The Federal Government

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. has long symbolized representative government in America. It is divided into two chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate, both of which need to concur for a new law to take effect.

The Senate

• Considered the "Upper Chamber," it is considered more deliberative than the House.

• Comprised of 100 Senators (two from each state).

• Senators serve six-year terms, with no limit on the number of terms they may serve.

• For election purposes, senators are divided into three classes; one class stands for election every two years. This ensures that there are always experienced legislators serving in Congress.

• Vacancies in the Senate are generally filled by appointment by the governor of the state where the vacancy exists.

• The Vice President of the United States serves as the President of the Senate, voting only in cases of a tie.

• While sharing broad legislative powers with the House of Representatives, the Senate has several unique powers to itself:

• The Senate must confirm presidential appointments to the Supreme Court, lower federal courts, and key positions within the Executive Branch before the appointees can take office.

• The Senate approves or rejects international treaties negotiated by the
  President.

• In cases of impeachment of the President or a member of the Supreme Court, the full Senate conducts the trial and acts as jury.

The House of Representatives

Members of the House of Representatives take the oath of office in the House chambers in the Capitol in January, 1989.

• Considered the "House of the People."

• Comprised of 435 Representatives, apportioned among the states according to population. Five U.S. territories and possessions also have nonvoting representation in the House: the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

• All Representatives serve two-year terms with no limit on the number of terms they may serve, and all are elected at the same time.

• Each Representative is elected from a defined geographic area within a state called a Congressional District.

• Vacancies in the House of Representatives are filled only by a special election or in a general election.

• The members of the House elect a Speaker of the House, who is the leading officer of the chamber and, in practice, is a member of the majority party.

Special powers and responsibilities of the House not shared with the Senate include:

• The power to bring charges of impeachment against the President and Supreme Court Justices.

• All bills for raising revenue must originate in the House.

• The House selects the President in cases where no presidential candidate receives a majority of electoral votes. In such cases, each state delegation has one vote.

• In practice, ties are so infrequent that the Vice President spends very little time presiding over the Senate. When the Vice President is not present, the Senate selects a president from its members to preside over daily proceedings.

THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

The Executive Branch is by far the largest branch of the federal government. At its head is the President, who serves a four-year term. The Vice President is elected at the same time, and is first in line to assume the presidency should the President die, become incapacitated, or be removed from office upon impeachment and conviction.

Although the Executive Branch shares powers co-equally with the other two branches of government, the President is the most powerful individual in the government. Among the powers and roles of the President are:

• Appointing Supreme Court justices and lower federal court judges, all of whom must be confirmed by the Senate;

• Appointing a cabinet of department secretaries and agency heads who must be confirmed by the Senate;

• Acting as Commander-in-Chief of the military;

• Acting as titular head of state;

• Negotiating international treaties and treaties with American Indian tribes, which must be ratified by the Senate;

• Vetoing legislation passed by Congress;

• Granting pardons and reprieves for federal crimes (except impeachment).

In addition to these constitutional powers, the President in practice has other powers that are either informal or not expressly provided for in the Constitution. First and foremost, the President may issue Executive Orders, which are directives that have the force of law. Executive Orders are commonly used for purposes such as:

• Establishing new programs, offices, or commissions to promote or carry out the President's political agenda;

• Creating policies that affect how legislation passed by Congress is to be carried out or enforced;

• Declaring when the federal workforce will observe holidays.

Executive Orders can be a powerful tool for the President to achieve policy objectives, and this power has been upheld by the Supreme Court. Individual Executive Orders may be overturned or modified by Congressional legislation, but such legislation requires the President's signature to have effect, unless Congress overrides a presidential veto. Executive Orders may also be challenged in court if they are perceived to violate the Constitution or conflict with existing law.

Finally, the President serves as the head of his or her political party, and can use the stature and visibility of the presidency to articulate political views and advance political objectives, both with the public and with members of his or her party in Congress.

Executive departments and agencies

Beneath the President and Vice President are 15 departments and numerous agencies which together make up the "government" that we see every day. They are responsible for administering the law, enforcing it, and delivering various governmental services. Their functions are far-reaching and affect the lives of every American.

The 15 departments are:

• Department of Agriculture (USDA)

• Department of Commerce (DOC)

• Department of Defense (DOD)

• Department of Education (ED)

• Department of Energy (DOE)

• Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

• Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

• Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

• Department of the Interior (DOI)

• Department of Justice (DOJ)

• Department of Labor (DOL)

• Department of State (DOS)

• Department of Transportation (DOT)

• Department of the Treasury

• Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Each department is headed by a secretary, who is appointed to the position by the President subject to Senate confirmation. The departmental secretaries by law make up the President's Cabinet, a group of people who advise the President on any subject relating to their responsibilities. The President may also accord cabinet-level status to other top Executive Branch officials. Typically this includes the Vice President, the President's Chief of Staff, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, and the U.S. Trade Representative. Other positions that are currently or have recently been considered cabinet-level positions are the director of the Environmental Protection Agency, the director of Central Intelligence, and the President's national security advisor.

In addition to the cabinet-level departments, there are numerous independent Executive Branch agencies and commissions, some of which are quite large. Some examples include the U.S. Postal Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Regulatory agencies are an especially powerful type of agency. They are empowered by Congress to make and enforce rules governing specific parts of the economy often dealing with complex technical issues. Major regulatory agencies include:

• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

• Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

• Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

• Food and Drug Administration (in HHS) (FDA)

• Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (in DOL) (OSHA).

Together with other regulatory agencies, these bodies make rules that affect nearly every business and consumer. Commission members and agency heads are appointed by the President subject to Senate approval. Their rules have the force of law, but may be challenged in the courts or overturned by Congress.

Of all the independent agencies, none is more independent than the Federal Reserve System, the nation's central bank also known simply as "the Fed." The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve is responsible for establishing the nation's monetary policy, setting interest rates, and determining the supply of money. Decisions made by the Fed have far-reaching effects on the nation's economy, interest rates, inflation, job creation, and international trade. In fact, many consider the Chairman of the Board of Governors to be the second most powerful individual in government after the President.

THE JUDICIAL BRANCH
The judicial branch is responsible for passing judgment on legal cases that challenge or require interpretation of acts of Congress and for trying criminal cases in which the defendant is accused of violating federal law. Federal courts also have appellate jurisdiction over state laws when challenged on constitutional grounds, and jurisdiction over cases involving more than one state, citizens of more than one state, or foreign parties.

The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts, including the Courts of Appeal (also known as Circuit Courts or Appellate Courts), federal district courts, bankruptcy courts, and courts of federal claims. The courts of the federal judiciary hear both civil and criminal cases appealed from state courts. Their original jurisdiction covers cases relating to patents, trademarks, claims against the federal government, bankruptcy, financial securities, maritime law, and international claims.

As a separate branch of government, the judiciary is independent of the other two branches, subject only to the checks and balances defined in the Constitution. An independent federal judiciary is considered essential to ensure fairness and equal justice for all citizens. The Constitution promotes judicial independence in two major ways. First, federal judges are appointed for life, and they can be removed from office only through impeachment and conviction by Congress of "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." Second, the Constitution provides that the compensation of federal judges "shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office," which means that neither the President nor Congress can reduce the salary of a federal judge. These two protections help an independent judiciary to decide cases free from popular passions and political influence.

Although the judiciary was envisioned by the writers of the Constitution to be a branch insulated from political pressures and popular opinion, the process of selecting judges has become highly political. Supreme Court Justices and lower court judges are nominated by the President and take office only when confirmed by the Senate.

The Supreme Court currently has nine justices, a number set by law. Lower federal courts, including their jurisdictions, number of judges, and budgets, are established by Congress. All federal judges require confirmation by the Senate in order to take office permanently. The President, however, may appoint judges for a temporary term while the Congress is not in session. Federal magistrates, who perform judicial activities such as setting bail, issuing warrants, and conducting hearings for minor offenses, are appointed to eight-year terms by Federal District Court judges.

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