Topic 5. The U.S. Political system

5.1. Read and translate the text:

The United States of America is a presidential republic. It consists

of 50 states and one independent district – the District of Columbia.

The United States Constitution adopted in 1787 established the country^,s political system and is the basis for its laws. In 200 years, the United States has experienced enormous growth and change. Yet the Constitution works as well today as when it was written. One reason is that the Constitution can be amended, or changed. (For example, the Fifteenth Amendment gave black Americans the right to vote and the Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote). Today any citizen who is at least 18 years old can vote. Another reason is that the Constitution is flexible: its basic principles can be applied and interpreted differently at different times.

Within the national government, power is divided among three branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial.

Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government, consists of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Congress makes all laws, and each chamber of Congress has the power to introduce bills on any subject. Each can also vote against bill passed by the other. Because bill only becomes law if both houses agree, compromise between them is necessary. Congress decides upon taxes and how money is spent. In addition, it regulates commerce among the states and with foreign countries. It also sets rules for the naturalization of foreign citizens.

The Senate is the highest chamber of Congress. The Senate is made up of 100 members (two senators from each state) elected by the people of the states for a term of 6 years. One third of the Senate is elected every two years. To be elected a Senator, a person must be at least 30 years old and have been a citizen of the USA for at least 9 years, and live in the state he or she will represent.

The House of Representatives comprises 435 members. They are elected every two years for a two-year term. The number of Representatives from each state depends on its population, but every state is represented. For instance, California, the state with the largest population, has 45 Representatives while Delaware has only one.

There is no limit to the number of terms a Senator or a Representative may serve. To be elected a Representative, a person must be at least 25 years old and have been a citizen of the USA for at least 7 years, and live in the state. The members of the House of Representatives are often called Congressmen.

The Senate is headed by the Vice-President of the USA. The House of Representatives is headed by the Speaker who is elected by the House. The work for preparing and considering laws is done by the committees of both chambers. There are 15 standing committees in the Senate and 19 in the House of Representatives.

Congress can pass the law anyway if it gets a two-third majority vote. Congress can also declare war. The House of Representatives can also impeach the President. This means that the House of Representatives can charge the President with a crime. In this case the Senate will put the President on trial. The Senate votes to approve the justices that the President appoints to the Supreme Court.

Congress (Fig. 14) assembles at least once a year. The House of Representatives meets in the left wing of the Capitol, and the Senate occupies the right wing.

Fig.14. The U.S. Congress at work

The executive branch of the Government puts the laws of the country into effect. The executive branch consists of the President, the Vice-President and the Cabinet and is responsible for administrating and executing the laws. The President and the Vice-President are elected together for four years of service and may be re-elected for another term of four years. They cannot serve more these two terms. The President must be at least 35 years old, and be a natural born citizen of the USA. In addition, he must have lived in the USA for at least 14 years and be a civilian.

The President is the head of the executive branch of government and the country. He appoints the members of the Cabinet. The Cabinet advices the President on many matters and is composed of the heads of fourteen executive departments: Secretary of State, Secretary of Treasure, Secretary of Defence and others. The President of the USA also appoints the justices to the Supreme Court.

When the President receives a bill from Congress he must sign it, and then the bill becomes a law. However, if he disagrees with the bill he can veto it.

The President can also ask Congress to declare war. The President of the USA must do his job according to the Constitution of the country or may be impeached. The presidential election takes place every leap year on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

The judicial branch of the government is the system of Courts in the United States. Its job is to enforce laws. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the country. It consists of 9 justices: one Chief Justice and

8 associate justices. The President of the USA appoints the justices but the Senate must approve them. The justices are appointed for life. The Supreme Court may veto any law passed by Congress if it contradicts the Constitution of the USA. The judicial branch of government works together with the legislative and executive branches to protect the Constitution and the rights of people. A decision of the Supreme Court cannot be appealed to any other court. Neither the President nor Congress can change their decisions. In addition to the Supreme Court, Congress has established 11 federal courts of appeal and, below them, 91 federal district courts.

The Supreme Court Building (Fig. 15) was completed in 1935. Before that date the Court had its chambers in the Capitol.

The United States has two main political parties – the Democratic and Republican parties. Many other smaller parties play little if any role.

Voters elect the President, as well as senators, representatives, governor, etc. A voter can choose candidates from different parties (e.g., vote for President and Vice-President from Republicans and for Senators from Democrats), so the President may be not from the party that has a majority in Congress. In recent years, in fact, voters have tended to choose Republican presidents and Democratic congressmen.

Fig. 15. The Supreme Court Building

There are not clear differences between the Republican and Democratic parties. In general, the Republicans tend to be more conservative and to have more support among the upper classes, while the Democrats tend to be more liberal and to have more support among the working classes and the poor.

The chief functions of a party are to organize elections and when in the minority to keep a check on the party in the office.

The U.S. national flag – Stars-and-Stripes – is red, white and blue (Fig. 16). The thirteen stripes in the modern flag, seven red and six white, stand for the original 13 states – the colonies that united in 1776 to declare themselves free from the rule of England. The fifty white five-pointed stars represent the current number of states that make up the nation.