powers in the American political system is incomplete: ¨ The political
system of the USA is, in reality, is dominated by the president, who as the
focus of popular attention can appeal to the public directly in a way that the
other elements of the system cannot. ¨ Congress can pass a bill, but the
President can prevent it from becoming a law by vetoing it. Should the president
veto a bill, it may be enacted over his veto by a two-thirds vote of both
houses. Failure to re-pass in either house kills it. If a bill is not signed or
returned by the president, it becomes law after ten working days. If the
president does not return a bill and Congress has adjourned in the meantime,
however, the bill does not become law. This procedure is called a pocket veto.
Bills introduced in either house are first sent to the committee having
jurisdiction over them. A committee can kill a bill, bury it, or amend it. If
the bill is reported favourably out of committee, it is sent to the floor of the
respective house for debate and passage–with or without amendments. A bill
passed by one house is sent to the other for consideration. There it may be
passed intact, it may be amended and passed, or it may be defeated. If one house
does not accept the version of a bill passed by the other house, the bill is
sent to a conference committee composed of members of both houses. After final
passage the bill is signed by the speaker of the House and the vice-president
(who is the presiding officer of the Senate) and sent to the president for his
signature. If the bill does become law, it is subject to interpretation by the
courts, which decide its actual application to specific cases. The courts may
even declare the law to be unconstitutional, thus setting it aside. However, the
judicial interpretation may, in turn, be overruled if Congress enacts
legislation that overcomes the courts? objections to the earlier law. ¨
Committees of each house are controlled by the political party that has a
majority of members in that house. Appointments to committees are mostly based
on seniority. The ranking, or most senior, member normally becomes chairman. In
addition to its committee and lawmaking activities, Congress also exercises a
general legal control over all government employees. It may also exercise
political control through the Senate’s power of approving presidential
nominations. Congress cannot remove officials from office except by its power of
impeachment. In an impeachment proceeding the House acts as a grand jury,
gathering evidence and securing an indictment. The Senate then becomes the court
in which the case is tried. There has only been one complete presidential
impeachment proceeding in American history–that of Andrew Johnson–and he was
acquitted. A bill of impeachment was voted against Richard M. Nixon, but he
resigned before a Senate trial could begin. ¨ The president can appoint a
judge to a Federal court, but the appointment is subject to approval of the
Senate, and a judge, like the president himself, may be impeached and, if
convicted, removed from office by a procedure involving the two houses of
congress. ¨ If a member of an executive branch fails to perform some act
that a citizen feels is his legal duty, the citizen may ask a court to issue an
order requiring the official to perform his duty. ¨ If congressional
leaders are dissatisfied with the way in which an executive agency is
administered, they may conduct an investigation that may cause the policies of
the agency to be altered, either because of resulting new legislation, or
because of the glaring headlines concerning the agency. An investigation may
also be conducted by a federal grand jury or, in certain circumstances, by a
Federal judge. The checks and balances system is based on the idea that in a
democracy no one person or institution should ever be able to gain absolute
power and control, and the best way to prevent this from happening is to have
each officeholder hold some power over other officeholders. But this is not
complete in the American political system, as we have seen the ability of
different parts of the political system are able to check one another, i.e. the
government can veto a bill from congress, congress can impeach the President.
Therefore I conclude that the separation of powers in the American political
system is incomplete.