Ex. 8. Problem solving

Examine each of the following situations and attempt to determine whether it involves the principle of separation of powers, checks and balances, judicial review, federalism, or some combination of these principles. Specify the principle or principles involved and explain your answer.

a. A state law requires that a prayer be said each day in public schools. The courts rule that the law violates a First Amend­ment clause that prohibits the government from establishing a religion.

b. An official in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban De­velopment is accused of receiving kickbacks of money for mak­ing government contracts with certain private corporations. She is required to testify about this before a congressional com­mittee and is prosecuted in court.

c. The U.S. Congress passes a law that restricts imports of hand­guns from other countries. The legislature in one state allows the sale of handguns to anyone over age eighteen.

d. Because a prison is very old and overcrowded, a state court or­ders the state legislature to spend $10 million on a new prison.

Unit 3

Read and translate the text:

Lobbying

legislator (n.) – законотворец;

to convince (v.) – убеждать;

issue (n.) – вопрос;

on behalf of – от имени кого-то (чего-либо);

grass-roots (n.) - широкие массы;

attorney general (n.) – генеральный прокурор;

nomination (n.) - выдвижение кандидатов.

"A president only tells Congress what they should do. Lobbyists tell them what they will do."

—Will Rogers

Lobbying is a way to influence the lawmaking process by con­vincing lawmakers to vote as you want them to. The word lobbying comes from the seventeenth century, when interested persons would corner legislators in the outer waiting room of the legislature — the lobby. While the term lobbying often has a negative connotation, it is actually a basic right protected by the Constitution.

A lobbyist is someone who tries to convince a lawmaker to vote for or against a particular issue. Anyone can be a lobbyist. As a private citizen, you can lobby elected officials on issues you care about. You can influence elected officials by expressing your opinions individu­ally or as part of a group, either in person or by letter or phone. Lobbyists also use political contributions, ads, favors, letter-writing campaigns, and other techniques to influence legislation.

Today, special interest groups and organizations lobby on behalf of every imaginable cause and issue. Professional lobbyists are hired by businesses and organizations to influence federal, state, and local legislators. For example, the National Rifle Association employs lob­byists to oppose restrictions on gun ownership and use, while Hand­gun Control, Inc., lobbies for gun control. In 1992, there were more than ten thousand professional lobbyists in Washington, D.C. Those who lobby the federal government must register with Congress and file reports four times a year. In these reports, they must identify their clients and the specific bills on which they are working. They must also indicate how much money they have been paid for their lobbying work and how much they have spent lobbying (for example, the costs of organizing grass-roots letter-writing campaigns).

Professional lobbyists often have an advantage over citizen lobby­ists because they have more money behind them and they know leg­islators and their staffs personally. But citizen lobbyists can be very effective, particularly when they join with others. Demonstration of grass-roots support by large numbers of citizens is a very effective lobbying technique. This is because elected officials know that citi­zens vote. For example, in 1993, President Bill Clinton nominated a successful corporate lawyer to be U.S. attorney general. Before con­firmation, it was revealed that she had broken the law by hiring an illegal alien as a nanny (a child's nursemaid) and then failing to pay required taxes for the nanny. Many legislators dismissed the offense as a minor technical violation of the law. However, an outpouring of grass-roots citizen opposition influenced many senators not to sup­port her nomination, and President Clinton withdrew her name.

Many critics of our lobbying system say it enables some people and businesses to "buy legislation." It is true that contributors to politi­cal campaigns may have greater access to legislators and greater in­fluence over how they vote on certain issues. However, others argue that lobbying is an integral part of American democracy. They claim that the use of money and influence is a legitimate way for groups to make their views heard.

Ex. 1. Find the equivalents for the following words and expressions in the text:

рядовые члены партии, избиратели, широкие массы, простые люди, национальная стрелковая ассоциация, закулисная обработка членов законодательного органа с целью повлиять на их голосование, влияние, действие, воздействие (на кого-л., на что-л.), генеральный прокурор.

Ex. 2. Match the words on the left with the correct definition on the right:

To Lobby	to pay to use something for a short period
To hire	to try to persuade a politician, the government or an official group that a particular thing should or should not happen or that a law should be changed
Technique	to disagree with something or someone, often by speaking or fighting against them
To oppose	a way of doing an activity which needs skill

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14