Federal government

Branches of Government.mp4

Three Branches of Government.mp4

Executive Branch

President

The president of the United States works and lives in the White House and has many powers and responsibilities. These are a few of them:

The president suggests ideas for new laws.
The president signs or vetoes laws.
The president meets with leaders of other countries.
The president appoints judges to the Supreme Court.
The president is the commander in chief of the armed forces.

Americans vote for president every four years. The next presidential election will be happening in 2020.

Who is allowed to run for president?

To run for president, a person must meet these requirements:

The person must be at least 35 years old.
The person must have lived in the United States for 14 years.
The person must be a natural born citizen.

A natural born citizen is someone who has been a citizen since birth. To be a natural born citizen, at least one of these must be true:

The person was born in the United States or some place under the United States' control.
The person had at least one parent who was an American citizen.

Voting for President

Officially, Election Day is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. So, Election Day is the first Tuesday in November unless November starts on a Tuesday. In that case, Election Day is the second Tuesday of the month. In other words, Election Day is always between November 2 and November 8.

Once a president is elected, he or she begins the job on January 20 or 21. That day is called Inauguration Day.

A president can serve two four-year terms.

Why is there a two-term limit for presidents?

When the country began, there was no term limit for president. Early on, many presidents chose to stop at two terms anyway.

That changed in the 1930s and 1940s. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected four times in a row.

In response, some politicians suggested changing the Constitution to limit presidential terms to two. They came up with a constitutional amendment.

That amendment was ratified, or approved, in 1951. It became the Twenty-Second Amendment to the Constitution.

Cabinet

The president appoints, or chooses, the members of his or her cabinet. The Senate then approves the choices.

Legislative Branch

Congress is part of the legislative branch of government. Members of Congress are often called "legislators." The root legis comes from a Latin word for "law."

What can Congress do?

Congress can make laws. The members of Congress make federal laws. When a law is being written, it is called a bill.
Congress can declare war. Only Congress has the power to declare war.
Congress can approve or reject appointments to the Supreme Court. The president appoints people to the Supreme Court, but those people cannot take office unless the Senate approves them.
Congress can impeach the president and remove him or her from office. The House of Representatives can impeach the president, or formally accuse him or her of a crime. If the House impeaches the president, then the president goes through an official trial in the Senate. If the Senate finds the president guilty, the president is removed from office.

House of Representative

One term in the House of Representatives is two years. Elections for all representatives are held in even-numbered years.

Senate

Each state elects two senators. So, every time a state joins the Union, the Senate gains two new members.

For example, when Alaska and Hawaii joined the Union in 1959, the Senate grew from 96 to 100 members.

Who can be a senator?

To be a senator, a person must meet these requirements:

The person must be at least 30 years old.
The person must have been a citizen for at least 9 years.
The person must live in the state he or she represents.

One term in the Senate is six years.

Judicial Branch

The Supreme Court is part of the Judicial Branch. Supreme Court judges are called justices. There are 9 justices on the Supreme Court.

Choosing Supreme Court justices is a two-step process.

First, the president appoints someone.
Then, the Senate approves or rejects that person. For approval, the person must get at least half of the Senate's vote. If the person is rejected, the president has to choose someone else.

Supreme Court terms are for life. However, many justices choose to resign, or give up their seat, when they want to retire.

The Supreme Court decides whether a law or action agrees with the Constitution. The Constitution is the written plan for the government of the United States. If a law doesn't agree with the Constitution, it is called unconstitutional. People don't have to follow it anymore. The Supreme Court doesn't just look at laws. It also looks at the actions of people in the executive branch, such as the president. For example, in 1952, President Harry Truman ordered the Department of Commerce to take over most of the steel mills in the country. The Supreme Court said this action was unconstitutional. So, President Truman had to stop.

No other court may overturn the Supreme Court's decisions. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the country. No other court can overturn its decisions.

Unlike the multiple numbers of local and state governments, only one federal government exists. And its role is to run, not just one small geographic location, but the entire country. It’s a big task, and one carried out by five divisions:

Executive Office of the President: Overseen by the president’s Chief of Staff, this office provides the president with the support he needs to make executive decisions. It ranges from promoting US trade interests throughout the world to providing advice on national security.
Executive departments: These are cabinet-level offices headed up by a secretary who is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Each of the departments concentrates on particular policy areas and has its own budget and staff. Examples include Department of Defense and Department of Education.
Independent executive agencies: These agencies usually perform specialized functions, and are independent from executive control. They include the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which operates to protect the US from international threats.
Independent regulatory agencies: These agencies also perform specialized duties by administering laws and regulating important industries and businesses that affect the public. They’re typically run by a board or commission of people, and are independent from presidential influence. They include the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which protects human health and the natural environment by making and enforcing environmental laws, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which regulates business practices and monopolies.
Government corporations: These are legal entities established by the federal government to provide public services. They’re commercial, for-profit enterprises completely independent from government, although they may receive federal funding as well as charge for services in order to operate. They include the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, otherwise known as Amtrak, which is the railroad service, and the US Postal Service.

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