The USA

THE ADMINISTRATION

The presidency of the United States is the highest governmental office. 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. "Administration" is a popular term to identify the execu­tive branch of the federal government, responsible for adminis­tering and executing the laws.

President is assisted by Vice-President and the Cabinet. The President and Vice-president are elected for a term of four years and can be re-elected for another term, "but not longer than that, since the Twenty-Second Amendment to the Constitution (1951) limited the President's term in office.

President must be a natural-born citizen of the USA, at least 35 years old, and for at least 14 years a resident of the USA. The term of office of the President begins at noon on January 20.

Presidential elections are held in two stages. The first stage is in November when Americans vote for electors, and the second stage is on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in De­cember, when electors elect President and Vice-president. After the ballots are opened at a joint session of Congress, the Presi­dent-Elect becomes the US President.

Presidential elections in the USA have a distinct class charac­ter, as only very rich people can put forward their candidatures far President's and Vice-President's posts. Before the elections the candidates for Presidency tour the country meeting people and delivering speeches. Everything is done to ensure the support of the voters at the elections. Candidates promise to improve liv­ing conditions, to stop the growth of unemployment, to support disarmament, etc., but they seldom keep their pre-election prom­ises after they are elected.

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. President ordinarily outlines the course of his administration through his frequent messages to Congress. The major presidential messages sent to Congress are the annual State of the Union message, the annual budget message and the economic report.

Vice-president presides over the Senate, his other duties are indefinite. The White House may use Vice-president as a contact man among the senators, or he may sit at Cabinet meetings and become a sort of understudy to the President. He takes the President's office if the President is unable to finish his term. Vice-president rather tends to be the forgotten man of American politics, because of his lack of power.

US President is assisted in Administration by a 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. Cabinet officials usually serve during his term. When the Presi­dent's service ends, it is customary for the Cabinet to resign, so the new President can appoint new chiefs of executive depar­tments. Among the most important departments one should men­tion the Department of State responsible for American foreign policy, the Department of Defence or the Pentagon, the Depart­ment of Justice, the Department of Commerce, etc. The State Department ranks ahead of other Departments in prestige and seniority. The political power of the Secretary of State is second only to that of the President. The Secretary of State has the duty of trying to maintain peace and to negotiate economic and politi­cal treaties.

In addition to Secretaries, President has an inner Cabinet, the so-called "White House Office". It is the name given to the Presi­dent's immediate assistants and various advisers on different as­pects of home and foreign policy. The President's Press Secretary is called upon to explain what the President meant to say, or in­tended to say. Frequently the Press Secretary is a close personal friend of the President.

Under US Constitution, the House of Representatives may bring charges against the President in impeachment proceedings. "Impeachment" is a formal accusation against a public official by a legislative body. A two-thirds vote in the Senate is necessary for conviction. It is a method provided for getting rid of officials who cannot be dismissed: presidents, vice-presidents and "all civil officers of the United States. They may be removed from office for treason, bribery or other high crimes".

Дата добавления: 2015-09-03