3 branches test

Primary role of Department of State

-manage relations with foreign countries (foreign policy and international relations)

-negotiates treaties, safety of American citizens abroad

Primary role of Department of Treasury

-Collects taxes, coins and prints money, deals with nation’s finances

-works on economic policy (actions that influence the economy through interest rates, taxation, spending, and regulations)

Primary role of Department of Defense

-manages armed forces and conducts war overseas

-focuses on national defense

-protects the U.S. and its allies

Primary role of Department of Justice

-head of department is the attorney general

-specializes in law enforcement, legal matters, and crime prevention

-enforces laws (through agencies like FBI, DEA, and U.S. Marshals)

-protects rights of citizens by ensuring fair handling of justice at all levels

Primary role of Department of Interior

-manages and protects nation’s public lands

-protects cultural resources and manages relations with Native American tribes

-protects endangered species and provides data on resources and natural hazards

Primary role of Department of Agriculture

-works with farmers to regulate/help farm products

-creates policies relating to farming, food, food safety, nutrition programs, crop insurance, hunger, and natural resources

Primary Role of Department of Commerce

-supervises trade and promotes U.S. business

-economic development and policy, supports technolgy

-opens markets, promotes U.S. exports, supports small buisnesses

Primary Role of Department of Labor

-focuses on work safety, fair pay, fair working conditions, and unemployment insurance

-enforces laws on minimum wage, overtime, childlabor

-manages job training programs, career centers, and apprenticeships to help people find jobs

-secures employee benefits and retirement plans

Primary Role of Department of Transportation

-oversees the country’s transportation system, like highway safety and air, rail, and sea travel

-sets safety rules for all vehicles

-addresses infrastructure challenges to improve technology

-plans and funds projects for roads, public transit, and airports

Primary Role of Department of Energy

-researches sources of fuel and electricity for the nation

-addresses nation’s energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges

-leads cleanup efforts for nuclear weapon production

-sponsors research in physical sciences, operates national labs, drives technology breakthroughs for (clean) energy solutions

Primary Role of Department of Education

-gives federal grants and money for K-12 schools and student college loans

-prohibits discrimination to ensure all students have opportunities

Primary Role of Department of Veteran Affairs

-provides services and support for everyone who has served in the U.S. military

-offers medical, surgical, and mental health services through a network of hospitals, clinics, and research facilities (to adress needs like PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and homelessness)

Primary Role of Department of Homeland Security

-protects against terrorists and other threats

-specializes in national security, border management, immigration, and natural disasters support

-prects coasts, ports, and waterways

Primary Role of Department of Health and Human Services

-gives services for Americans’ health and basic needs

-administers programs like Medicare and Medicaid to help Americans

-supports key research through the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

-protects against health threats nationwide or globally with agencies like the CDC

-contains FDA (the Food and Drug Administration)

Primary Role of Department of Housing and Urban Development

-increases home ownership and access to affordable housing, especially to lower-income families and helps communities develop

-administers grants for urban development and disaster recovery

-prevents discrimination in housing based on protected classes including race, religion, and national origin

-implements strategies to reduce homelessness countrywide

-underwrites (thoroughly evaluating a borrower’s creditworthiness and financial situation to assess risk of lending money) loans through programs like FHA, the Federal Housing Administration, to help more families achieve homeownership

cabinet members’s job

-act as supervisors to the presdient

-part of line of sucsession in case of emergency

-run departments that focus on the specific type of activity

-gives advise to presdient to help make important descions

appointment process of cabinet members

-senate votes to approve president appointees (majority wins)

President

-part of executive branch

-has the power to create executive orders and veto laws that Congress passes

-can negotiate and sign treaties with other nations (only be ratifed with 2/3 senate)

appoint federal judges, head of federal agencies (secretaries) to his cabinet, independence of federal commisions

-commander in cheif of military, decides how to wage war

-can grant reprieves and pardons (execute clemencies that give constitutional authority to presdient to forgive or mitigate criminal penalties on state and federal crimes)

Vice president

-president of the Senate

-gets to vote when there’s a tie

-next in line if country needed new president

-unlimited 4 year terms

Presidential line of succession

1. vice president

2. speaker of the house

3. senate president pro tempare

4. secretary of state

5. secretary of the treasury

6. secretary of defense

7. attorney general

etc

Executive branch role

-enforce the law

-educate the public about new laws

-monitor the public to make sure laws are being followed

-catch individuals or organizations not following the law

-take the offenders to court

-follow any other enforcement procedure the agency may have

-makes treaties

executive orders

-allows president to give orders to executive branch without CIngress approval

-Judicial Branch (Supreme Court) can overturn an executive order but Congress has no say

-enforced like laws but are not actually laws

-not in effect forever, succeeding president can remove executive orders by past presidnet

President requirements

-35 years old

-natural born citizen

-lived in U.S. for 14 years

term limitations for president

-only serve for two 4 year terms (22nd amendment)

-new president elected every 4 years through electrical college system

Judicial Branch function

-rule on all matters relating to the law and the Constitution

-interpret laws and determine the constitionality of them

-made up of Supreme Court and other federal courts

supreme court overview

-rule on all matters relating to the law and the Constitution

-the only government body that can overrule a Supreme Court decision is only a future Supreme Court

-part of judical branch

-has 9 justices (used to have 6)

-makes rule for lower courts to follow

how Supreme court justices get their job

-The President nominates Supreme Court Justices and they then must be confirmed by the Senate with a majority vote

-justices nominated by executive and approved by Senate, NOT ELECTED

Justices criteria

-can serve for life or until they choose to retire unless impeached and removed by Congress

-no requirements (ex. no age or backround critera)

Chief Justice

-The top Judge who oversees administration, is most influential member

-nominated by the president, confirmed by senate

-need to run a background check and a detailed questionnaire

Lower courts

-president nominates federal courts of appeals and district court judges

-have to follow decisions made by Supreme Court

-every state has a district court called U.S. District Courts (trial courts)

-Specialized Courts exist for specific purposes of lower courts

-U.S. Court of Appeals reviews cases from district courts

-to get case reviewheard by Supreme Court, a writ of certiorari is necessary and 4/9 jsutices must agree to take it (happens when a conflict between federal circuit courts occurs)justices

checks & balances Judicial branch has over Legislative branch

-interpret laws/declare them unconstitutional

checks & balances Executive branch has over Judicial branch

-presdient appoints judges to fill vacancies

- The president can grant reprieves and pardons (executive clemencies that give constitutional authority to presdient to forgive or mitigate criminal penalties)

-reperive = temporary delay

-pardon = permanent release from punsihment

checks & balances Legislative branch has over Executive branch

-can override presidential veto

-control appropriations (budget proposals and spending plans)

-ratify (approve) treaties

-declare war

-refuse presidential appointments

-impeach and remove the president from office

checks & balances Executive branch has over Legislative branch

-President=commander in chief of the Army and Navy (Congress declares war but President decides military action)

-can veto bills

-recommend legislation

-call special sessions of Congress

checks & balances Judical branch has over Executive branch

-may rule a presidential action unconstitutional

-judges appointed by the president serve for life

checks & balances Legislative branch has over Judical branch

-can refuse Judicial appointments

-has authority to impeach judges

-can create lower courts

-can propose constitutional amendments to overrule Supreme Court decisions

role of Legislative Branch

-made up of Congress, a bicameral legislature that writes and passes laws

-has 2 houses, House of Representatives and Senate

-borrows money on behalf of US

-ratifies treaties

-impeach/remove president

President of senate

-vice president

Congressman primary responsibility

-representing the interests of the constituents

-working together to write laws

-oversees other government agencies

-passes bills

House of Represnatives

-made up of 435 officals

-# of rep determined by state population

-makes laws based on congressional district

-leader called Speaker of The House (elected by memebrs of the House)

House of Rep requirements

-25 years old

-lived in U.S. for 7 years

-live in state they represent

-elected by the people

House of Rep term limits

-serve 2 year terms that are up for election every even year

-no term limits

specific to House

-initiate tax laws & spending bills

-lower house

-initiate impeachment of a president or other government officials

-casts decidng vote if there is no majority in electoral college fro one of the canidates

Senate

-made up of 100 Representatives (2 senators per state)

-president of senate is vice president

president por tempore (president when vice isn’t there) is voted for by senators

senator requirements

-30 years old

-lived in U.S. for 9 years'

-live in the state they will represent

-elected by the people

senate term limits

-serve 6 year terms

-every even year 1/3 Senate if up for reelection

specific to senate

-power ti approve presidential appointments and treaties

-Senate tries if government official gets sued

both houses power

-tax

coin money

-declare war

-regulate and interstate commerce

mainly writes and passes bills

Process of bill becoming law

1. proposal from either House or Senate

2. read aloud on House floor once assigned number

3. sent to committee for close review (if approved, will be sent to all members of the House)

4. House chamber holds floor debate, members suggest changes

5. bill is read again after changes are made and vote is taken

6. sent off to other house for same debate and most likely, are votes to tweak it

7. -members of both chambers form “conference committee to compromise on bill

8. House and Senate vote on Compromise bill, can’t move on until both chambers agree to pass same version (majority), if not, bill needs to get reintroduced

9. sent to president where it can be 1. signed into law, 2. ignores the bill and automatically goes into law after 10 days IF Congress is in session, 3. vetoed and Congress needs 2/3 votes to override the veto and pass law (both chambers)

gerrymandering

-the practice of drawing boundaries of the electrical districts in a way that gives one political party an unfair advantage over its rivals

-used by both political parties

-

laws vs regulation

-law = undergo legislative process, provide general authority, legal frameworks, apply to everyone equally

-regulations: written by government agencies (executive), technical requirements, undergo public notice/comment period, applies to entities that deal with enforcing agency

Separation of Power

-under the Constition means than the power is divided into the 3 branches

-powers of each branch are made to be equal because of checks and balances system

Checks and Balances

-ensures no one branch ever becomes too powerful because the other two work together to check the power

political parties definition

-defined as group of people who join together because they have similar views about the governmnet

role of Poltical Parties today

-main political parties today are democrats (blue) and republicans (red)

-other parties essist but are not strong or wealthy enough to contend fro major offices

democrat vs Republican beliefs

-democrat supports g!n control, republicans are against g!n control

-democrats believe in separation of Church and State (no prayer in school), republicans support prayer in school

-democrats believe government programs should help those in need and opt for more government involvement,republicans want less government involvement and keep taxes low

-democrats favor government regulation for private business to protect workers rights, republicans favor less government regulations for private businesses

role of political parties today

-exercise power by giving people of similar political views a way to join together to advocate for their beliefs

-can nominate candidates for public offices

-raise money for candidates & encourage people to vote for them

-gives citizens a chance to be involved in government

-gives people choice of candidates and programs

-media criticize party not in power