The seven articles in the Constitution outline the duties of the 3 branches of government, the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches.
The Legislative branch, Congress, is divided into 2 branches, the House of Representatives and the Senate. The main responsibility of Congress is to enact laws that influence the daily lives of all Americans and is intended to serve as the voice of the people. Other duties of Congress include declaring war, raising and providing public money and overseeing its proper expenditure, impeachment of federal officers, approving presidential appointments, approving treaties negotiated by the executive branch, and oversight and investigations. One example of a law that was passed is Reese’s Law, which was passed on August 16, 2022, according to congress.gov. This bill requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission to establish product safety standards with respect to batteries that pose an ingestion hazard.
The Executive branch and powers are given to the President of the United States who is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by Congress and appointing the heads of the federal agencies, including the Cabinet. Although laws are passed by Congress, the president decides which ones are most important to enforce, and how to do so. The president also appoints federal judges and nominates people for open seats on the U.S. Supreme Court. The president’s main job is to oversee the federal government as Chief of the Executive Branch. One example of the Executive branch found on whitehouse.gov is President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. approves a disaster declaration for the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
The Judicial branch and power are vested in one supreme court and extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under the Constitution. The judicial branch decides the constitutionality of federal laws and resolves other disputes about federal laws. Federal laws are passed by Congress and signed by the President. However, judges depend on our government's executive branch to enforce court decisions. Courts decide what really happened and what should be done about it. One example of the Judicial branch ruling was the reversal of Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court declared that the constitutional right to abortion, upheld for nearly a half-century, no longer exists.
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