Finding the Balance Legislative Branch Carisa McLaney & Kelly Zheng

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The American Government structure consists of Three Branches

The Legislative Branch The United States Legislative Branch is called the Congress. It consist of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives is made up of 435 elected members, divided among the 50 states in proportion to their total population. Representatives are elected to serve for a period of 2 years. To be a Representative a person must be at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for at least 7 years, and when elected, must be an inhabitant of that state in which he shall be chosen. The Senate is composed of 100 Senators, 2 for each state. They are elected every 6 years. In order to be a senator, a person must be at least 30 years old, a U.S. citizen for at least 9 years, and have fulfilled the requirements for residency in the state that person wishes to represent.

Major Powers of the Congress  Makes laws  Regulates Commerce  Declares War  Coins Money  Borrows Money  Sets up Courts  Establishes the Military and National Guard  Sets laws for Naturalization and Bankruptcy

What would the Country be like Without the Legislative Branch? “Checks and Balances” The Legislative Branch makes the laws. Without the Legislative Branch, the country would have no laws and people would commit crimes and do whatever they want to do. Only the Congress has the power to declare a war like the Iraq War, although the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy. If the Legislative Branch does not exist, the President would declare a war at his will.

The President proposes a budget, but the budget must get approved by the Congress before the President can spend. Currently, the Congress is debating Obama’s 2012 Budget. Without the Congress in checks for fairness, the President may only provide the money to programs he likes and supports. The Congress must approve the President’s nominations such as the supreme court justice Elena Kagan. She had to go through the Senate’s hearing and confirmation. Without the Congress, the President may only put people he likes to important positions that would not provide balanced views and qualifications. What would the Country be like Without the Legislative Branch? “Checks and Balances” continued

China vs. U.S.

Chinese Legislative Branch The National People’s Congress (NPC) is the Chinese legislative body. According to the Constitution of China, NPC is the ultimate power of the Chinese government. There are 3,000 deputies (i.e. congressmen) elected from places and organizations they represent. However, NPC is a unicameral system which passes any action and law by the majority vote. It is also subject to the Chinese community party ruling and basically does “rubber stump”. For example, NPC amended the Electoral Law which guarantees citizens the right to vote and the right to stand for election by a simply voting last year.

Differences U.S. legislative branch is a bicameral system while the Chinese legislative branch is unicameral. In the U.S. legislative branch, when a bill in introduced it shall be reviewed by either the House or Senate where the bill is introduced. Then it is sent to the other chamber for approval. Once both chambers approve the bill, it is sent to the President to sign. In the Chinese Legislative Branch, when a bill is introduced, the Congressmen just vote on it. It also doesn't need the President's signature. Therefore, the Chinese government system does not have the checks and balances. The U.S. legislative branch is more balanced than the Chinese.

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