The Constitution of the United States divides the federal government into three branches to ensure a central government in which no individual or group gains too much control:
- Legislative – Makes laws (Congress)
- Executive – Carries out laws (President, Vice President, Cabinet)
- Judicial – Evaluates laws (Supreme Court and Other Courts)
The legislative branch enacts legislation, confirms or rejects presidential appointments, and has the authority to declare war. This branch includes Congress (the Senate and House of Representatives) and several agencies that provide support services to Congress. American citizens have the right to vote for senators and representatives through free, confidential ballots.
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House of Representatives
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Senate
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- 435 elected representatives, which are divided among the 50 states in proportion to their total population (There are currently six non-voting members, representing Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, American Samoa,Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands)
- Age of a representative : more than 25
- Citizenship: more than 7 years
- А representative serves a two-year term, and there's no limit to the number of terms an individual can serve
- Functions:
- Focus on budget
- indicate revenue bills and taxes,
- impeach federal officials,
- elect president in the case of electoral college tie (The Senate has the power to do the same with the office of Vice President. Of course it cannot choose randomly, but must select from candidates with the most electoral votes.)
- Power to participate in Joint Committees alongside senate members, such as the Joint Committee on Taxation or Joint Economic Committee
- May override president’s veto
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- two elected senators per state, totaling 100 senators
- Age of a representative : more than 30 (no criminal records)
- Citizenship: more than 9 years
- A senate term is six years and there's no limit to the number of terms an individual can serve
- Functions:
- Confirm president’s/ vice president’s appointments
- Focus on foreign affairs
- Pass bills and ratify treaties
- Committees – there are 20 – deal with specialized areas of legislation, or laws and statutes.
- Joint committees – there are 4 – are made up of both Senate and House members and are responsible for specialized topics of business, such as taxes (Joint Committee on Taxation) and economics (Joint Economic Committee).
- May override president’s veto (if 2/3 are not agree with it)
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