Vocabulary

adjourn v 1 отсрочивать; 2 откладывать

adjournment n отсрочка

amend the bill вносить поправки (изменения, дополнения) в законопроект

arm n власть

Committee on House Administration комитет палаты по управлению делами

confer v совещаться, вести переговоры

defeat v отвергать, отклонять, проваливать (законопроект)

die v прекращать существование

force out v вытеснять

hearing n слушание, устное разбирательство

initiate legislation осуществлять законодательную инициативу

override a veto отвергнуть вето

pass a bill принимать / утверждать законопроект

pocket veto «карманное вето» (неподписание президентом США законопроекта до роспуска конгресса)

refer v 1 направлять; 2 отсылать; 3 передавать (дело) в другую инстанцию

Senate Committee on Rules and Administration сенатский комитет по регламенту и управлению делами

sequence n 1 последовательность; 2 порядок следования

signature n подпись

table v 1 откладывать или оттягивать обсуждение; 2 класть под сукно, откладывать в долгий ящик

veto v налагать запрет /вето (на законопроект)

veto n вето, запрет, запрещение

withhold v 1 приостанавливать; 2 отказывать (в чем-либо)

Reading tasks

A Answer these questions.

1 Who can initiate new legislation in the USA?

2 Where is the proposed bill first introduced?

3 Where are hearings on a particular bill held?

4 What can committee recommendations include?

5 When is the bill considered by the House of Representatives as a whole?

6 Is the bill viewed in the Senate?

7 What can the result of the debate be?

8 Under what circumstances does the bill become law? Is there only one way to it?

9 Who has the right of veto?

Text B

The Political System of the USA

(summary)

The Political System

The United States is an indirect democracy – that is, the people rule through representa­tives they elect. Over time, the vote has been given to more and more people. In the be­ginning, only white men with property could vote. Today any citizen who is at least 18 years old can vote.

The Constitution

The United States Constitution, written in 1787, established the country's political sys­tem and is the basis for its laws. In 200 years, the United States has experienced enormous growth and change. Yet the Constitution works as well today as when it was written. One rea­son is that the Constitution can be amended, or changed. (For example, the Fifteenth Amendment gave black Americans the right to vote and the Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote.) Another reason is that the Constitution is flexible: its basic prin­ciples can be applied and interpreted differ­ently at different times.

Federalism

The United States has a federalist system. This means that there are individual states, each with its own government, and there is a federal, or national, government. The President appoints the department heads, who together make up the President's Cabinet, or advisers. The agencies regulate specific areas. For example, the Environmen­tal Protection Agency tries to control pol­lution, while the Securities and Exchange Commission regulates the stock markets. The judicial branch interprets the laws and makes sure that new laws are in keeping with the Constitution. There are several levels of federal courts. The Supreme Court is the most important. It has nine members, who are appointed for life.

The system of checks and balances, es­tablished by the Constitution, is meant to prevent any branch from having too much power. Each branch has certain controls over the other branches. For example, Congress makes the laws but the President can veto, or reject, a law and the Supreme Court can decide a law is unconstitutional.