important to him

Political Lobbies:

Professional organizations/advocates (frequently lawyers) who argue for specific legislation

-involves advertising, fundraising, supporting political campaigns of candidates who support your policy

Redistricting and Gerrymandering

Drawing electoral lines that benefit a specific political Party in power

Filibuster

The use of obstructionist tactics, especially prolonged speechmaking, for the purpose of delaying legislative action

How A Bill Becomes A Law

swing-state

states that could go to either political parties side

impeachment

getting charged with a crime

Bill of Rights

Cloture

measure that can end a filibuster; if the bill is agreed upon by a 3/5 vote by the senators in favor to trial the bill

• if the bill is accepted then it will be discussed and then another 3/5th vote will be taken to determine if it will be passed

Numbers of Amendments in Our Constitution

27 amendments

Massachusetts Senators

Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey

Our Districts Congresswoman

Lori Trahan (3rd district)

Congressional term of service length

two years

Example of Cabinet positions

Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense

Chief Justice of the U.S Supreme Court

John Roberts

Massachusetts Governor

Maura Heeley

Current Indian Tribe in MA

Wampanoag

cracking

in terms of gerrymandering; Splitting the opposing party's voters into many different districts

packing

in terms of gerrymandering; packing as many voters as possible of an opposing party into one district