Political System of the United States

II. Read and translate the text.

XI. Draw the scheme of the state structure of Great Britain, using the information given in the text.

IX. Put the sentences into Indirect Speech.

1. The Speaker said: “The Bill will be considered by the House of Commons next week”.
2. The Prime-Minister told the journalists: “The new Act of Parliament will be carried out by the local authorities under the constant control of the Cabinet”.
3. Lord Chancellor assured the Speaker: “We are going to approve the Bill as soon as possible”.
4. The Times says: “The debating procedures in the both Houses were very long, but the Bill has finally been approved”.
5. “The Bill received the Royal Assent last week”, the Secretary said.

X. How does a Bill become an Act of Parliament? Describe all steps of the law-making procedure, using the verbs and expressions, given below in Passive Voice. Do it as in the model.

Model: The Bill is worked out by a ministry.

to work out

to introduce

to study

to discuss

to insert amendments

to approve

to sign

to carry out

Вариант 2

I. Active vocabulary:

executive power – исполнительная власть

to assist – помогать

to re-elect – переизбирать

to hold (held, held) – (зд.) проводить (выборы)

to vote – голосовать

to conduct – вести, руководить

foreign affairs – иностранные дела

a treaty – договор

a consent – согласие

an advice – совет

to correspond to – соответствовать (чему-либо)

to appoint – назначать

according to – в соответствии с…

to initiate new legislation – вносить новый законопроект

to refer to – (зд.) отсылать, посылать (к кому-либо, чему-либо)

hearings – парламентские слушания

to amend – исправлять, поправлять

to shelve the draft – откладывать проект

to confer (together, with) – обсуждать, совещаться

a standing committee – постоянно действующий комитет

to sign – подписывать

to carry out – проводить в жизнь, осуществлять

The executive power in the USA belongs to President and his Administration.

The President of the USA is the head of the state and the Government; he is also the Commander-in-Chief of the US Armed Forces. President is assisted by Vice-President and the Government. President and Vice-President are elected for a term of five years and can be re-elected for another term, but not longer than that. Presidential elections are held in two stages. The first stage is in November when Americans vote for the electors, and the second is in December when the electors vote for President and Vice-President.

President conducts foreign affairs, signs treaties in the name of the USA, appoints diplomats, Cabinet members, federal judges with the consent and advice of the Senate.

US President is assisted in Administration by the Cabinet of 12 members. Cabinet secretaries correspond to European ministers. They are heads of different departments and directly and fully responsible to President who appoints them for an indefinite time.

The US Congress, the lawmaking arm of the federal government, consists of two houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives, at the present time, consists of 435 members. The number of Representatives, which each state sends to the House, depends on its population. The Representatives are elected. According to the Constitution of the USA, all citizens of both sexes over 18 years of age have the right to vote.

Any congressmen in either house, or President, may initiate new legislation. The proposed legislation, or bill, is first introduced in the House of Representatives, then referred to one of the Standing committees, which organizes hearings on it and may approve, amend or shelve the draft. If the Committee passes the bill, it is considered by the House of Representatives as a whole. If passed there, it goes to the Senate for a similar sequence of committee hearings and general debate.

In cases of disagreement, the House of Representatives and the Senate confer together. Once passed by the Senate as a whole, the bill has to be examined by two more standing committees - the Committee on the House Administration and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration - and is then signed by the speaker of the House and the president of the Senate.

Finally, it must be signed by President, who has the right to veto it. If President vetoes a bill, it can still become a law - but only if it is passed by a two-thirds majority in both Houses of Congress. The laws are carried out by executive authorities - ministries, departments, local government.

Дата добавления: 2014-11-06