US Government

By the Constitution of 1787 (and the amendments to it) the government of the USA is composed of three branches: the executive one, the legislative one, and the judicial one.

The executive branch of the US government which includes the President, the Vice-President, and the President’s Cabinet, is responsible for administering the laws.

The President is elected for four years of service. He must be natural – born citizen, at least 35 years old, and for at least 14 years a resident of the United States. The presidential election in the USA are held in two stages. First the voters choose electors and then the latter elect the President. The President can be elected only for two terms. The President is to carry out the programs of the Government, to recommend much of the legislation to the Congress. He is to appoint Federal Judges, ambassadors to other countries and heads of various departments. The President has the initiative in foreign affairs. As a Commander – in – Chief of the Armed Forces the President has considerable authority over military policy.

The secretaries of the major eleven executive departments are regarded as “the Cabinet”. The heads of department are not members of the Congress. As the heads of departments, the secretaries are directly and fully responsible to the President. He can remove any Cabinet member for refusing to carry out a duty.

The legislative power belongs to the Congress of the United States consisting of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate is composed of two members from each state elected for a term of 6 years, one third being elected every two years. The number of representatives from each state to the House of Representatives depends on the number of people in each particular state.

In order to become a law all bills and resolutions must pass both the Houses and must be signed by the President.

The Supreme Court is the highest judicial organ of the United States and the head of the judicial branch of power. The Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice of the USA and a number of Associate Justices. The United States is divided into 11 judicial circuits, each one being served with a Federal Court of Appeals. There are about 90 district courts in different parts of the United States. The district courts are the lowest ones in the Federal court system. Most of the criminal and civil cases are tried by these courts.

Each state has a constitution similar to the Constitution of the entire nation and all the power in each state is divided into executive, legislative and judicial. The head of each state is the governor of the state. Each state has its own system of courts similar to that of the Federal courts.

Notes:

1. government, n – органы государственной власти

2. the Government – правительство

3. the Congress – Конгресс, законодательный орган США

4. the Senate – Сенат, палата Конгресса, выражающая интересы штатов

5. the House of Representatives – палата представителей, выражающая интересы населения

6. the Chief Justice – председатель Верховного суда

7. associate Justices – члены Верховного суда, помощники судьи