Uk Executive Branch of Power

/From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia/

Her Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly referred to as HM Government (HMG), the British Government or the UK Government, is the central government of the United Kingdom.

The Government is led by the Prime Minister, who selects all the remaining Ministers. The Prime Minister and the other most senior Ministers belong to the supreme decision-making committee, known as the Cabinet. The Government Ministers are all members of Parliament, and are accountable to it. The Government is dependent on Parliament to make primary legislation, which means that in practice a government must seek re-election at least every five years. The monarch selects the Prime Minister as the leader of the party most likely to command a majority in Parliament.

Under the unwritten British constitution, executive authority lies with the monarch, although this authority is exercised only by, or on the advice of, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. The Cabinet members advise the monarch as members of the Privy Council. They also exercise power directly as leaders of the Government Departments.

Exercise 9

Find out

• what political parties are represented in the Parliament now;

• what party forms the current Cabinet;

• who is the Prime Minister

• what other ministers form the government.

PART 2. LEGISLATION PROCESS IN THE USA

FUNDAMENTALS

Read the text that provides brief information on the legislation process in the USA. Compare this process with the one in the UK.

United States Congress

/From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia/

The United States Capitol is a building where the Congress meets.

The United States Congress is the legislative, or law making, branch of the United States government. It meets in the United States Capitol.

It has two houses (parts): The United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. This two house system is known as a bicameral (bi is the Latin word for "two", and camera is Latin for "chamber" or "room") legislature. There are 435 Representatives in Congress, split between the states based on how many people live in the state. There are 100 Senators in Congress, with two coming from each state.

The primary duty of Congress is to write, debate, and pass bills (laws they want). For Congress to pass a bill, both houses must pass exactly the same bill. For each house to pass a bill, more than half of its members must vote in favor of passing the bill. After both houses pass the same bill, this bill is then sent to the President. If the President agrees the bill should be a law he or she signs the bill within 10 days. If the president does not agree, then he or she can veto the bill and send it back to Congress. If the bill is neither signed nor vetoed by the president within 10 days, the bill becomes law anyway if Congress does not adjourn (end its session) within that time. If Congress adjourns within that time, the bill does not become a law. Congress may override a president's veto of a bill by having more than two thirds of its members passing the bill. In that case, the bill becomes law even though the president vetoed it.

• Article 1 of the United States Constitution lists what subjects Congress can pass laws on.

• Members of Congress cannot be arrested, except for certain crimes, during a session of Congress or going to or returning from a session.

• Each house of Congress can decide to expel (throw out) one of its members if more than two thirds of them vote to expel him or her.

• The political party with the most members in a house of Congress usually decides which bills are voted on in their house.