7. The Cabinet
The tradition of the Cabinet dates back to the beginnings of the Presidency itself. Established in Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, the Cabinet's role is to advise the President on any subject he may require relating to the duties of each member's respective office. The Cabinet includes the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive departments — the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, as well as the Attorney General. All Cabinet officers are nominated by the President and then presented to the Senate for confirmation or rejection by a simple majority. If they are approved, they are sworn in and then begin their duties. Aside from the Attorney General, and formerly the Postmaster General, they all receive the title of Secretary. Members of the Cabinet serve at the pleasure of the President, which means that the President may dismiss them or reappoint them (to other posts) at will.
8. Presidential Elections
The United States Constitution stipulates that a presidential election is to be held once every fourth year. The process of electing a president and vice-president, however, begins long before election day.
The nominating process within the political parties officially begins with the first state primaries and caucuses, which usually occur in the month of February of the election year. These primaries and caucuses choose slates of delegates (usually pledged to support particular candidates) to represent the state at the national party conventions. At the national party conventions, traditionally held in the summer, the delegates from the states cast votes to select the party's candidate for president. On election day -- the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November of an election year -- every citizen of legal age who has taken the steps necessary in his or her state to meet the voting requirements (such as registering to vote) has an opportunity to vote. However, the president is not formally chosen by direct popular vote. The constitution calls for a process of indirect popular election known as the electoral college.
The Electoral College The political parties (or independent candidates) in each state submit to the chief election official a list of electors pledged to their candidate for president and equal in number to the state's electoral vote. Each state is allocated a number of electors equal to the number of its U.S. senators (always 2) plus the number of its U.S. representatives. Following election day, on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, these electors assemble in their state capitals, cast their ballots, and officially select the next president. As a rule, whichever presidential ticket gets the most popular votes in a state wins all of that state's electors (except in Maine and Nebraska). The president-elect and vice president-elect take the oath of office and are inaugurated on January 20th. Congressional Elections The Congress is divided into two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate is composed of two members from each state, as provided by the Constitution. Its current membership is 100. Senators are elected to serve six-year terms; every two years one third of the Senate is up for reelection. Before 1913, senators were chosen by their state legislatures, as the Founding Fathers believed that since the senators represented the state, the state legislature should elect them. The 17th amendment to the constitution changed this procedure, mandating that senators be elected directly by the voters of their state. When the first Congress met in 1789, there were 59 members of the House of Representatives. As the number of states increased and the population grew, the number of representatives increased significantly. A law passed in 1911 fixed the size of the House of Representatives at 435 members. Members of the House are up for reelection every two years. The number of representatives in each state depends upon its population as reported in the nation's most recent census. Each state is divided into a corresponding number of congressional districts. There is a representative for every congressional district, elected by the voters residing in that district.
State and Local Government Like the national government, state governments have three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial; these are roughly equivalent in function and scope to their national counterparts. The chief executive of a state is the governor, elected by popular vote, typically for a four-year term (although in a few states the term is two years). Except for Nebraska, which has a single legislative body, all states have a bicameral legislature, with the upper house usually called the Senate and the lower house called the House of Representatives, the House of Delegates, or the General Assembly. Types of city governments vary widely across the nation. However, almost all have some kind of central council, elected by the voters, and an executive officer, assisted by various department heads, to manage the city's affairs.
9 Structure of the USA Congress
Congress is split into two branches—House and Senate—and manages the huge task of writing national legislation by dividing work into separate committees which specialize in different areas. Some members of Congress are elected by their peers to be officers of these committees. Further, Congress has ancillary organizations such as the Government Accountability Office and the Library of Congress to help provide it with information, and members of Congress have staff and offices to assist them as well. In addition, a vast industry of lobbyists helps members write legislation on behalf of diverse corporate and labor interests.
United States congressional committee
The committee structure permits members of Congress to study a particular subject intensely. It is neither expected nor possible that a member be an expert on all subject areas before Congress. As time goes by, members develop expertise in particular subjects and their legal aspects. Committees investigate specialized subjects and advise the entire Congress about choices and trade-offs. The choice of specialty may be influenced by the member's constituency, important regional issues, prior background and experience. Senators often choose a different specialty from that of the other senator from their state to prevent overlap. Some committees specialize in running the business of other committees and exert a powerful influence over all legislation; for example, the House Ways and Means Committee has considerable influence over House affairs.
Power
Committees write legislation. While procedures such as the House discharge petition process can introduce bills to the House floor and effectively bypass committee input, they are exceedingly difficult to implement without committee action. Committees have power and have been called independent fiefdoms. Legislative, oversight, and internal administrative tasks are divided among about two hundred committees and subcommittees which gather information, evaluate alternatives, and identify problems. They propose solutions for consideration by the full chamber.In addition, they perform the function of oversight by monitoring the executive branch and investigating wrongdoing.
Officers
At the start of each two-year session the House elects a speaker who does not normally preside over debates but serves as its majority leader. In the Senate, the Vice President is the ex officio president of the Senate. In addition, the Senate elects an officer called the President pro tempore. Pro tempore means for the time being and this office is usually held by the most senior member of the Senate's majority party and customarily keeps this position until there's a change in party control. Accordingly, the Senate does not necessarily elect a new president pro tempore at the beginning of a new Congress.
10. law making process in d congress ● 1: introduction. The bill must be introduced to the House. A bill supported either by the chairman or the administration has better chances to become law. 2: the bill goes to a committee. There are 38 permanent committees in the Congress (34 – to the House; 4 – to the Senate). 3: if they decide to consider the bill, it goes to the subcommittee. if they approve of it they will hold hearings. The purpose of the hearing is not only to obtain information, but also to test public opinion. After the hearings the bill goes back to the subcommittee for debate and introducing amendments (popravka). 4: general debate, mark-up session – members express their opinion. 5: the bill goes to the Full Committee – they debate the bill Then it goes back to the respective chamber – the House or the Senate. Final stage: the whole business is considered by the Rules Committee (only in the HR). They limit debate to 1-2 hours. Any member speaks no more than 5 minutes. When the bill is passed it goes to the Senate. But the procedure will be a bit easier since every senator has the right to debate the bill without any committee. Senators can talk as long as they wish.
11. congress committees ● handles a specific duty (rather than the general duties of Congress) Committee membership enables members to develop specialized knowledge of the matters under their jurisdiction. committees monitor governmental operations, identify policy problems and propose solutions, gather and evaluate information, and recommend courses of action to their parent body/ Congress divides its legislative, oversight, and internal administrative tasks among approximately 200 committees and subcommittees. Today the Senate operates with 20 standing and select committees. These select committees, however, are permanent in nature and are treated as standing committees under Senate rules. In the House of Representatives, there are 21 permanent committees.
12. duties and powers of d president and vice pres. ● 1-The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate 2-i n case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the VP 3- If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, VP shall become President. If a P shall not have been chosen before the time fixed, failed to qualify, then the VP shall act as President until a President shall have qualified . The President acts as the head of his political party, the chief representative of the government, and the country's popular leader. Chief Executive. He develops federal policies, prepares national budgets, enforces federal laws, and appoints federal officials. Commander in Chief: commander of the armed services. He is responsible for keeping the country safe and strong both in wartime and during peaceful periods. Foreign Policy Director: The President must direct foreign policy, appoint ambassadors, make pacts, and meet with foreign leaders. Legislative Leader: The President influences the development and passage of laws. But his support does not guarantee that a law will be instated. Also, the President has the power to veto any bill that has been passed by Congress.
13. impeachment ● allows formal charges against a civil officer of government for crimes committed in office. The President, Vice President, and all civil Officers of the United States shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of,Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors." The House of Representatives has the sole power of impeaching, while the United States Senate has the sole power to try all impeachments. The removal of impeached officials is automatic upon conviction in the Senate. Impeachment can also occur at the state level;state legislatures['leʤɪsləʧə] (3) can impeach state governors, At thePhiladelphia Convention1787,Benjamin Franklinnoted that, historically, the removal of chiefs had been accomplished byassassination. Franklin suggested that mechanism for removal — impeachment — would be preferable….по письменному представлению нижней палаты [House of Representatives] Конгресса. Рассмотрение дел по импичменту - прерогатива Сената [Senate, U.S. ]. Для принятия решения, предусматривающего отстранение от должности и лишение права занимать в будущем какой-либо ответственный или почетный пост в стране, требуется две трети голосов присутствующих членов Сената. Импичмент не исключает последующего привлечения к суду. Лицо, подвергнутое импичменту, не подлежит президентскому помилованию. Процедура импичмента применялась в США в исключительных случаях в отношении менее чем полутора десятков государственных деятелей и никогда в отношении президента США, хотя в двух случаях - в отношении президентов Э. Джонсона [Johnson, Andrew] в 1868 и Р. Никсона [Nixon, Richard Milhous] в 1974 предпринимались действия, серьезно угрожавшие им импичментом. В 1974 угроза импичмента в связи с Уотергейтским скандалом [Watergate] заставила Р. Никсона уйти в отставку
14. Pre-school and school education ●
Primary educ.in US ♣ Educ.begins with kindergartens 4 5yos. Teach children to get along. Now teach letters, numbers, colours, play. Nursery sch for 3-5 yo, day care centres 4 the whole day. Parents pay tuition, sometimes it’s subsidized.The course is devided into 12 levels – grades. Schoolyear: September-June. Children enter at 6. 1st & 2nd grades r called primary grades. Elementary school: 3-5 grades. Middle school: 6-8. Schoolday lasts for 6 hours, ends at 3pm. Classes r from Mon till Friday. Vacations include 2 weeks in winter, 1 week spring, 2 month summer vacation. Academic subjects include language arts (reading, writing), maths, science, physical educ., history, geography. Social studies emphasize the multicultural nature of the Us. Music, art, computer studies. In the primary grades a class has the same teacher 4 most subjects. Secondary educ.in US ♣ 9-12 grades. 14 – 18 yo. Professional training 4 those planning to work immediately after graduation, courses college-bound students. Students can also take up on-the-job training to earn credit. Subjects r > specialized: American history, European, psychology, algebra, geometry. Science is devided in2 boilogy, chemistry, physics. A foreing language: Spanish, French, german. Physical education.Move from 1 class 2 another and study with a diff teacher. Some subjects r offered at 2-4 levels of difficulty. Participate in orchestra, government, newspapers, math club, drama, sports. Help them to find friends with similar interests, develop their talents, discover their career goals. Private educ in us ♣ US: about 14% attend priv sch. PS can b / into 2 categories: parochial -prixodskoi(supported by a religious group) & independent (not connected with a relig,group). Parochial sch (Catholic) make up the largest group of PS. Charge tuition, not under direct public control, although many states set educational standards 4 them. To attend u must apply & b accepted American tests (ACT, SAT) American College Testing)[1] is a testforhigh schoolachievementandcollege admissions.
15. higher education. University level studies ● University level first stage: Associate Degree, Bachelor degree. Advanced Certificate,. Associate Degree programmes generally fulfil 2 years of the course requirements needed for a Bachelors degree. Credit for Associate Degree studies is usually transferable to Bachelor's degree programmes, especially where transfer agreements have been established between or among institutions. The Bachelor's Degree is the second academic degree that can be awarded in U.S. and is one of two such undergraduate (first) degrees that qualify a student to apply to programmes of advanced (graduate) study (the other such degree is the first-professional degree). . 4 and 5 years of study, depending on the field of study and whether the degree is pursued on a full- or part-time basis. Honours programmes - require the completion of additional requirements such as preparation of an undergraduate thesis, honours paper or project, advanced coursework, or special examinations. Advanced certificates requiring a year or less of study ( sub-specialization ). The study content of the first professional degree programmes is undergraduate in nature and the degrees are prerequisites for entry-level access to certain professions. Confusion sometimes arises because several first professional degrees use the term ‘doctor’ in the title even though they are not advanced degrees. First professional degrees are awarded in Medicine (MD), Dentistry (DDS/DMD), ‘Veterinary Medicine (DVM), Law (JD)…. University level second stage: Master's Degree, Post-Master's Degree, Diploma or Certificate: Master's Degrees may be taught (without thesis) or research (with thesis)… 2 years of full-time study. Examples of awards given at this level include the degree of Education Specialist (E.Sp. or Ed.S.) and Certificates and Diplomas of Advanced Study (C.A.E., D.A.E.). University level third stage: Research Doctorate:. the preparation and defence of a published dissertation or project thesis and the passage of a oral and written examinations--- 4 or 5 years of full-time study and research after the award of a Bachelors degree or at least 2 to 3 years following a Masters degree.//Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
16. teacher education ● Requirements for teachers’ certificate vary among 50 states. Usually the state department of education, or a state certificate board, issues certificates which permit teachers to be employed within the state. Forty-four of the 50 states require at least the completion of a four-year course, with the bachelor’s degree, as a minimum for high school teaching: the tendency to require a fifth year beyond the bachelor’s degree is increasing. Graduation from at least two years of college education is the minimum requirement for elementary teaching in 36 states; others demand the completion of a four-year course and the bachelor’s degree. Because of the decentralization of school control in the USA teachers are employed by local districts rather than by the national government. The American teacher does not have the absolute security of tenure ['tenjuə] which the French or Australian teachers enjoy. A high proportion of the teaching stuff are women. Training of pre-primary school teachers. multiple exams (subject matter, etc.) Four States (Alaska, Idaho, Vermont and Wyoming) require no examinations and 8 states require only minimal skills ‘. Thirty-eight (38) states require completion of a prescribed programme of studies at the undergraduate level. Continuing professional education is required in 42 states in order to maintain certification. secondary school teachers are certified as competent in one or more academic or professional subjects and spend their careers concentrating on these subjects, whereas elementary school teachers - may be thoroughly certified (attest.) to teach the full primary course // the minimum academic requirement is a Bachelor's degree, most teachers possess a Master's degree. higher education teachers are expected to possess the necessary expertise and qualifications to teach/ Requirements vary depending on level at which the faculty are expected to teach, the subject or field to be taught, whether research is to be conducted, whether a professional license or qualification is required
17. non-traditional studies ● Distance higher education education to persons whose location, circumstances or work make remote links. There is rapid growth in educational programmes at all levels delivered via radio, television, satellite downlink stations, videos, computer terminals and other means. Many programmes are offered for credit and lead to Certificates, Diplomas and Degrees; others are designed for leisure studies, personal enrichment or specific work-related education and training. Lifelong higher education specific continuing education programmes, some very extensive and parallel to regular institutional degree offerings, whilst others are short or specialized programmes. Continuing education may be structured to lead to Certificates, Diplomas or Degrees, or used to provide general and leisure study opportunities. Some continuing education is offered through distance learning. Higher education training in industry - employer-sponsored training. Programmes are offered by employers or through contract by postsecondary institution. ranges in length and depth from short courses to full degree programmes. Other forms of non-formal higher education training opportunities exist that do not result in recognized awards and are not intended to result in transferable credit or professional recognition. They include courses and programmes provided by libraries, museums, parks and recreation authorities, clubs and others that are intended for members or the public. Some programmes provided by employers - infonnal seminars and presentations on topics related to work issues and products.
18. leasure and pvt life ● Swimming, surfing, water skiing, tennis, beach volleyball, swimming, soccer, Skiing and Snowboarding and many other sports. Some schools give out a summer reading list, which is a list of required reading that must be completed before the next school year begins. Summer camp is very popular in the U.S.A. Summer camps are very different depending on where you go. Some summer camps are day camps 8:00 am to 3-4:00 pm). Certain day camps are specialty camps and focus on working on or improving one specific skill with campers (such as a sport or art). There are also day camps that are very general camps and do everything from archery to drama every day. There are also “sleep-away”, or overnight camps. At one of these camps, you would stay for anywhere from a week to a month or two. a wider variety of things to do, including rock wall climbing, horseback riding, other sports, arts, and even educational classes (such as math or science). In America, your life is very independent…you have full freedom to be the way you want…Privacy is of utmost importance either at home or in a social setting. You do not see people intruding into your personal life, unless you know them very well. You can dress the way you want, travel wherever you want, be passionate about anything you appreciate, etc amusement parks Canoeing, Parasailing, Snorkeling, Bunge jumping, Paint Ball, scuba ['sku:bə] diving. more than half of unmarried adults between the ages of 18 and 24 still live with their parents. Today only about one-quarter of all households consist of a traditional nuclear family, and more than half of all households have no children. One out of every four children is born out of wedlock, and there has been a large increase in the number of single-parent families. A major percentage of all working Americans are women. In many households where both the husband and wife work outside the home, men are expected to share household duties. It is common to move from one region of the country to another for education, employment, or simply a change of climate and scenery. Some people may move 15 times or more during a lifetime. The average age for marriage is 26 for men and 24 for women. Americans eat a lot of fast food such as hamburgers, pizza, and fried chicken