Dan Park Mrs.

Baumann AP Government Seminar Period 1/3 5 March 2014 Unit 5 Essential Questions

How is the Executive Branch organized? The head of the Executive branch is the President, who also serves as the Commander in Chief of the armed forces. The President appoints the Cabinet and oversees the various agencies and departments of the federal government, which actually deal with the more specific issues in society and government.

What are the limits on the powers of the executive branch? There are many limits on the powers of the executive branch that were created by the authors of the Constitution, who implemented a system of checks and balances as they were aware of the potential for abuse of power of the individual branches. An example of a limit on executive power would be how although the president has the power to make appointments, including new justices to the Supreme Court, his choices must be approved by the Senate. Furthermore, the president cannot introduce a bill into law, though he can exert strong influence over legislative matters. If he chooses to veto a bill he doesn't like, Congress can override his veto with a twothirds vote. The House of Representatives can also vote to impeach the president, who is then tried by the Senate which can vote him out of office. When the president negotiates a treaty, he must wait for Senate approval, and though he may commit troops to foreign conflicts, he must appear before Congress for an official declaration of war (War Powers Resolution of 1973).

How much power should the president have? The presidents powers should not exceed that which is given to him in the Constitution. Because of checks and balances, the presidents powers shouldnt be greater than that of Congress or the Supreme Court.

Can and should the federal bureaucracy be changed? There are ways that the federal bureaucracy can be changed such as giving the president the power to declare war. Such a change would make the decision making process much faster; however, it would also unbalance the powers of the 3 branches, causing the Executive Branch to have more power.

How do bureaucracies implement public policies? Bureaucracies are involved in translating the goals and objectives of a policy into an operating, ongoing program. Policy implementation includes the creation of new agencies or assignments of a new responsibility to an old agency, translation of policy goals into operational rules and development of guidelines for the program, and the coordination of resources and personnel to

achieve the intended goals. Implementation can be effective if goals are clear and the means to achieve the goals are unambiguous. However, implementation may break down if there are any of the following: faulty program design, lack of clarity in the laws bureaucrats administer, lack of resources, the following of standard operating procedures, administrative discretion, and dispersal of policy responsibility among several units of the bureaucracy. What is the federal budget process? The federal budget process is the framework used by Congress and the President of the United States to formulate and create the United States federal budget. On or before the first Monday in February, the President submits to Congress a detailed budget request for the coming federal fiscal year, which begins on October 1. After receiving the President's budget request, Congress generally holds hearings to question Administration officials about their requests and then develops its own budget resolution. This work is done by the House and Senate Budget Committees, whose primary function is to draft and enforce the budget resolution. Once the committees are done, their budget resolutions go to the House and Senate floors, where they can be amended (by a majority vote). Then, reconciliation occurs if Congress needs to legislate policy based on mandatory spending or tax laws.

What are the expressed and implied powers of the executive branch? The implied powers of the executive branch are to pardon, power to grant a reprieve, power to make treaties, power to veto, power to convene congress, sign a bill into law, nominations and placements for appointed office, and commander of the military. The expressed powers of the executive branch are Commander in Chief, appoints cabinet members, ambassadors, federal judges, grants pardons, make treaties, deliver State of the Union address, carry out laws, and propose legislations.

How does bureaucracy implement public policy? The bureaucracy consists of many large administrative agencies that implement public policy. In the executive-level departments, there is the cabinet that manage specific policy areas with its own budget and staff, the regulatory agencies that are independent and different, government corporations that respond to failures in the nation, and independent executive agencies that facilitate the day to day operation of the government. In addition, through the process of congressional oversight, congressional committees are called to testify about issues related to workings of the agency.