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Checks and Balances
1. The U.S. Constitution establishes three branches for the federal government: executive, legislative, and judicial. The three branches work together to help the country. Each branch has its own responsibilities and powers. No branch has more power than the other branches. They have balanced powers. Each branch has separate duties to check the powers of the other branches.
2. When a new state – the USA – was born, the Founders of the state thought that if there was no balance of power among different branches of government it would lead to tyranny. The problem was how to create a system of government with balanced powers. That’s why James Madison (1751 – 1836) favored the constitution that limited government by means of a) separation of powers; b) a system of checks and balances, where checks – limitation of the duties of each branch, and balances – separate powers to each branch.
3. Congress has the power to make laws, but the President may veto any act of Congress. Congress, in its turn, can pass a law over a veto by a two-thirds vote in each house. Congress can also refuse to provide funds requested by the President. The President can appoint important officials of his administration, but they must be approved by the Senate. The President also has the power to name all federal judges: they, too, must be approved by the Senate.
4. The system of checks and balances makes compromise and consensus necessary. This system protects against extremes. It means, for example, that new presidents cannot radically change governmental policies just as they wish.
Определите основную идею текста.
The U.S. Constitution provides the separation of powers in the country among the executive branch of government, the legislative branch and the judicial branch.
The role of compromise and consensus in the American system of running a country is very important, as it protects against extremes in governmental policies.
The system of checks and balances presupposes that Congress passes laws which the President can veto, but Congress, in its turn, can override the President’s veto.
The system of checks and balances serves to control the work of different branches of the federal government and is an important principle of the US Constitution.
