Our senators, representatives, and speaker of house 2011

Legislative Branch Current Event

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/house-votes-on-spending-may-reveal-future-of-fiscal-debate/2011/04/13/AFnGQiYD_story.html

House votes on spending may reveal future of fiscal debate

House leaders have gotten support for the new 6-month spending bill that averted government shutdown.

The bill will cut $38 billion in spending. The second vote for the bill is going to be on 4/14/11 to affirm it.

The Legislative branch is the only branch that controls funding and government spending. This is stated in Article one section eight.

How to be senator and Representative

Ben Franklin- Hey James, what are you going to make the requirements for being senator and representative?

James Madison- Ben, can't you see im drafting the constitution? dont disturb me. But you are right i need to think about that...

Ben Franklin-Yes you do. How about you make the minimum age for a senator 30 yrs old?

James Madison-why 30? well its a reasonable age. Also, you have to be a US citizen, you must be a resident for 9 years and a resident in the state which the election occurred.

Ben Franklin-Rather lengthy but i agree. Next up are teh representatives.

James Madison- Don't tell me what to do im the one writign here.

Ben Franklin- OK whatever you say. I think the age should also be 30-wait why did u write 25! It makes me feel old...

James Madison- you are old. Being a representative should take less experience. There fore the minimum age is 25 and you must have been a resident for 7 years

Ben Franklin-However, you must still be a US citizen and a resident of where the election occured.

James Madison-I'll put that down. Thank you

Senator
- 30 years old
- US resident for 9 years

- US citizen

- Resident of the State in which the election occured
Representative
- 25 years old
- US resident for 7 years

- US citizen

- Resident of the State in which the election occured

Structure of Congress

The legislative branch's main job is to make the laws. Other powers include

• impeaching the president
• overriding his vetoes
• controlling funding
• refusing to appoint any presidential nominees
• can impeach/remove federal judges
• approve supreme court appointments made by president.

How a Bill becomes a Law

A bill can be introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives. The bill can be denied during any step of the process.

House of Representatives (22 committees)

1. Introduction-Bill is sent to comitee
2. Committee Action- Sub committe studies bill, then approve/dissapprove
3. Floor Action-Whole house debates (majority has to approve) can be amended

Senate (15 committees)

1. 1. Introduction-Bill is sent to comitee
   2. Committee Action- Sub committe studies bill, then approve/dissapprove
   3. Floor Action-Senate debates (majority has to approve) can be amended
   After that, House and Senate compare point of views and compromises differences. If approved, it goes to the President. He can veto it, but his veto can be overruled by a 2/3 majority vote in Congress.

Impeached

Bill Clinton was Impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of prejury and obstructon of justice on December 19, 1998. This all began with an inquiry by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr and civil lawsuit by Paula Jones. She was apparently sexually harassed by Clinton in a hotel room. After providing evidence, Clinton admitted he was involved. This led to the House of Representative's charges against him. In order for him ot be removed form office, 67 senators had to vote for it, but only 45 did. He was impeached, but not removed from office

Executive Headline

http://www.edition.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/03/24/libya.obama.criticism/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

CNN White House defends Libya response

The President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Military, so he has the power to mobilize troops. But Congress can also influence military actions. Obama wants to send troops and parts of our military to Libya, however, Congress disproves. Since Obama is commander-in-chief, he can send troops whenever he wants. However, only Congress can declare war.

Even though he is the commander of the armed forces, Obama is being criticized for not consulting congress before sending troops to Libya. The president is the commander of our forces, meaning the military follows all of his orders. The congress has the power to declare war, and if they think the president’s actions are similar to waging war, they can say that he is going out of his range of power.

I think his actions are not close to waging war, as the operation is a coalition effort from many countries from around the world. America is just a member of the force sent in to stop Qadaffi. Not one of Americas soldiers have been sent to fight on the ground. The only actions taken have been intelligence by UAV’s and bombings. This is why I think Obama is not going out of his range of power in bombing Libya. He is the commander of our forces, and his actions do not seem like he’s trying to declare war against Libya’s dictator. He was just trying to step in to help others prevent more innocent people getting killed.

Presidency prerequisites

-Must be a natural born American Citizen

-Must be at least 35 years old

-Must take Oath of Office

The second Amendment states that a President can only serve for 2 terms. Each term lasts 4 years.

Executive Branch

The executive branch is in charge of "executing" the laws made by congress. The President is commander-in-chief- of the military, and possess the main powers of the executive branch. The Cabinet is made of the Vice President, and 15 head members of different departments. Their role is to advse the President.

President of the United States-he can sign legislation into law or to veto bills enacted by Congress. However, Congress may override a veto with a two-thirds vote of both houses. The Executive Branch conducts diplomacy with other nations, and the President has the power to negotiate and can sign treaties. This also must be ratified by two-thirds of the Senate. The President can issue executive orders, which direct executive officers or clarify and further existing laws. He also has unlimited power to extend pardons for federal crimes, except when he is being impeached.

Barack Obama

Vice President of the United States -He has to be ready at a moment's notice to step in to be the new President if the President is unable to perform his duties. Causes might be the President's death, resignation, or temporary incapacitation, or if the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet judge that the President is no longer able to discharge the duties of the presidency, such as when he is impeached.

Joseph R. Biden

Cabinet - Cabinet members are the President's confidants. Other than running major federal agencies, they also play an important role in the Presidential line of succession. After the Vice President, Speaker of the House, and Senate President pro tempore, the line of succession continues to the cabinet members. Next in line after the Senate President are the Cabinet offices in the order in which the departments were created.

Department of State
Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton

Department of the Treasury
Secretary Timothy F. Geithner

Department of Defense
Secretary Robert M. Gates

Department of Justice
Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr.

Department of the Interior
Secretary Kenneth L. Salazar

Department of Agriculture
Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack

Department of Commerce
Secretary Gary F. Locke

Department of Labor
Secretary Hilda L. Solis

Department of Health and Human Services
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius

Department of Housing and Urban Development
Secretary Shaun L.S. Donovan

Department of Transportation
Secretary Ray LaHood

Department of Energy
Secretary Steven Chu

Department of Education
Secretary Arne Duncan

Department of Veterans Affairs
Secretary Eric K. Shinseki

Department of Homeland Security
Secretary Janet A. Napolitano

The following positions have the status of Cabinet-rank:

White House Interim Chief of Staff
Bill Daley

Environmental Protection Agency
Administrator Lisa P. Jackson

Office of Management & Budget
Jacob J. Lew, Director

United States Trade Representative
Ambassador Ronald Kirk

United States Ambassador to the United Nations
Ambassador Susan Rice

Council of Economic Advisers
Chairman Austan Goolsbee

Compromise

Compromises were vital in the making of the Constitution. This was because in the begging all the states tried to propose a government system that would benefit itself the most which hindered progress. Concepts that were quarreled over included population representation, slave representation, how the president should be chosen, and whether or not to ratify the Constitution.

To start it off, the Framers had trouble deciding on how the people will be represented int eh government. Would the number of representatives be according to population size, or would the number be set? More populous states wanted representation based on population, while smaller states chose the latter. Robert Sherman of Connecticut proposed a compromise which had states represented by both a Senate and House of Representatives.

In addition to population representation, the Framers debated on how the slaves would count towards the population. Virginia wanted to have slaves count as part of the population, as they had a great number of slaves. Smaller states didn't like that. In the end, they decided on the Three-Fifth compromise. It stated that three fifths of the total slave population in a state would be added towards the state population.

Another thing that was argued on was how to decide on how the President would be elected. They didn't want direct election, because the people would just vote for the state's representative. If Congress decided on the issue, the people would loose the power to vote. The result was the Electoral College. This compromise had the people vote for a president. Each state has electors (number equal to the sum of the number of senators and representatives) that would then vote for a president according to results of the citizen's voting.

Lastly, when the constitution was formed, another compromise had to be made between the people and the government, called the Bill of Rights or the first 10 amendments. The Constitution said nothing about the basic rights of the people, and they demanded that for them to be able to ratify the newly made Constitution, they needed something that stated all their rights. Thus, the 10 Bill of Rights was made.

In conclusion, the constitution would not be here today if it wasn't for compromises. The compromises helped keep the new government from falling apart. Whether it be population representation, counting of slaves, electing a new president, or whether or not to ratify the Constitution, the Framers had to mix together ideas to keep the progress going in able to form the new government of the United States.

History of the Constitution

The constitution was a second try by the Framers to create a "supreme law of the land". The Articles of Confederation did not work because it held the states together too loosely, so the Framers decided to replace the Articles of Confederation. Some important Framers included Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, Roger Sherman, and Alexander Hamilton.

Preamble

"We the People of the United States, in Order to forma more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, Provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Properity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America"

We the People of the United States-puts into writing that the constitution the people were creating the constitution, not a king or ruler.

in Order to form a more perfect Union- the Articles of Confederation did not work very well. The Framers created the Constitution to create a union that wasn't necessarily perfect, but more perfect.

establish Justice-the constitution states that the government will keep justice. All citizens will be treated fairly without being prejudiced.

insure domestic Tranquility- the new powers given to the government will prevent future rebellions and riots such as Shay's rebellion

provide for the common defense- the government has the responsibility to raise an army to protect the states from foreign invaders.

promote the general Welfare- the government will encourage trading and make daily life better for all citizens

and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity-stated that they will keep america a free country that was different from Great Britan. wanted to make sure that the future generations also had the same freedom.

do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America-summarizes the preamble and says that the framers approve and established the constitution.

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Richard Ni
Core 3
My Constitution Crapbook