Home > 108th Congressional Documents > H.Doc.108-95 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ...H.Doc.108-95 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ...
108th Congress H. Doc.
1st Session 108-94
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OUR AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
2003 Edition
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Printed by authority of H. Con. Res. 139, 108th Congress
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
entitled ``Our American Government'' shall be printed as a
House document 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 distribution to be allocated in the same
proportion as described in paragraph (1), except that
in no case shall the number of copies 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.
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
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-answer format covers a broad range of topics
dealing with the legislative, executive, and judicial branches
of our Government as well as the electoral process and the role
of political parties.
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Robert W. Ney, Saxby Chambliss,
Chairman. Vice Chairman.
OUR AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
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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 perfect 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,
representative, democratic republic, an indivisible union of 50
sovereign States. With the exception of town meetings, a form
of pure democracy, we have at the local, state, and national
levels a government which is: ``federal'' because power is
shared among these three levels; ``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
democracy 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 constitutional 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 participation 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 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 institution 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 enumerates and guarantees the rights due all its
citizens.
The Constitution is a document prepared by a convention of
delegates 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 States as a federal union of States, a
representative democracy within a republic. The framers
provided a Government of three independent branches. The first
is the legislature, which comprises a two-house or bicameral
Congress consisting of a Senate, whose Members are apportioned
equally among the States, and a House of Representatives, whose
Members are apportioned among the States according to
population. The second, the executive branch, includes the
President and Vice President and all subordinate officials of
the executive departments and executive agencies. The third
branch, the judiciary, consists of the Supreme Court and
various subordinate Federal courts created by public law.
The 27 amendments approved since 1791 are also an integral
part of the Constitution. These include amendments 1 through
10, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, and amendments 11
through 27, which address a wide range of subjects. At the
present time, four amendments without ratification deadlines
are pending before the States. These deal with congressional
apportionment, child labor, titles of nobility from foreign
powers, and certain States rights (in a pre-Civil War
proposal). In addition, the ratification deadlines expired on
two proposed amendments, which had been approved by Congress in
the 1970s: i.e., equal rights for women and men and voting
representation for the District of Columbia in the Senate and
House.
6. What were the basic principles on which the Constitution was framed?
The framers of the Constitution debated and agreed to the
following six basic principles:
1. That all States would be equal. The National
Government cannot give special privileges to one State.
2. That there should be three branches of
Government--one to make the laws, another to execute
them, and a third to interpret them.
3. That the Government is a government of laws, not
of men. No one is above the law. No officer of the
Government can use authority unless and except as the
Constitution or public law permits.
4. That all men are equal before the law and that
anyone, rich or poor, can demand the protection of the
law.
5. That the people can change the authority of the
Government by changing (amending) the Constitution.
(One such change provided for the election of Senators
by direct popular vote instead of by State
legislatures).
6. That the Constitution, and the laws of the United
States and treaties made pursuant to it, are ``the
supreme Law of the Land.''
7. What is the Bill of Rights?
The Bill of Rights is a series of constitutionally
protected rights of citizens. The first 10 amendments to the
Constitution, ratified by the required number of States on
December 15, 1791, are commonly referred to as the Bill of
Rights. The first eight amendments set out or enumerate the
substantive and procedural individual rights associated with
that description. The 9th and 10th amendments are general rules
of interpretation of the relationships among the people, the
State governments, and the Federal Government. The ninth
amendment provides that the ``enumeration in the Constitution,
of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage
others retained by the people.'' The 10th amendment reads:
``The powers not delegated to the United States by the
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved
to the States respectively, or to the people.''
8. What are the rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights?
Right to freedom of religion, speech, and press
(Amendment I);
Right to assemble peaceably, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances (Amendment I);
Right to keep and bear arms in common defense
(Amendment II);
Right not to have soldiers quartered in one's home in
peacetime without the consent of the owner, nor in time
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