A Federal Government Primer
The Federal government is divided into three branches:
Executive
Judicial
Legislative
High level overview of the United States Federal Government. Click to see a more detailed chart.
Executive Branch
The power of the Executive Branch is vested in the President of the United States, who also acts as head of state and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The President is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by Congress and, to that end, appoints the heads of the federal agencies, including the Cabinet.
The Vice President is also part of the Executive Branch, ready to assume the Presidency should the need arise. The Vice President also serves as the President of the United States Senate, where he or she casts the deciding vote in the case of a tie.
The Cabinet and independent federal agencies are responsible for the day-to-day enforcement and administration of federal laws. These departments and agencies have missions and responsibilities as widely divergent as those of the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency, the Social Security Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Including members of the armed forces, the Executive Branch employs more than 4 million Americans.
Learn more about the executive branch>
Judicial Branch
Courts decide arguments about the meaning of laws and how they are applied. They also decide if laws violate the Constitution—this is known as judicial review, and it is how federal courts provide checks and balances on the legislative and executive branches.
Article III of the Constitution vests all judicial Power of the United States “in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.”
To this end, Congress has established our Federal court system, which decides disputes involving the Constitution and laws passed by Congress. Federal court jurisdiction is limited to the types of cases listed in the Constitution and specifically provided for by Congress.
The Supreme Court
The United States Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight associate justices. The power to nominate the Justices is vested in the President of the United States and appointments are made with the advice and consent of the Senate.
At its discretion, and within certain guidelines established by Congress, the Supreme Court each year hears a limited number of the cases it is asked to decide. Those cases may begin in the federal or state courts, and they usually involve important questions about the Constitution or federal law.
District & Appellate Courts
Congress has divided the country into ninety-four federal judicial districts. In each district there is a U.S. district court. The U.S. district courts are the federal trial courts – the places where federal cases are tried, witnesses testify, and juries serve. Within each district is a U.S. bankruptcy court, a part of the district court that administers the bankruptcy laws.
Congress placed each of the ninety-four districts in one of twelve regional circuits. Each circuit has a court of appeals. If you lose a case in a district court, you can ask the court of appeals to review the case to see if the district judge applied the law correctly. If a case is lost in an appellate court, the defendant may petition the Supreme Court to hear an appeal.
Learn more about the judicial branch>
Legislative Branch
Article I of the Constitution establishes the legislative branch of government. It is a two-branch Congress—the Senate and the House of Representatives—and agencies that support Congress.
Congress is ascribed significant powers by the Constitution. All legislative power in the government is vested in Congress, meaning that it is the only part of the government that can make new laws or change existing laws. In order to pass legislation and send it to the President for his signature, both the House and the Senate must pass the same bill by majority vote. If the President vetoes a bill, they may override his veto by passing the bill again in each chamber with at least two-thirds of each body voting in favor.
Another example of Congress’s exercise of legislative authority is the establishment of an annual budget for the government. To this end, Congress levies taxes and tariffs to provide funding for essential government services.
The Constitution also grants Congress the sole authority to declare war, the right to confirm or reject many Presidential appointments, and substantial investigative powers. Both chambers of Congress have extensive investigative powers, and may compel the production of evidence or testimony toward whatever end they deem necessary.
The Senate
The United States Senate is composed of 100 members from the 50 states. The Senate has the sole power to confirm those of the President's appointments that require consent. It also has authority to ratify treaties. The Senate also tries impeachment cases for federal officials referred to it by the House.
The House of Representatives
The House of Representatives’ 435 members proportionally represent the population of the 50 states. A Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico (elected for a 4-year term) and Delegates from American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands complete the composition of the Congress of the United States.
The House has several powers assigned exclusively to it, including the power to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the President in the case of an electoral college tie.
Learn more about the legislative branch>
Source: from http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/114807.
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