What kind of government us has

If the members of the subcommittee agree to move a bill forward, it is reported to the full committee, where the process is repeated again. Throughout this stage of the process, the committees and subcommittees call hearings to investigate the merits and flaws of the bill. They invite experts, advocates, and opponents to appear before the committee and provide testimony, and can compel people to appear using subpoena power if necessary.

If the full committee votes to approve the bill, it is reported to the floor of the House or Senate, and the majority party leadership decides when to place the bill on the calendar for consideration. If a bill is particularly pressing, it may be considered right away. Others may wait for months or never be scheduled at all. When the bill comes up for consideration, the House has a very structured debate process.

Each member who wishes to speak only has a few minutes, and the number and kind of amendments are usually limited. In the Senate, debate on most bills is unlimited — Senators may speak to issues other than the bill under consideration during their speeches, and any amendment can be introduced.

Senators can use this to filibuster bills under consideration, a procedure by which a Senator delays a vote on a bill — and by extension its passage — by refusing to stand down. A supermajority of 60 Senators can break a filibuster by invoking cloture, or the cession of debate on the bill, and forcing a vote. Once debate is over, the votes of a simple majority passes the bill.

A bill must pass both houses of Congress before it goes to the President for consideration. Though the Constitution requires that the two bills have the exact same wording, this rarely happens in practice. To bring the bills into alignment, a Conference Committee is convened, consisting of members from both chambers. The members of the committee produce a conference report, intended as the final version of the bill.

Each chamber then votes again to approve the conference report. Depending on where the bill originated, the final text is then enrolled by either the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate, and presented to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate for their signatures. The bill is then sent to the President. When receiving a bill from Congress, the President has several options. American citizens have the right to vote for Senators and Representatives through free, confidential ballots.

The executive branch carries out and enforces laws. It includes the president, vice president, the Cabinet, executive departments, independent agencies, and other boards, commissions, and committees.

American citizens have the right to vote for the president and vice president through free, confidential ballots.

Much of the work in the executive branch is done by federal agencies, departments, committees, and other groups. The Executive Office of the president communicates the president's message and deals with the federal budget, security, and other high priorities. These are the main agencies of the federal government. The heads of these 15 agencies are also members of the president's cabinet. These agencies are not represented in the cabinet and are not part of the Executive Office of the president.

They deal with government operations, the economy, and regulatory oversight. Congress or the president establish these smaller organizations to manage specific tasks and areas that don't fall under parent agencies. Although they're not officially part of the executive branch, these agencies are required by federal statute to release certain information about their programs and activities in the Federal Register , the daily journal of government activities.

The judicial branch interprets the meaning of laws, applies laws to individual cases, and decides if laws violate the Constitution. It is comprised of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States.

The president is the most powerful figure in the government. She or he is both the head of the government and state. The president is assisted by the vice president who is elected as the running mate in a general election.

The powers and functions of the president are, however, limited by the constitution. The responsibilities of the president include commander-in-chief of the armed forces and appointment of the members of the cabinet. The president is limited to a maximum of two terms of four years each. The legislative branch is composed of the two parliamentary houses. The House of Representatives is composed of members with each member representing a congressional district.

The state with the highest population has the highest number of representatives. The delegates representing the territories of the US are also members of the House of Representatives.

Additionally, wealthier and more educated people are more likely to hold political positions. Bush, were both Yale University alumni. John Kerry was a lawyer and George W.

Bush had an MBA from Harvard. Both were white, worth millions of dollars, and came from families involved in politics. Lobbying describes paid activity in which special interest groups argue for specific legislation in decision-making bodies. Lobbying in the United States describes paid activity in which special interests hire well-connected professional advocates, often lawyers, to argue for specific legislation in decision-making bodies such as the United States Congress. It is a highly controversial phenomenon, often seen in a negative light by journalists and the American public, and frequently misunderstood.

The current pattern suggests much lobbying is done by corporations although a wide variety of coalitions representing diverse groups are possible. Lobbying happens at every level of government, including federal, state, county, municipal, and even local governments.

Lobbyists are intermediaries between client organizations and lawmakers: They explain to legislators what their organizations want, and they explain to their clients what obstacles elected officials face. Many lobbyists work in lobbying firms or law firms, some of which retain clients outside of lobbying. Others work for advocacy groups, trade associations, companies, and state and local governments.

Lobbyists can also be one type of government official, such as a governor of a state, who presses officials in Washington for specific legislation. While the bulk of lobbying happens by business and professional interests who hire paid professionals, some lobbyists represent non-profits and work pro bono for issues in which they are personally interested.

Pro bono clients offer activities like fundraisers and awards ceremonies on neutral territory to meet and socialize with local legislators. Corporations which lobby actively tend to be large corporations, few in number, and often they sell to the government. Most corporations do not hire lobbyists.

One study found that the actual number of firms which do lobbying regularly is fewer than , and that the percent of firms engaged in lobbying was 10 percent from Corporations considering lobbying run into substantial barriers to entry: Corporations have to research the relevant laws about lobbying, hire lobbying firms, and cultivate influential people and make connections.

For example, when an issue regarding a change in immigration policy arose, large corporations that were currently lobbying switched focus somewhat to take account of the new regulatory world, but new corporations—even ones likely to be affected by any possible rulings on immigration—stayed out of the lobbying fray, according to the study. The Defense Lobby : Defense contractors such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin sell extensively to the government and must, of necessity, engage in lobbying to win contracts.

Collectively, African Americans are more involved in the American political process than other minority groups. Sketch an outline of the general African-American influence on U. Collectively, African Americans are more involved in the American political process than other minority groups, indicated by the highest level of voter registration and participation in elections among these groups in African Americans collectively attain higher levels of education than immigrants to the United States.

African Americans also have the highest level of Congressional representation of any minority group in the U. Voter Turnout by Race, Presidential Election : This is a chart illustrating voter turnout by race for the Presidential Election using data from the U.

Census Bureau. Senator Roland Burris : Although African Americans have high political participation rates, they are underrepresented in political office. The large majority of African Americans support the Democratic Party.

Although there is an African American lobby in foreign policy, it has not had the impact that African American organizations have had in domestic policy. Historically, African Americans were supporters of the Republican Party because it was Republican President Abraham Lincoln who granted freedom to American slaves; at the time, the Republicans and Democrats represented the sectional interests of the North and South, respectively, rather than any specific ideology—both right and left were represented equally in both parties.

Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson pushed for civil rights legislation during the s. African Americans tend to hold far more conservative opinions on abortion, extramarital sex, and raising children out of wedlock than Democrats as a whole. On financial issues, they are in line with Democrats, generally supporting a more progressive tax structure to provide more services and reduce injustice and as well as more government spending on social services.

Hispanics have the ability to be an influential force in politics, a fact that is especially true in areas with high Hispanic populations. Depending on their location and background, Hispanics differ on their political views. Due to the homogeneity among Hispanic voters, they have the ability to be an influential force in American politics. This is especially true in areas with high Hispanic populations. Statistics indicate that the American Hispanic population is increasing and will continue to do so steadily over the ensuing decades of the 21 st century.

A study, conducted by the Center for Immigration Studies, projected that in November , Hispanics would comprise In comparison, the same study showed that in , non-Hispanic whites were expected to constitute Non-Hispanic blacks were only expected to represent Hispanics are often classified as a unitary voting bloc, but there are differences in political preferences within this community.

For example, Cuban Americans and Colombian Americans tend to favor conservative political ideologies and to support the Republican Party. Mexican Americans, Puerto Rican Americans, and Dominican Americans, on the other hand, tend to favor liberal views and to support the Democratic party. Media are means of transmitting information, which is important for a democracy in which citizens must make their own informed decisions.