How Can the President Check the Actions of the Legislative Branch Answers.com

The United States Congress is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Acquire more about the powers of the Legislative Co-operative of the federal regime of the United States.

Established by Article I of the Constitution, the Legislative Co-operative consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate, which together form the United States Congress. The Constitution grants Congress the sole potency to enact legislation and declare state of war, the right to ostend or decline many Presidential appointments, and substantial investigative powers.

The House of Representatives is made up of 435 elected members, divided amongst the l states in proportion to their full population. In addition, there are 6 non-voting members, representing the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and 4 other territories of the United States. The presiding officeholder of the bedchamber is the Speaker of the House, elected by the Representatives. He or she is third in the line of succession to the Presidency.

Members of the House are elected every two years and must be 25 years of age, a U.Southward. citizen for at least seven years, and a resident of the land (simply not necessarily the commune) they represent.

The Business firm has several powers assigned exclusively to information technology, including the power to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the President in the case of an electoral higher tie.

The Senate is equanimous of 100 Senators, 2 for each state. Until the ratification of the 17th Amendment in 1913, Senators were chosen past country legislatures, not by pop vote. Since then, they take been elected to 6-yr terms by the people of each land. Senator's terms are staggered so that about one-third of the Senate is up for reelection every two years. Senators must exist thirty years of age, U.S. citizens for at least nine years, and residents of the land they represent.

The Vice President of the United states serves as President of the Senate and may cast the decisive vote in the event of a tie in the Senate.

The Senate has the sole power to confirm those of the President's appointments that require consent, and to ratify treaties. In that location are, still, two exceptions to this dominion: the House must also approve appointments to the Vice Presidency and whatsoever treaty that involves foreign trade. The Senate as well tries impeachment cases for federal officials referred to information technology past the House.

In order to laissez passer legislation and send information technology to the President for his signature, both the House and the Senate must pass the aforementioned bill by majority vote. If the President vetoes a pecker, they may override his veto by passing the neb again in each sleeping room with at least 2-thirds of each body voting in favor.

The Legislative Process | Powers of Congress | Government Oversight

The Legislative Process

The first step in the legislative process is the introduction of a nib to Congress. Anyone can write it, but simply members of Congress can introduce legislation. Some important bills are traditionally introduced at the asking of the President, such as the almanac federal budget. During the legislative process, still, the initial bill can undergo drastic changes.

Afterwards being introduced, a bill is referred to the appropriate committee for review. At that place are 17 Senate committees, with seventy subcommittees, and 23 House committees, with 104 subcommittees. The committees are non ready in rock, but change in number and form with each new Congress as required for the efficient consideration of legislation. Each committee oversees a specific policy area, and the subcommittees take on more specialized policy areas. For example, the House Committee on Ways and Ways includes subcommittees on Social Security and Trade.

A beak is get-go considered in a subcommittee, where it may be accepted, amended, or rejected entirely. If the members of the subcommittee agree to move a bill forward, it is reported to the full committee, where the process is repeated again. Throughout this stage of the process, the committees and subcommittees call hearings to investigate the merits and flaws of the bill. They invite experts, advocates, and opponents to announced before the committee and provide testimony, and can compel people to announced using subpoena ability if necessary.

If the total committee votes to approve the bill, it is reported to the floor of the House or Senate, and the majority party leadership decides when to place the bill on the calendar for consideration. If a bill is particularly pressing, information technology may exist considered correct abroad. Others may wait for months or never be scheduled at all.

When the bill comes up for consideration, the House has a very structured debate procedure. Each member who wishes to speak only has a few minutes, and the number and kind of amendments are normally limited. In the Senate, debate on most bills is unlimited — Senators may speak to bug other than the bill under consideration during their speeches, and any amendment can be introduced. Senators can use this to delay bills under consideration, a procedure by which a Senator delays a vote on a bill — and past extension its passage — by refusing to stand down. A supermajority of 60 Senators can interruption a filibuster by invoking cloture, or the cession of debate on the bill, and forcing a vote. Once contend is over, the votes of a simple majority passes the bill.

A bill must laissez passer both houses of Congress earlier information technology goes to the President for consideration. Though the Constitution requires that the 2 bills have the exact same wording, this rarely happens in practice. To bring the bills into alignment, a Conference Committee is convened, consisting of members from both chambers. The members of the committee produce a briefing report, intended as the final version of the pecker. Each chamber then votes again to approve the conference report. Depending on where the bill originated, the final text is then enrolled by either the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate, and presented to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate for their signatures. The bill is then sent to the President.

When receiving a bill from Congress, the President has several options. If the President agrees substantially with the beak, he or she may sign it into law, and the bill is then printed in the Statutes at Large. If the President believes the police to exist bad policy, he may veto it and send information technology dorsum to Congress. Congress may override the veto with a two-thirds vote of each sleeping room, at which point the bill becomes constabulary and is printed.

At that place are two other options that the President may exercise. If Congress is in session and the President takes no action within 10 days, the bill becomes police. If Congress adjourns before 10 days are up and the President takes no activeness, then the bill dies and Congress may non vote to override. This is chosen a pocket veto, and if Congress still wants to pass the legislation, they must begin the entire process anew.

Powers of Congress

Congress, equally one of the three coequal branches of government, is ascribed significant powers by the Constitution. All legislative power in the regime is vested in Congress, significant that it is the only part of the regime that can make new laws or change existing laws. Executive Branch agencies issue regulations with the full force of law, only these are simply under the authority of laws enacted past Congress. The President may veto bills Congress passes, but Congress may also override a veto by a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Article I of the Constitution enumerates the powers of Congress and the specific areas in which information technology may legislate. Congress is too empowered to enact laws deemed "necessary and proper" for the execution of the powers given to any role of the government under the Constitution.

Part of Congress's exercise of legislative authority is the establishment of an almanac budget for the government. To this end, Congress levies taxes and tariffs to provide funding for essential government services. If enough money cannot be raised to fund the government, then Congress may also authorize borrowing to make upwards the divergence. Congress tin also mandate spending on specific items: legislatively directed spending, commonly known equally "earmarks," specifies funds for a item project, rather than for a government agency.

Both chambers of Congress take extensive investigative powers, and may hogtie the production of prove or testimony toward whatever cease they deem necessary. Members of Congress spend much of their fourth dimension holding hearings and investigations in committee. Refusal to cooperate with a Congressional subpoena can result in charges of antipathy of Congress, which could result in a prison house term.

The Senate maintains several powers to itself: It ratifies treaties by a two-thirds supermajority vote and confirms the appointments of the President by a bulk vote. The consent of the Business firm of Representatives is also necessary for the ratification of trade agreements and the confirmation of the Vice President.

Congress also holds the sole ability to declare war.

Authorities Oversight

Oversight of the executive co-operative is an of import Congressional check on the President'southward power and a balance against his discretion in implementing laws and making regulations.

A major way that Congress conducts oversight is through hearings. The Business firm Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Regime Diplomacy are both devoted to overseeing and reforming regime operations, and each committee conducts oversight in its policy area.

Congress also maintains an investigative organisation, the Authorities Accountability Office (GAO). Founded in 1921 as the Full general Accounting Office, its original mission was to audit the budgets and fiscal statements sent to Congress by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Today, the GAO audits and generates reports on every attribute of the government, ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent with the effectiveness and efficiency that the American people deserve.

The executive branch also polices itself: Sixty-four Inspectors General, each responsible for a different agency, regularly audit and written report on the agencies to which they are attached.

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Source: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/1600/legislative-branch

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