The Vice President of the United States serves as President of the Senate and may cast the decisive vote in the event of a tie in the Senate. The Senate has the sole power to confirm those of the President's appointments that require consent, and to ratify treaties. There are, however, two exceptions to this rule: the House must also approve appointments to the Vice Presidency and any treaty that involves foreign trade.
The Senate also tries impeachment cases for federal officials referred to it by the House. In order to pass legislation and send it to the President for his signature, both the House and the Senate must pass the same bill by majority vote. If the President vetoes a bill, they may override his veto by passing the bill again in each chamber with at least two-thirds of each body voting in favor. The first step in the legislative process is the introduction of a bill to Congress.
Anyone can write it, but only members of Congress can introduce legislation. Some important bills are traditionally introduced at the request of the President, such as the annual federal budget. During the legislative process, however, the initial bill can undergo drastic changes. After being introduced, a bill is referred to the appropriate committee for review. There are 17 Senate committees, with 70 subcommittees, and 23 House committees, with subcommittees.
The committees are not set in stone, but change in number and form with each new Congress as required for the efficient consideration of legislation. Each committee oversees a specific policy area, and the subcommittees take on more specialized policy areas. A bill is first considered in a subcommittee, where it may be accepted, amended, or rejected entirely.
If the members of the subcommittee agree to move a bill forward, it is reported to the full committee, where the process is repeated again. Throughout this stage of the process, the committees and subcommittees call hearings to investigate the merits and flaws of the bill. They invite experts, advocates, and opponents to appear before the committee and provide testimony, and can compel people to appear using subpoena power if necessary.
If the full committee votes to approve the bill, it is reported to the floor of the House or Senate, and the majority party leadership decides when to place the bill on the calendar for consideration.
If a bill is particularly pressing, it may be considered right away. Others may wait for months or never be scheduled at all. When the bill comes up for consideration, the House has a very structured debate process.
Each member who wishes to speak only has a few minutes, and the number and kind of amendments are usually limited. In the Senate, debate on most bills is unlimited — Senators may speak to issues other than the bill under consideration during their speeches, and any amendment can be introduced. Senators can use this to filibuster bills under consideration, a procedure by which a Senator delays a vote on a bill — and by extension its passage — by refusing to stand down.
A supermajority of 60 Senators can break a filibuster by invoking cloture, or the cession of debate on the bill, and forcing a vote. Once debate is over, the votes of a simple majority passes the bill. All products are Made-in-the-USA, and many are created exclusively for our store. Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government that represents the American people and makes the nation's laws.
It shares power with the executive branch, led by the president, and the judicial branch, whose highest body is the Supreme Court of the United States. Of the three branches of government, Congress is the only one elected directly by the people. Article I—the longest article of the Constitution—describes congressional powers.
An appeal is a request for a higher court to reverse the decision of a lower court. Most appeals come from federal courts. They can come from state courts if a case deals with federal law. Dissatisfied parties petition the Court for review Parties may appeal their case to the Supreme Court, petitioning the Court to review the decision of the lower court.
Justices study documents The Justices examine the petition and supporting materials. Justices vote Four Justices must vote in favor for a case to be granted review.
Parties make arguments The Justices review the briefs written arguments and hear oral arguments. In oral arguments, each side usually has 30 minutes to present its case.
The Justices typically ask many questions during this time. Justices write opinions The Justices vote on the case and write their opinions. Justices who disagree with the majority opinion write dissenting or minority opinions. The Court issues its decision Justices may change their vote after reading first drafts of the opinions.
All cases are heard and decided before summer recess. It can take up to nine months to announce a decision. The Court receives 7,, requests for review and grants for oral argument. Other requests are granted and decided without argument. Ask a real person any government-related question for free. They'll get you the answer or let you know where to find it.
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