Transcript United States Congress

UNIT 16
Federal Legislative Power
in the USA
The American Presidency
U.S. Congress
- bicameral federal legislature – has two
branches
- Article I of the Constitution:
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United
States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.
CONGRESS
the SENATE
the HOUSE of
REPRESENTATIVES
(co-equal houses)
- all congressmen (535) - both senators and representatives are
chosen in DIRECT election
U.S. Congress - Powers
-
powers of the Congress – limited to those enumerated in the
Constitution; all other powers reserved to the states and the people
Article 1 - The Legislative Branch
Section 8
- to lay and collect Taxes, Duties;
- to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States,
and with the Indian Tribes;
- to coin Money;
- to constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
- to declare War;
- to provide and maintain navy;
- to make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval
forces;
- etc.
+ each house has some RESERVED powers
The House of Representatives
- composition and powers of the House are established in
Article I Section 2 of the US Constitution
Composition:
- proportional representation (435 representatives-the number
fixed by law) – seats apportioned among the states by the
number of inhabitants
(determined by census conducted every 10 years)
- appointed for the term of office of 2 years;may be re-elected
an unlimited number of times
“The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every
thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one
Representative.”
Reserved powers:
- the sole Power of Impeachment
- to propose bills on tax collection
U.S. Senate
- composition and powers of the Senate are established in
Article I Section 3 of the US Constitution
Composition:
– two senators from each state – 100 senators serving
staggered six-year terms (divided into 3 classes – every 2
years “one class shall be vacated” - so one third is chosen
every second year)
- each senator has one vote
- the Vice President of the US – President of the Senate –
“shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided”
Reserved powers:
- ratification of treaties
- confirmation of presidential nominations to high-level
judicial and executive positions
- the sole power to try all impeachments
Legislative procedure
The work of Congress is initiated by the introduction of a proposal in
one of four forms: the bill, the joint resolution, the concurrent
resolution, and the simple resolution. – BILL - the most common
 bills may be introduced only by a congressman
 bills may originate in either house (except bills for raising revenue –
“all bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of
Representatives but the Senate may propose, or concur with,
amendments” - Article I Section 7
 general appropriation bills (by tradition) also originate in the House
of Representatives
 the majority of laws originate in the House of Representatives
 bills traverse a maze of committees and subcommittees, debates,
and amendments in both chambers of Congress before they become
laws
Legislative procedure
There are two types of bills
a) PUBLIC - affects the population at large
b) PRIVATE - affects a specified individual or a private entity
A bill that has been agreed to in identical form by both
bodies becomes the law of the land only after:
1. Presidential APPROVAL
2. failure by the President to return it with objections to the
House in which it originated within 10 days (Sundays
excepted) while Congress is in session – POCKET VETO
3. the overriding of a presidential VETO by a two-thirds vote in
each House – REGULAR VETO
How US laws are made?

Step 1: Introduction

Step 2: Committee Consideration

Step 3: Committee Action

Step 4: Subcommittee Review

Step 5: Mark Up

Step 7: Publication of Committee Report

Step 8: Floor Action -- Legislative Calendar

Step 9: Debate

Step 10: Voting

Step 11: Bill Referred to Other Chamber

Step12: Conference Committee

Step 13: Final Action – Enrollment

Step 14: Overriding the Veto
Vocabulary practice
Insert the right verb:
sign
veto
originate
introduce
draft
vote on
report
approve
take
1. Members of the president’s staff may _______ a bill and ask a congressman
to ________ it.
2. Bills may _________ either in the House or in the Senate.
3. A bill submitted to the House is ___________ .
4. If the bill is ___________ out of committee it is submitted to the Senate for a
vote which may be ___________ with or without debate.
5. If the Senate does not change the bill and if a majority _________ , the bill
goes to the president for signing.
6. A bill becomes a law if the president ____________ it.
7. If the president ___________ a bill, two thirds of both House and Senate must
approve it again before it becomes a law.
Vocabulary practice
Complete the text about the United States Congress using the terms given below:
bicameral, vote, state, entitled, direct, term, passage, authority,
elected, legislature, senators
The United States Congress is the ____________ of the United States federal
government. It is ____________, comprising the House of Representatives (or simply the
House) and the Senate.
Each __________ is represented in the House proportionally to its population, and is
____________ to at least one representative. The total number of representatives is
currently fixed at 435, though Congress has the ________ to change that number. Each
representative serves for a two-year ________ and may be re-elected an unlimited
number of times. The House is often considered to be the "lower house," with the Senate
as the "upper house," although the United States Constitution does not use such
language. The Constitution provides that the approval of both houses is necessary for the
___________ of legislation.
Vocabulary practice – cont.
Complete the text about the United States Congress using the terms given below:
bicameral, vote, state, entitled, direct, term, passage, authority,
elected, legislature, senators
In the Senate, each state has two __________. Therefore, there are 100
senators, serving staggered six-year terms. Every two years, approximately
one-third of the Senate is __________.The Vice President of the United States is
the President of the Senate and serves as its presiding officer, but is not a
Senator and does not _______.
Both Senators and Representatives are chosen through __________ election.
The EXECUTIVE Power
Article II.
“The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the
United States”
-
Holds office for the term of 4 years, since 1951 limited to two terms
Requirements for presidential candidates
- must be at least 35 years of age
- must be a natural born citizen
- must have lived in the USA for at least 14 years
U.S. Presidential Election
-
Since 1804 conducted under the Twelfth Amendment (1804 - provides the
procedure by which the President and Vice President are elected)
-
Regulated by federal and state laws
 INDIRECT ELECTION
 ELECTORAL VOTE – voters vote for members of the U.S. Electoral College
- directly elects the President and the Vice President on Election Day (the
Tuesday between November 2nd and 8th)
 POPULAR VOTE – each state votes for members of the Electoral College; if
one votes for the Republican candidate, he/she really votes for an elector
who will be "pledged" to vote for the Republican candidate - the candidate
who wins the popular vote in a state wins all the pledged votes of the state's
electors – people vote “for the electors of a candidate”
Electoral College
 Directly elects the President and Vice President
 Electors in the College – each state allocated a number of electors equal
to the number of its representatives in Congress (House+Senate) +
Washington DC (the same number of Electors as the state with the
smallest population )
 States determine by their state legislation how their electors are to be
chosen - generally selected by the political party committees within the
states
 Electors - vote for the candidates they have pledged for (designated
candidates)
 The states and the Disctrict of Columbia each conduct their own popular
elections on Election Day
Powers of the U.S. President
Read the text in the book and find the powers of the US
President. Sort them out under the following headings:
Executive powers: ______________________________
______________________________________________
Powers related to legislation: _____________________
______________________________________________
Powers related to judiciary: _______________________
______________________________________________
Legislative powers
1. Approving or vetoing legislation
2. State of the Union address
(lays out his legislative agenda for the next
year – outlines his legislative priorities)
3. Indirectly proposes legislation to Congress
(only through a congressman)
Judicial powers of the
U.S. President
1. To appoint federal court judges.
2.To pardon people convicted of federal
crimes (except in cases of impeachment)
3.To reduce a person's jail sentence or fine.
Impeachment
Read the text and answer the questions:
 What is impeachment?
 Who can be impeached?
 What are the grounds for impeachment?
 What body has the power of impeachment?
 What is the role of the House and what of the Senate in the
process of impeachment?
Impeachment
The process that enables legislative body to remove a public
official from office (President, Vice President all civil officers of the
US)
 Authorized by the Constitution
 It consists of two parts:
I an accusation or indictment – The sole power of House of
representatives
II a trial – The sole power of Senate
Civil officers = federal judges and cabinet members, but not
Senators and Representatives
THE GROUNDS FOR IMPEACHMENT
 defined by the Constitution
a) TREASON
b) BRIBERY
c) HIGH CRIMES or MISDEMEANORS
-
an impeacheable offence is not limited to conduct which is
indictable, but conduct that undermines the integrity of a
public office or is in disregard of constitutional duties or
involves abuse of power is generally regarded as grounds for
impeachment
Essential terms

to veto a bill – staviti veto na prijedlog zakona

a “pocket veto” (President takes no action on
the bill for ten days after Congress has
adjourned their second session) – ignoriranje
izglasanog prijedloga zakona od strane
predsjednika

to “override” a presidential veto of a bill and
force it into law – nadglasavanje veta
House of Representatives –
Predstavnički/Zastupnički dom

co-equal houses – ravnopravan

senators and representatives - senatori i
članovi Predstavničkog doma


a staggered term – mandatno razdoblje na
trećini kojega se obnavlja trećina članstva
to impeach – impeachment–specijalni optužni
postupak s ciljem smjenjivanja s položaja


a bill for raising revenue – prijedlog
financijskog zakona
the sole power of impeachment – ovlast
pokretanja postupka utvrđivanja
odgovornosti

articles of impeachment – optužnica u
postupku utvrđivanja odgovornosti

misconduct – teška povreda radne radne
dužnosti

majority vote – glasati (običnom) većinom

a two-thirds vote – glasati dvotrećinskom
većinom

to pledge to vote for a candidate - obvezati
se glasati za određenog kandidata

electoral college - izborno tijelo

to pardon –pomilovati, amnestirati

appropriation bill (a legislative act proposing
to authorize the expenditure of public funds
for a specified purpose) – prijedlog proračuna

to report a bill – izložiti nacrt zakona

to approve a bill in identical form / reject /
ignore / amend a bill

an enrolled bill – konačni tekst zakona usvojen
u Predstavničkom domu i Senatu i pripremljen
za potpis predsjednika

to sign a bill into a law – potpisom proglasiti
prijedlog zakona zakonom
Grammar practice – The Simple Past Tense
Complete the 1st part of Barack Obama's mini biography with the Simple Past
Tense form of the verbs in the list.
bring up (Passive)
travel
live
be born
manage
work
visit
leave
return
remarry
write
Part I

Barack Obama …………………… to a white American mother, Ann Dunham, and a
black Kenyan father, Barack Obama, Sr., who ……………………. both young college
students at the University of Hawaii. When his father …………….. for Harvard, she and
Barack stayed behind, and his father ultimately ……………………. alone to Kenya,
where he ………………….. as a government economist. Barack's mother
………………………. an Indonesian oil manager and moved to Jakarta when Barack was
six. At the age of ten he returned to Hawaii, where he ……………………… largely by
his grandparents. The family ……………………… in a small apartment - his grandfather
was a furniture salesman and an unsuccessful insurance agent and his grandmother
worked in a bank - but Barack ………………………... to get into Punahou School,
Hawaii's top prep academy. His father ………………………… to him regularly but,
though he ………………………… around the world on official business for Kenya, he
……………………. only once, when Barack was ten.
Grammar practice II
Complete the 2nd part of Barack Obama's mini biography with the Simple
Past Tense form of the verbs in the list.
win attend
begin
run
turn down attend
run
become elect (Passive)
find
gain
Obama ……………………. Columbia University, but …………………….. New York's racial tension
inescapable. He ……………………………. a community organizer for a small Chicago church-based
group for three years, helping poor South Side residents cope with a wave of plant closings. He then
…………………………….. Harvard Law School, and in 1990 became the first African-American editor of
the Harvard Law Review. He …………………………. a prestigious judicial clerkship, choosing instead to
practice civil rights law back in Chicago, representing victims of housing and employment
discrimination and working on voting-rights legislation. He also ……………………… teaching at the
University of Chicago Law School. Eventually he ………………….. as a Democrat for the state senate
seat from his district, which included both Hyde Park and some of the poorest ghettos on the South
Side, and won.
In 2004 Obama ………………………. to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat, representing Illinois, and
……………………….. national attention by giving a rousing and well-received keynote speech at the
Democratic National Convention in Boston. In 2008 he ………………. for president as a democrat and
………………….. He is set to become the 44th president of the Unites States and the first African
American ever elected to that position.