Правительство Соединенных Штатов — страница 3

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old and at least 14 years a resident of the United States. CHIEF DUTY: To protect the Constitution and enforce the laws made by the Congress. OTHER POWERS: To recommend legislation to the Congress; to call special sessions of the Congress; to deliver messages to the Congress; to veto bills; to appoint federal judges; to appoint heads of federal departments and agencies and other principal federal officials; to appoint representatives to foreign countries; to carry on official business with foreign nations; to exercise the function of commander-in-chief of the armed forces; to grant pardons for offenses against the United States. The Constitution requires the president to be a native-born American citizen at least 35 years of age. Candidates for the presidency are chosen by

political parties several months before the presidential election, which is held every four years (in years divisible evenly by four) on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The method of electing the president is peculiar to the American system. Although the names of the candidates ap­pear on the ballots, technically the people of each state do not vote directly for the president (and vice president). Instead, they select a slate of presidential electors, equal to the num­ber of senators and representatives each state has in Con­gress. The candidate with the highest number of votes in each state wins all the electoral votes of that state. The electors of all 50 states and the District of Colum­bia—a total of 538 persons—compose what is known as the

Electoral College. Under the terms of the Constitution, the College never meets as a body. Instead, the electors gather in the state capitals shortly after the election and cast their votes for the candidate with the largest number of popular votes in their respective states. To be successful, a candidate for the presidency must receive 270 votes. The Constitution stipu­lates that if no candidate has a majority, the decision shall be made by the House of Representatives, with all members from a state voting as a unit. In this event, each state and the Dis­trict of Columbia would be allotted one vote only. The presidential term of four years begins on January 20 (it was changed from March by the 20th Amendment, ratified in 1933) following a November election. The presi­dent

starts his or her official duties with an inauguration ceremony, traditionally held on the steps of the U.S. Capi­tol, where Congress meets'. The president publicly takes an oath of office, which is traditionally administered by the chief justice of the United States. The words are prescribed in Article II of the Constitution: / do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. The oath-taking ceremony is usually followed by an inau­gural address in which the new president outlines the policies and plans of his or her administration. PRESIDENTIAL POWERS The office of President of the United States is one of the most

powerful in the world. The president, the Constitution says, must "take care that the laws be faithfully executed." To carry out this responsibility, he or she presides over the executive branch of the federal government—a vast organization num­bering several million people—and in addition has important legislative and judicial powers. LEGILATIVE POWERS Despite the Constitutional provision that "all legislative powers" shall be vested in the Congress, the president, as the chief formulator of public policy, has a major legislative role. The president can veto any bill passed by Congress and, un­less two-thirds in each house vote to override the veto, the bill does not become law. Much of the legislation dealt with by Congress is drafted at the initiative

of the executive branch. In an annual and special messages to Congress, the president may propose legislation he or she believes is necessary. If Congress should adjourn without acting on those proposals, the president has the power to call it into special session. But, beyond all this, the president, as head of a political party and as principal executive officer of the U.S. government, is in a position to influence public opinion and thereby to influence the course of legislation in Congress. To improve their working relationships with Congress, presidents in recent years have set up a Congressional Liaison Office in the White House. Presidential aides keep abreast of all important legislative ac­tivities and try to persuade senators and representatives of both parties to