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The Political System of the USA
The USA is a federative republic. In 1776 when the independence
of the USA was declared, 13 "founding" states entered the federation;
from 1959 the federation comprises 50 states.
Washington D. C. is the seat of the Federal Government of the
United States. The Federal Government is made up of three branches - the
Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial. The function of the Executive
Branch is to carry out the laws of the nation. It consists of the President,
Vice - President and the President's Cabinet. The members of the Cabinet
are chosen by the President. Most of them are called Secretaries: the
Secretary of State, Agriculture, Labour, Transportation, etc.
The President is head of the state and of the executive department.
He is also a Commander - in - Chief of the Army and Navy of the USA.
The President and Vice President are elected for a term of 4 years. No
person can be elected to the office of President more than twice. The
President is elected indirectly in two stages: first electors are chosen in
their respective states, and these elect the President and Vice - President,
running together on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
All legislative powers are vested in Congress, which consists of the
Senate and the House of Representatives. Members of the House of
Representatives (435 persons) are chosen every second year. Senators
(100 persons) are elected for a term of six years, 2 senators from each
state.
The Senate ratifies international appointments. The Senate may also
initiate any bill with the exception of financial ones; these may be
introduced only by the House of Representatives. The Senate may not
adopt any bill introduced by the House of Representatives or make
amendments to it.
In the House of Representatives the presiding officer is the Speaker,
who is elected by the members and is always a member of the majority
party in the House. The Speaker is now the first in the line to become
President in case of the death of both President and Vice - President.
In the USA Congress the Speaker plays a very important role in
party policies. He appoints members of Congressional Committees, for
example, to work on the bills or to settle disputes between the House of
Representatives and the Senate.
The decision on some of the most important issues may therefore
depend on who is chosen by the Speaker to participate in the Committees.
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