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Tne US Government
After its 200th birthday the United States of America still holds the leading position in the western world. A country that has inspired many names — "Land of Opportunity", "Meeting Pot", "God's Country" is still referred toa as land of superlatives — "the richest", "the greatest", "the most". In size the United States is not the biggest. What makes the USA the leader of the western world is its economic, political and military dominance over other countries. The United States is a parliamentary republic. The Government is divided into 3 branches: legislative (the US Congress), executive (the President and his Administration) and judicial (the US Supreme Court). There are two main political parties in the USA: the Democratic (symbolize by a "donkey") and the Republican (symbolized by an "elephant"). The US president is both head of State and of government. He is elected for a 4-year term. The Supreme Court consists of Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices who are appointed for life. The Supreme Court is supposed to decide whether a law of the Congress or an executive order of the President is "Constitutional or not".
Questions: 1. Is the USA the biggest country in the world? 2. What makes the USA the leader of the western world? 3. Is the USA a parliamentary republic? 4. How many branches is the Government divided on? 5. How many main parties are there? 6. How many people are there in the Supreme Court?
The Higher Organs of Power in the USA
By the US Constitution the government of the nation is entrusted to three separate authorities: the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial. The executive power is vested in the President, who holds his office during the term of four years, and is elected together with the Vice-President. Among the duties and powers of the President listed by the Constitution are the following: the President is Commanderin-Chief of the armed forces, he makes treaties and appoints ambassadors to foreign powers as well as other high officers of the United States. Within his competence is also the responsibility for taking care that the laws be faithfully executed. From this one can see that the Constitution gives the President some measure of control of the military establishment, imposes upon him a responsibility for foreign policy and assigns to him the obligation to administer federal programmes. The administrative business of the nation is conducted by Secretaries who form the Cabinet. They are appointed by the President but their nomination must be confirmed by the Senate. The Cabinet is a kind of an advisory group to the President which has developed by custom rather than by the provisions of the Constitution. The Vice-President likewise participates in the cabinet meetings. The cabinet members are: the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the Postmaster General, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labour, and the Secretaries of Health, Education and Welfare. As chief executive officer, the President can at his discretion remove any Secretary. The Executive Office of the President is represented by a group of agencies. First of all, these are: the White House Office, the Bureau of the Budget, the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Council of Economic Advisers, and the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilisation. These are not advisory bodies but the bodies which carry out administrative functions. The whole legislative power in the USA is vested in the Congress. There are two chambers in the US Congress: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Besides the legislative function the Senate is entrusted with the power of ratifying or rejecting all treaties made by the President.
Questions: 1. Who is the executive power in the USA vested in? 2. What duties and powers of the President are listed by the Constitution? 3. Who forms the Cabinet? 4. What is the Cabinet? 5. Who is the Executive Office of the President represented by? 6. Which bodies carry out administrative functions?
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