Basics about state and national government
3 Branches of Government: What Do They Do?
| Our country’s Founding Fathers, the writers of the U.S. Constitution, wanted to create a strong national government. They also wanted to make sure that one person or group did not have too much power. So, they created three separate branches of the government: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. We call this process the Separation of Powers. Each of the three branches of government has ways to check, or limit, the powers of the other branches. We call this: Checks and Balances. No one branch can take control. | |
| LEGISLATIVE | The members are Congress–the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Vice President is considered the head of the Senate. They write and pass the laws.They collect and spend money from taxes.They can confirm or impeach judicial appointments Declare war. |
| EXECUTIVE | The members are the President, the Vice President, and the Cabinet Members. The President: o Signs bills into laws o Vetoes or rejects bills o Appoints Supreme Court Justices o Meets foreign leaders and negotiates treaties o Is the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. armed forces o Enforces laws o Receives advice from the Cabinet on important matters |
| JUDICIAL | Made up of Supreme Court & Federal Courts Can decide whether laws or Presidential acts are constitutional. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the country and has 9 justices. Its decisions are final, and no other court can change those decisions. |
CONGRESS: THERE OUGHT TO BE A LAW! How a bill becomes a law in five “easy” steps.
- Step 1 The bill is drafted and introduced to either the House or Senate
- Step 2 The bill goes to committee Step 2a: Subcommittee review
- Step 2b: Committee mark up of the bill Step 2c: Committee “votes bill out” to the full “chamber” Step 3 Voting by the full chamber on the bill
- Step 3a: Bill may be amended
- Step 3b: Floor debate, unlimited debate unless Senate votes for “cloture” to vote or filibuster, minimum of 60 votes needed.
- Step 4 Referral of bill to the other chamber,
- Bill to a Law Repeat steps 2 & 3
- Step 5 Bill is passed The identical bill is passed by each chamber, then sent to President for their approval.
What is Reconciliation? What is a filibuster? What is Cloture?
RULES TO KNOW
- Senate rules allow a “filibuster”- a delay of action on legislation. Traditionally a filibuster was intended to open debate on the legislation, Use of the filibuster has evolved to allow Senators to call a filibuster without opening the issue to debate, and the legislation is not considered. A filibuster can be stopped by a “cloture” vote.
- The filibuster does not apply to reconciliation, appointment of judges and the cabinet.
- The filibuster rule can be changed or amended by the Senate.
- Reconciliation is any measure (bill, resolution) pertaining to revenue, taxes, and debt limit and can be approved by a simple majority (51 votes in Senate).
- Cloture ends debate on a bill and submits it for a vote – requires 60 votes
WHO’S WHO IN THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE?
Who are the Senators?
- 100 Senators 2 per state, regardless of population,
- Serve 6 year terms
- The Vice-President of the United States serves as the President of the Senate and gets a vote in the case of a tie.
Who are the House of Representatives
- 435 Representatives or Congresspersons
- Total number is set by federal statute
- Each state has at least 1 The total per state (greater then 1) is based on population or “apportionment”
- 2-year terms
- State legislatures determine the “districts” represented
- The Speaker of the House is third in line for the Presidency
And Indiana’s Government:
The Senate consists of 50 senators, elected every 4 years.
The House consists of 100 representatives, elected every 2 years.
There are no term limits for senators and representatives.
The governor is elected every 4 years and is limited to 2 terms.
