Political system of USA

Political system of America

The Federal Government represents the base of the American democratic system and has control over national and international affairs.
It was established by Constitution which was ratified in 1788 and it is consist of : •Preamble
•Bill of rights
•Amendments to the constitution. (dodatky)
The constitution provides for checks and balances between the three.
Every law is has to be passed by constitution.
The Federal Government is divided into three branches:

Legislative: (-Houses of Congress)

1. Senate
Each of 50 states elects 2 senators (that makes100 senators in the senate), which serve for 6 years terms, however every 2. year one third of the senators is renewed. The head of the Senate is Vice President.
Duties of the Senate:
approving presidential appointments
ratifying foreign treaties by a two-thirds majority
trying a President who has been impeached by the House

2. House of Representatives
It is composed of 435 Representatives, which are referred to Congressmen. The number of congressmen influences population. They are elected for two-years term.
Duties of the House:
responsible for originating all bills relating to taxes
impeaching (charging President with criminal actions)
determining the outcome of a presidential election

Together they discuss:
national finances
drafting and passing laws (předkládání a schvalování zákonů)
collecting taxes
defense of the nation
regulation of commerce admitting new states

Today the major parties are Democratic and Republican.
Congress may override a presidential veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers.
Head of each state is the governor.

Executive:

• President (and the Vice President):
President is elected for 4 years and may serve maximum of 2 four-year terms in office.
Presidential candidate must be: at least 35 years old
born in USA
live in USA for 14 years before elections

duties of the President:
serves as a Commander in Chief => head of armed forces
(he has a control over the defense of the nation , but declaration of war must be made by the congress)
serves as a Chief Executive
he appoints all ambassadors, ministers and consuls
he appoints also judges of the federal bench

In the event of the President’s death, resignation, or impeachment , the Vice President assumes the presidency.

• Executive office :
represents President’s personal staff.
divided into 14 cabinet departments
(d. of State, d. of treasury, d. of defense, d. of interior…)
• Independent agencies :
CIA- Central Intelligence Agency
NSA-National Security Agency
NASA-National Aeronautics and Space Administration
FBI-Federal Bureau of Investigation
and various Federal regulatory agencies

Judiciary:

represents the law of the land
3 level hierarchy: Federal district courts
US courts of appeal
US Supreme court
Judges of all three levels are appointed for life by the President and must be confirmed by the Senate.
The Supreme court is made up of eight associate justices and a Chief Justice.
(It focuses its attention to cases that call into question the constitutional nature of existing laws)

The seat of Federal government is in the nation’s capital at Washington D.C.
(D.C. refers to the federal District of Columbia)
The President , Congress and Supreme Court are all located in Washington.
Here too are the headquarters of federal government departments and agencies and large foreign diplomatic corps.