Language focus

Complete the following text putting the words in brackets into the appropriate present simple active or passive form and the appropriate active or passive form of the infinitive.

 

Congressmen 1) _____ (do) work long and hard. But most of their work 2) _____ (do) in committee meetings. Here bills 3) __ ___ (study), experts 4) ___ __ (consult), and recommendations 5) __ ___ (make) to the whole House or Senate. During a two-year term of Congress, as many as 20,000 bills may 6) __ ___ (introduce). Some may be important, some not, but no Congressman could possibly 7) _ ____ (know) enough about 20,000 bills to vote intelligently on them. Here’s where the committees 8) __ ___ (come) in. There 9) _____ (be) 16 “standing”, or permanent, committees in the Senate and 22 in the House. Each committee 10) _____ (sit) and 11) _____ (sort) the bills it 12) _____ (be) responsible for. Because the Congressmen on a committee 13) _____ (be) experts in that field, they 14) _ ____ (accept) and 15) _ ____ (improve) some bills, but 16) _____ (reject) most of them.

Generally Congress 17) _____ (go) along with the decisions of its committees. For a bill to become a law it must 18) _____ (pass) by both the House and the Senate and signed by the President. If the President 19) _____ (disapprove), he 20) _____ (veto) the bill by refusing to sign it and 21) _____ (send) it back to Congress. The President’s objections 22) _____ (read) and 23) _____ (debate), then the bill 24) _____ (put) to vote. To overcome the President’s veto the bill must 25) _____ (get) a two-thirds majority in each chamber.

 

Vocabulary tasks

A Explain the meaning of the words and word-combinations in italics from the context.

1 The committee … holds hearings on it.

2 Then the vote is taken.

3 … if two-thirds of each house of Congress then vote for it … thus overriding … the President’s veto.

4 The President may also use the “pocket veto” by withholding his signature within ten days of congressional adjournment.

 

B Match the words in the first and second columns as they occur in the text.

 

	committee	a	bill
	general	b	veto
	finance	c	debate
	suggested	d	adjournment
	congressional	e	hearings
	pocket	f	changes

 

C Use an appropriate word or phrase from the box to complete the sentences.

 

to introduce bills in favour of vote law houses is passed standing committees the President to veto lawmaking chairmen

 

The legislative work of Congress is done mostly in 1) _____. Each standing committee specializes in certain spheres of 2) _____: foreign affairs, defense, finance, agriculture, etc. The committees are headed by influential 3) _ ____.

Each house has the power 4) __ ___ on any subject. Important bills may be suggested by 5) _____ or other executive officials. After introduction all bills are sent to certain committees. When a committee is 6) _____ a bill, it is sent to the Congress for open debate. When the debate is over, members 7) _____ to approve the bill or to defeat it. After the bill 8) _ ____ by both 9) _____, it is sent to the President for his approval. However, the President has the right 10) _____ the bill. The bill vetoed by the President must be re-approved by a two-thirds vote in both houses to become 11) _____.

 

Over to you

Discuss the following economic and moral issue.

 

Should a senator oppose a bill that might hurt some of his constituents even if it would help many people throughout the country? Here is the issue:

 

Senator Smith comes from a farm state where many people raise cattle that are sold for meat. Meat prices are high, and the farmers in the senator's state are making a lot of money. Prices are so high, however, that many people throughout the country cannot afford to buy meat.

Senator Barnes comes from an industrial state and has proposed a bill to encourage the purchase of less expensive meat from Argentina and Australia. The purchase of a large amount of this meat would probably bring down meat prices in the United States generally. As a result, Senator Smith's constituents would make less money. On the other hand, more people could buy meat at lower prices.

How should Senator Smith vote on Senator Barnes's bill? (He is also hoping for a re-election to still another term.)

 

Act out this situation. Give all the pros and the cons.

(From "Speaking in the USA")

Text B

The Political System of the USA

(summary)