The Legislative Branch of the United States - Essay Example

Thesis ment The United s of America has three branches of the government. The legislative branch, which enacts the laws and regulations; the Executive branch, which enforces those laws and regulations, and the judicial branch, this branch interprets those laws while making sure that they are fair under the U.S. Constitution (Brannen & Baker 2005). Therefore, the question of which branch does the best for the U.S. is quite challenging, as each of the branches possess distinct roles. The legislative branch The United States congress is bicameral and it comprises of the House of Representatives and the senate. Rooted from the constitution, it has immense powers that according to Article I, Section 8 range from the powers to set and collect taxes, they can coin money and regulate its value. In addition, they are accorded the power to provide for punishment for counterfeiting, they establish post offices and undertake road construction. The branch issues patents to promote progress of science; they participate in the creation of federal courts, deal with piracies and felonies, and declare war while rising and supporting armies. This branch of the government also provides and maintains the navy while formulating the rules and regulations of land and the naval forces. Furthermore, they provide the arms and discipline the militia which facilitates them exercising exclusive legislation making the laws that are necessary for the execution of power (Brannen & Baker 2005). The Executive branch The powers of the executive are vested in the president of the United States. This is despite the fact that some of the powers are normally delegated to the cabinet members and other officials in the government. The Electoral College elects both the president and the vice president. The president holds several roles among which he is the head of state or government, the commander in chief of the military and the chief diplomat. The president has the responsibility of making sure that the laws are faithfully executed while preserving, protecting and defending the constitution. The president has the duty of signing the legislations from parliament into law and or may use their veto powers to prevent some from becoming law. The president may sign foreign treaties which must be ratified by a 2/3 majority vote in the senate. Additionally, the president has the powers to pardon or release criminals convicted of offenses against the federal government. He enacts executive orders and with the consent of the senate appoints federal and Supreme Court judges. Under the executive, the Vice President will take over the roles of the president in case of a happening. The cabinet, executive departments and agencies will deal with the day-to-day enforcement and administration of federal laws (Brannen & Baker 2005). The Judicial branch The judiciary in the United States facilitates the application of the laws enacted and passed by the president. They hear legal cases and ultimately making decisions regarding such cases. The judicial system can strike down laws that it views to be unfair, and it creates laws through its holdings called precedent, which are used as basis for judgments in the future. Although the legislature has the powers to make, the laws while the executive posses that of enacting them, the judiciary has the powers of rendering them unconstitutional through the Supreme Court, which is the head of the judicial branch (Brannen & Baker 2005). Coherent explanation We are likely to know the branch that does most for the Americans when we break down their actual powers and roles. There are some proponents of the judicial proponent of the government as the one to have done much. I argue otherwise, this is because it is evident and quite clear that the judicial arm of the government has the least authority in the U.S. federal government. The Supreme Court is only vested with implied power while the high court only acquired the power to deem a law unconstitutional through one of their own rulings, which was Marbury vs. Madison (Brannen & Baker 2005). There is no single bit of the united state constitution where the power of Judicial Review is accorded to the Supreme Court. Furthermore, the courts are only able to rule on cases that are brought before them by aggrieved parties, if there is no case brought before the courts then the courts have no otherwise but sit down idly and relax. There is a rumor going around that they cannot be overturned, which is quite inaccurate. The can from time to time enhance regulations and exceptions to the decisions made by the Supreme Court’s most so when it pertains to the courts appellate jurisdiction. Likewise, the executive arm of the government can be viewed as a pretender taking into consideration the fact that the congress is able to supersede nearly all the decisions that the president is able to make. The congress is able to water down by instituting the after overriding the laws strike down by the president. This is because some of the presidential roles like appointments have to be approved by the Houses, which they determine largely at their own discretion. Therefore, the Legislative branch without any doubts holds all the cards under this concept. This is because they formulate and write the laws, they determine and levy taxes, declare war. They also undertake a confirmation of the Supreme Court judges and cabinet officials; they decide the expenditure levels of the federal money amongst a plethora of actionable powers. The branch has the constitutional authority to impeach and dismiss the occupants of the other two branches. The judiciary is the reflection of the will of the people, which is the whole form of any form of democracy (Brannen & Baker 2005). The above argument makes us land on the Legislative branch to be the one that does most for the government of the United States of America. Conclusion Finally, it is worth noting that the United States of America has three arms of government, which have distinct roles and are interrelated in their functions as one arm depends on the other in some way. After careful and thorough scrutiny, there is no much distinct importance of either branch but given the roles and their weight, we would conclude that the legislature has done much for the United States than the other branches. References Brannen, DE, & Baker, LW, 2005, Checks and balances: the three branches of the American government, Thomson/Gale: Detroit. Read More