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Our American Government 108TH CONGRESS H. DOC. " ! 1st Session 108–94 OUR AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 2003 Edition E:\Seals\Congress.#13 Printed by authority of H. Con. Res. 139, 108th Congress U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 87–102 WASHINGTON : 2003 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate jul 14 2003 14:35 Feb 25, 2004 Jkt 087102 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5012 Sfmt 5012 E:\RENEE\HD094.108 HD094 H. Con. Res. 139 Agreed to June 20, 2003 One Hundred Eighth Congress of the United States of America AT THE FIRST SESSION Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, the seventh day of January, two thousand and three Concurrent Resolution Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), SEC. 2. OUR AMERICAN GOVERNMENT. (a) IN GENERAL.—The 2003 revised edition of the brochure enti- tled ‘‘Our American Government’’ shall be printed as a House docu- ment under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing. (b) ADDITIONAL COPIES.—In addition to the usual number, there shall be printed the lesser of— (1) 550,000 copies of the document, of which 440,000 copies shall be for the use of the House of Representatives, 100,000 copies shall be for the use of the Senate, and 10,000 copies shall be for the use of the Joint Committee on Printing; or (2) such number of copies of the document as does not exceed a total production and printing cost of $454,160, with distribu- tion to be allocated in the same proportion as described in paragraph (1), except that in no case shall the number of cop- ies be less than 1 per Member of Congress. Attest: JEFF TRANDAHL, Clerk of the House of Representatives. Attest: EMILY J. REYNOLDS, Secretary of the Senate. VerDate jul 14 2003 14:35 Feb 25, 2004 Jkt 087102 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 7633 Sfmt 7633 E:\RENEE\HD094.108 HD094 C O N T E N T S Page Foreword ................................................................................................................... V Democracy and Its American Interpretation ......................................................... 1 The Constitution ...................................................................................................... 2 The Legislative Branch ........................................................................................... 6 The Congress ............................................................................................................ 6 Members, Offices, and Staff ............................................................................. 6 Congressional Process and Powers ................................................................. 21 Congressional Rules and Procedures .............................................................. 24 The Committee System .................................................................................... 33 The Executive Branch ............................................................................................. 38 The President and Vice President ................................................................... 40 The Executive Departments and Agencies ..................................................... 50 The Independent Agencies and Commissions ....................................................... 52 The Judicial Branch ................................................................................................ 53 The Courts of the United States ..................................................................... 53 The Justices and Judges .................................................................................. 55 The Electoral Process .............................................................................................. 56 Information Resources ............................................................................................. 62 APPENDICES Glossary of Legislative Terms ................................................................................ 71 Selective Bibliography and References .................................................................. 78 State Population and House Apportionment ......................................................... 81 House and Senate Political Divisions .................................................................... 83 The Declaration of Independence ........................................................................... 85 Constitution of the United States .......................................................................... 89 Amendments to the Constitution .................................................................... 101 Proposed Amendments to the Constitution Not Ratified by the States ....... 117 Index ......................................................................................................................... 121 VerDate jul 14 2003 14:35 Feb 25, 2004 Jkt 087102 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 E:\RENEE\HD094.108 HD094 VerDate jul 14 2003 14:35 Feb 25, 2004 Jkt 087102 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 E:\RENEE\HD094.108 HD094 FOREWORD The Committee on House Administration is pleased to present this revised book on our United States Government. This publication continues to be a popular introductory guide for American citizens and those of other countries who seek a greater understanding of our heritage of democracy. The question-and-an- swer format covers a broad range of topics dealing with the legisla- tive, executive, and judicial branches of our Government as well as the electoral process and the role of political parties. 60436.005 ROBERT W. NEY, SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Chairman. Vice Chairman. VerDate jul 14 2003 14:35 Feb 25, 2004 Jkt 087102 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 7633 Sfmt 6602 E:\RENEE\HD094.108 HD094 VerDate jul 14 2003 14:35 Feb 25, 2004 Jkt 087102 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 7633 Sfmt 6602 E:\RENEE\HD094.108 HD094 OUR AMERICAN GOVERNMENT DEMOCRACY AND ITS AMERICAN INTERPRETATION 1. What is the purpose of the U.S. Government? The purpose is expressed in the preamble to the Constitution: ‘‘We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more per- fect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.’’ 2. What form of government do we have in the United States? The United States, under its Constitution, is a federal, represent- ative, democratic republic, an indivisible union of 50 sovereign States. With the exception of town meetings, a form of pure democ- racy, we have at the local, state, and national levels a government which is: ‘‘federal’’ because power is shared among these three lev- els; ‘‘democratic’’ because the people govern themselves and have the means to control the government; and ‘‘republic’’ because the people choose elected delegates by free and secret ballot. 3. What is the role of the citizen in our Government? The United States today is even more of a participatory democ- racy than was envisioned by the Founders when they established a government ‘‘of the people, by the people, and for the people,’’ as President Abraham Lincoln later described it. Along with the con- stitutional responsibilities which accompany citizenship, such as obeying laws and paying taxes, the citizen is afforded a wide range of rights and opportunities to influence the making of public policy by the Government. At the most basic level, the right to vote gives the citizen a chance to help select those who will ultimately be responsible for determining public policy. Beyond casting the ballot, a citizen may actively assist in nominating and electing preferred public officials through volunteer activities and campaign donations. The partici- pation of citizens in the electoral process contributes greatly to the sense of legitimacy of the Government. Citizen involvement in the Government need not be manifested only during election campaigns. Legislators are accustomed to hearing from constituents expressing opinions about issues of the day, and procedures exist that mandate that executive agencies allow time for public comment before proposed regulations become final. Individuals may also join with others who hold similar views VerDate jul 14 2003 14:35 Feb 25, 2004 Jkt 087102 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 E:\RENEE\HD094.108 HD094 to make the most of their influence with Government on particular issues; this is how interest groups or political action committees are established and the lobbying process begins. 4. What contributions has our country made to the institu- tion of government? Some of the U.S. contributions to the institution of government are as follows: a written constitution, an independent judiciary to interpret the Constitution, and a division of powers between the Federal and State Governments. THE CONSTITUTION 5. What is the Constitution? The Constitution is the basic and supreme law of the United States. It prescribes the structure of the U.S. Government, provides the legal foundation on which all its actions must rest, and enu- merates and guarantees the rights due all its citizens. The Constitution is a document prepared by a convention of dele- gates from 12 of the 13 States that met at Philadelphia in 1787. The original charter, which replaced the Articles of Confederation and which became operative in 1789, established the United
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