Civics_Ch5_info

=**Chapter 5: Executive Branch Background Information**=

__//NOTE//__: The main job of the Executive Branch is to enforce or carry out the laws.

**The Presidency:**
Article II of the Constitution explains the executive branch of the government, which consists of the president, vice president, and the agencies and bureaus that are part of the branch. There are qualifications to be the president just like there are qualifications to be in the House of Representatives or the Senate. The qualifications are __//NOTE//__: must be a native-born U.S. citizen, be at least 35 years old, and resident of the U.S. (must have lived in the U.S.) for 14 years and serves a term of 4 years. Originally, there weren't any limits on how many terms a president could serve. George Washington had set a two term precedent, or model, which future presidents went by. The U.S. has only had one president who was elected to more than 2 terms. Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to 4 terms, but died while in office during his 4th term. __//NOTE//__: The 22nd amendment places the two term limit on being president. The president gets a lot of benefits such as a salary of $400,000 per year, plus an expense account, his own mansion (White House), car (Limo One), plane (Air Force One), vacation spot (Camp David), and a full staff. The vice president has less duties, but is to serve as President if something should happen to the president. The vice president is bound by the same Constitutional requirements as the president in terms of citizenship, age, and residency. Vice presidents are often sent overseas or around the nation to gain support for the president's policies. In the order of __//NOTE//__: presidential succession after the president is the vice president, then Speaker of the House, then President Pro Tempore of the Senate, followed by the cabinet positions in order of their creation. __//NOTE//__: The president is elected by the Electoral College. The Electoral College system is made of electors from each state officially casting the vote for the president and vice president. The number of electors that each state has is equal to the number of representatives and senators in each state. Pennsylvania has 18 representatives and 2 senators (all states have 2 senators) for a total of 20 electoral votes. There are a total of 538 electoral votes (435 representatives + 100 senators = 3 from D.C.). To win the presidency, a candidate must win over 50% of the electoral votes, which is 270.

**Powers and Roles of the President:**
The presidency consists of numerous roles, or jobs that the president must conduct. The president holds some legislative powers. For example, __//NOTE//__: each year the president gives the State of the Union Address, which is a speech to Congress on agenda and law requests. __//NOTE//__: The presidents also have the power to veto bills passed by Congress. The presidency also holds military and national security powers since the Constitution says __//NOTE//__: the president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Presidents do have the ability to send troops to foreign nations on various missions but a law called the War Powers Act passed in the 1970s requires presidents to consult the Congress on matters involving committing troops in a mission and if Congress doesn't approve of the mission, the president must remove soldiers that were sent. The president also has the key role in terms of foreign policy, or dealing with matters beyond U.S. borders. __//NOTE//__: Foreign policy is the plan of interaction with other nations. The president can appoint diplomats to represent the U.S. in foreign nations. In addition, the president is in charge of __//NOTE//__: diplomacy, which is the practice of interacting with foreign nations. Foreign policy is the plan with other nations, diplomacy is coming up with agreements with foreign leaders to make the plan happen. Presidents can negotiate __//NOTE//__: treaties, or agreements with other nations on peace, trade, or aid. The president also has other powers, which include powers in the legal system. In terms of an arrested person being punished for a crime, the president has the power of __//NOTE//__: pardon, or eliminate punishment, reprieve, or postponing the punishment, and commutation, or reducing the punishment. Overall, the president is often called the leader of the free world, since the United States, a nation that built its foundation on individual freedom and justice, is the most powerful nation in the world. The United States, led by the President of the U.S. holds a lot of influence in the world since the U.S. is a world leader in economics and military security. These facts make the president a very important position.

**Executive Departments and the Cabinet:**
As mentioned above, the Executive Branch is in charge of enforcing or carrying out the laws passed by the Congress. However, the president is only one person and can't possibly be everywhere enforcing every law at the same time. There are numerous laws that cover a wide range of issues. Therefore, the president has the power to appoint advisors and others to assist in enforcing the law. Overall, __//NOTE//__: the Executive Branch consists of the President, Vice President, the Cabinet, and the Executive Office of the President.

The Executive Office of the President is a close group of advisers. One of the top groups is the __//NOTE//__: National Security Council, which is the top group on defense and national security. The closest personal and political advisors make up the White House Office. There are also economic advisors that are part of the Executive Office of the President.

__//NOTE//__: The heads of departments that advise the president in key areas are the cabinet. There are 15 cabinet departments today. One of the most important cabinet departments is the __//NOTE//__: State Department, which advises on foreign policy. The State Department is headed by the Secretary of State, who heads the staff of officials who represent the U.S. in the world. __//NOTE//__: Ambassadors are U.S. representatives in foreign countries with offices at an embassy. This is the department that issues passports, or formal documents that allow citizens to travel abroad (to other nations) and also issue visas (not the credit card) that allows foreign nationals to come to the U.S. Another important cabinet department is the __//NOTE//__: Defense Department, which advices on military and national security. This department is headed by a Secretary of Defense and is in charge of the nation's armed forces and operates hundreds of military bases in the U.S. and other nations. __//NOTE//__: The Defense Department is located in the Pentagon. The highest ranking military officers in this department are the Joint Chiefs of Staff headed by a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. When America is at war or conducting military operations overseas, the Defense Department runs these operations and is only subordinate to the President, who is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The __//NOTE//__: Treasury Department advises on economic policy. The IRS, or Internal Revenue Service, is a popular agency within the Treasury Department that conducts audits, or checks as to whether or not the proper amount of taxes are being paid. The U.S. Mint is also part of this department. The U.S. Mint prints and coins the money that we use every day. The __//NOTE//__: Justice Department advises on legal matters and is headed by the Attorney General. The FBI is a popular agency within the Justice Department. The role of the FBI, or Federal Bureau of Investigation, is to be the chief law enforcing agency in the nation. The DEA, or Drug Enforcement Agency, is also part of the Justice Department. The __//NOTE//__: Department of Homeland Security formed in 2002 to combat terrorism after 9/11. Two agencies that use to be in a different department were put into this department in 2002 when Homeland Security formed. The Coast Guard is one of the five branches of the armed forces and is now in Homeland Security. Also, the Secret Service, whose job it is to protect the president is now part of Homeland Security. The other cabinet departments are Commerce (advises on trade), Interior (advises on natural resources and national lands), Labor (advises on workers), Energy (advises on America's sources of energy), Education, Transportation, Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, and Veterans' Affairs.

**Independence Agencies and Regulatory Agencies:**
There are numerous agencies and bureaus that help enforce the law and are part of the whole Executive Branch. Some agencies/bureaus are in the cabinet departments such as the FBI (Justice), Passport Agency (State), Joint Chiefs of Staff (Defense), Secret Service (Homeland Security), IRS (Treasury), etc. There are also agencies/bureaus that are separate from the cabinet departments, but are still part of the Executive Branch. These are Independent agencies. One example is the __//NOTE//__: CIA or Central Intelligence Agency which gathers and analyzes information to help keep America safe. Another one that most people have heard of is NASA, which runs the space program. The Commission on Civil Rights collects information about discrimination against minorities. The Office of Personnel Management gives tests to people who want to apply for jobs with the federal government. The General Services Administration buys supplies for the federal government. There are numerous independent agencies. There are also regulatory commissions, which are types of independent agencies that have power to make rules and bring violators to court. One example is the __//NOTE//__: FCC, or Federal Communications Commission which sets rules for radio and TV. The EPA or Environmental Protection Agency is another example and sets rules on businesses that deal with environmental protection. The __//NOTE//__: EPA is often a source of controversy since it promotes solar and wind energy over coal and oil even though coal and oil have proven to be much more efficient and superior to solar and wind although solar and wind are more environmentally friendly. The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) watches over the stock market and investing. Overall, the __//NOTE//__: bureaucracy consists of all employees of federal agencies and bureaus as well as those of executive departments, which have around 3 million workers.

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