President v. Prime Minister

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "President v. Prime Minister"

Cory Powers
5 years ago
Views:

1 The Presidency

2 Introduction The President is the most powerful person in the world agree or disagree? A Johnson had laws passed by Congress to limit his power, and he was impeached Kennedy, Johnson, Bush, and Clinton all sent troops into battle without war declarations Nixon froze prices (and wages) Carter signed an arms limitation treaty with the Soviets not ratified by the Senate Reagan couldn t test anti-satellite weapons and Congress rejected his budget Clinton s healthcare plan was ignored and he was impeached

3 President v. Prime Minister Popularly elected president s were created by the US had NEVER existed before, anywhere! Of the 5 dozen countries with party competition for leader, only 16 have direct elections (13 are in N. or S. America) If he is not directly elected by the people, the other option is to be chosen by Parliament (which is what all of Europe has) Which ever party has the majority in Parliament will be the party the prime minister is chosen from

4 President v. Prime Minister Obama was elected partly on the premise that he was a Washington outsider Prime ministers have to be insiders Presidents choose cabinet members from outside of Congress Britain s Prime Minister selects all of his members from Parliament Presidents may not have a willing Congress Prime Ministers are pulled from majority party in Parliament, meaning likely compatibility between the two branches

5 Divided Government Divided Government: legislative branch (at least one chamber) and executive branch are controlled by different parties Unified Government: legislative (both chambers) & executive branch are controlled by same party People complain that a divided government leads to gridlock

6 Divided Government Some say that divided government creates partisan bickering which prevents legislation from being passed Many believe that divided government is not the cause of gridlock, ideological difference is Gridlock however is a side effect of democracy it creates time to debate and forces compromise

7 The Powers of the President Chief of State ceremonial head of gov t Commander in Chief head of the military Chief Executive - enforces laws of the nation Chief Legislator proposes MOST potential laws Chief Diplomat US foreign policy (sec of state!) Chief Administrator head of Executive Dept Chief of Party head of his/her pol. party Chief Citizen reps the US people to the World

8 The Powers of the President Shared powers between the President and Senate Make treaties Appoint ambassadors, judges, high officials Shared powers between the President and Congress as a whole Approve legislation

9 Qualifications Natural born citizen 35 years old Resident of the US for 14+ years

10 Benefits $400,000/year salary (taxable) $50,000 (tax-free) expense account $100,000 travel expenses/year Pension pay = cabinet member pay ($203,700 - taxable) for LIFE Staff and Secret service during/after presidency 132-room White House w/ staff of 400+ Camp David Air Force One/Marine One Personal Chef Best Health Care in the nation

11 Vice President Two official jobs: Preside over Senate original Determine Presidential disability 25 th Amendment Two unofficial President s errand boy President in waiting

12 Four Options when Bill Arrives in Oval Office 1. Sign the bill into law 2. Veto the bill, send back to Congress Cong can override by 2/3 in BOTH chambers 3. Leave bill unsigned for 10 business days while Congress is still in session becomes law 4. Leave bill unsigned for 10 business days and Congress adjourns, bill is dead pocket veto

13 Electoral College pages 368,369 Framers did not believe normal citizen was smart enough to know who to choose for POTUS Electors would be selected to vote for president Number of electors determined by population Each state would select a favorite son with no real chance of winning; election would then be decided in the House, where they expected most elections to be decided Framers did not foresee power of Nat l Parties Three Biggest Problems of Electoral College a. No rule to make electors vote the way citizens voted b. If no majority winner, vote goes to House of Reps c. Person can win popular vote but lose in Electoral College

14 The Executive Office of the President Every officer, employee and agency is legally subordinate to the President They exist to help the President exercise executive power His right arm is the Executive Office of the President Staffed by the President s closest advisors and assistants The White House is the nerve center of the executive branch

15 Executive Office: Executive Branch Chief of Staff: controls daily access to president and sets schedule Press Secretary: consults with media on president s activities Chief Counsel: presidential lawyer Office of Management and Budget: most important coordinates federal budget, advises President National Security Council: includes Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff and Security Advisor

16 The Executive Office of the President The President consults the National Security Council when considering steps in foreign affairs The President is the chairman Other members include the VP, Director of the CIA, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The Department of Homeland Security is the newest EOP, created after 9/11 Main job - keep the President aware of any/all acts of terrorism Other EOP agencies include Office of Management and Budget, Office of *Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, Office of National Drug Control Policy, and Office of Economic Advisors *politically correct word for Christian

17 The Executive Departments Much of the work done by the Federal Government is by the 15 executive departments Cabinet Departments (p 375) The First Congress created 3 of the departments (State, Treasury, War) As the workload of the increased, so has the number of departments (some have been faded out like War and replaced with Defense)

18 The Executive Departments Each Department is headed by a secretary Exception: Department of Justice is headed by the Attorney General Each department head is the primary link between the presidential policy and the department Each department has an assistant secretary as well as personnel, etc.

19 Independent Agencies Since 1880, the Federal Government has had to expand beyond the Cabinet Departments This has led to nearly 150 independent agencies Some of the reasons these agencies exist outside of the departments is: They do not fit in a department (General Services Administration-purchase supplies, land, equipment) Some are independent to avoid partisanship Because of the nature of their functions (regulatory commissions) FDIC, FCC

20 Independent Agencies Independent Executive Agencies organized much like the Cabinet Departments, they just do not get Cabinet status (NASA, EPA, all the way down to the small ones like the American Battle Monuments Commission) Independent Regulatory Commissions beyond the reach of the President s control - see p 377 Congress has given this group quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial powers meaning that the rules of the SEC are legally binding for those who sell stocks

21 Independent Agencies The Government Corporations They are under the President s control but established by Congress to run like a business Today there are more than 50 of them including: FDIC US Postal Service Amtrak Government Corporations can be set up like Private Corporations, with a board of directors and a general manager (CEO) Congress decides how/who runs the corporation Money comes from the government The Federal Government owns the stock

The Executive Branch

The Executive Branch Cluster Everything you think of or associate with. The President of the United States Eight Roles of the President 1. Chief of State 2. Chief Executive 3. Chief Administrator 4. Chief