THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

US Government

Brainstorming Question

What are the qualifications to be the President of the United

States?

The President of the United States

Presidential Qualifications

Native-born U.S. Citizen Born within the United States Naturalized citizens can be in

Congress but not become president

At least 35 years of age

Been a resident of the United States for at least 14 years

Terms

President has 4 year terms

Constitution had no term limit, but Washington set precedent after refusing a third term Broken by FDR in 1940 FDR served 4 terms

22nd Amendment: Term Limit of Two Terms

Salary

$400,000 per year

$50,000 expense account

$100,000 travel account

$19,000 entertainment account

Gets salary of cabinet member once leaving office (about $191,000)

WHAT DO YOU THINK THE

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES IS WORTH?

WHY?

The Line of Presidential Succession

1. Vice President 2. Speaker of the House

of Representatives3. President Pro Tempore

of the Senate4. Secretary of State5. Secretary of the

Treasury6. Secretary of Defense7. Attorney General8. Secretary of the

Interior9. Secretary of

Agriculture

10. Secretary of Commerce11. Secretary of Labor12. Secretary of Health and

Human Services13. Secretary of Housing and

Urban Development14. Secretary of

Transportation15. Secretary of Energy16. Secretary of Education17. Secretary of Veterans

Affairs18. Secretary of Homeland

SecurityDO YOU THINK THIS ORDER SHOULD BE CHANGED IN ANY

WAY? IF SO, HOW?

Silent Debate

Everyone needs a piece of paper and a partner (each partner needs a blank piece of paper)

Select member A or B (Write on top of paper with group member names)

You will be graded independently on arguments in debate and following directions—remember this will be silent until further notice

Procedure

Each member will give thoughts about topic at hand SILENTLY (Initial your work)

I will then tell you to switch papers and give you a few minutes to respond to your partner’s thoughts on paper SILENTLY

You will then trade off again, allowing member to respond to your response on paper SILENTLY

After several SILENT swaps, I will allow you to finally speak to one another about the topics at hand, then we will proceed to an entire group discussion on the two issues

What your paper should look likeTopic A/B (Group Member 1; Group

Member 2)GM1: Opinion on issueGM2: Response to issueGM1: Response to GM2GM2: Response to GM1

This should be a running dialogue of debate between the two members

Today’s Topics

Topic A What should the presidential salary be and why?

Consider: Current salary, job requirements, etc. Make sure you explain why you feel this way

Topic B How should we decide who becomes president if

the president were to resign? Why use this manner? Consider: Current system, public opinion, national

issues, etc. Feel free to give suggestions for changes but make

sure you explain why

SIMPLIFIED EXAMPLE

GM1: President is grossly overpaid—he gets free travel, free housing, and has a huge staff to help him

GM2: Overpaid? Think about all the stress with the job; if anything, he is greatly underpaid. Could you imagine being the leader of the free world?

GM1: $400,000 is fair when you have cooks to make meals, a plane to fly you wherever you want, and Congress to actually make laws

Review/Brainstorm

Review What are the qualifications to become

president? What is the presidential salary? What is the presidential line of

succession?

Brainstorm What are some perks to being the

POTUS? What is the role of the president?

Presidential Perks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GPA02-09_US_SecretService_press_release_2009_Limousine_Page_3_Image.jpg

Other Perks

Staff Appointments

Image of the Free World

Most Recognized Person in the World

News Clip

Everyone knows the POTUS…what about these other influential people?

Presidential Powers

Founding Fathers and the Presidency

Remember the founders feared too much power, thus we created the checks and balance system even on our head of state.

Presidential roles: Legislative proposals Commander-in-Chief International Relations

Role in Legislature

State of the Union Address Given in late January in House of

Representatives Outlines programs and policies the

president would like Congress to enact Normally addresses the biggest concerns of

the times

Role in Legislature (continued) Creating a budget

President sends budget to Congress about raising and spending money, as well as makes recommendations for programs and laws for the economy

Congress considers this when creating the budget the president needs to sign off on

Presidential Vetoes

Influencing Public Opinion on Laws

Commander in Chief

Simplified: All military officers answer to the president and president has final say in how war shall be fought

Checks and balances: Only Congress can declare war President can still send forces to any part of world

where US interests are threatened without Congressional approval

However, War Powers Resolution declared all troops must be recalled by 60 days unless Congress permits extra stay

International Relations

Foreign Policy is the government’s plan for interacting with the other countries of the world

Importance: we live in an interdependent world where US actions impact the rest of the world and vice versa

Friendly relations key, but must not compromise national security

Foreign Policy

President meets with leaders around the globe In US, in foreign nations, in neutral sites

Diplomacy: Art of interacting with foreign governments Can build friendships, help security, promote

US interests

Make treaties (written agreements) with foreign nations Must be made with advice of Senate Must be approved by Senate

Other Presidential Powers

Appoint Supreme Court justices (Senate approval)

Reprieve: postpones carrying out a person’s sentence

Pardon: forgives a person for his or her crime and eliminates the punishment

Commutation: reduce a person’s sentence

The Difficulty of Foreign Policy Over the next few slides, we will discuss

whether or not you believe the US should be an ally of the unknown country given and make recommendations for our foreign policy makers.

Consider US interests, national security, and the other topics discussed in class today.

Country A

Possesses Nuclear Weapons CIA report shows current government

sold weapon secrets to US enemies Provided a safe haven to Al-Qaeda and

other groups Many insurgent attacks against

embassies and bases of US allies within their borders

Country B

Current government speaking to the Taliban and discussing future

Accepted money from Iranians Shiite majority in country (US relations

much better with Sunni led states) Current leader relations with US far

worse than they were at start of reign

Country C

US actively involved in creating their government

Strategically located in the Middle East Has a democracy Documentation that Islamic states are

trying to gain influence in country, which the US does not want to happen

Former political leaders still active in their society and the US fears their potential takeover

Country D

Possesses nuclear weapons Helped the War on Terror by capturing

many terrorists Receives great economic benefit by

working with the United States (9 billion dollars in 2010)

Possesses a democracy and is strategically located in the Middle East

US concerned that Islamic theocracy could overthrow government

The Vice President

Responsibilities

Serve as president if president is unable to fulfill duties

Must meet same requirements as president

Preside over the Senate May not participate in debates Does not get a vote unless there is a tie

Other roles given by president: represent US overseas, policy decisions, gathering support

Salary

$208,100 per year

$10,000 expense account

Executive Departments

Presidential Advisers and Aides Executive Office covers a lot of areas

Need for specialists in each field Example: National Security Council

White House Office President’s closest personal/political advisers

and a press secretary Other jobs include researchers, secretaries,

speech writers, etc.

Change over time

Washington’s Executive Branch 5 Departments (Cabinet)

Today’s Executive Branch 15 Departments (Cabinet) Each has distinct responsibilities Presidential Appointees (Senate must

approve by majority vote)

WHY DO YOU THINK WE HAVE ADDED 10 CABINET DEPARTMENTS?

Research Project

In pairs, you will be assigned a Cabinet department and it is your job to research

their role in the United States government.

You may select your own partner for this project.

Group topics will be randomly selected.

Project Requirements

Name of Department Head of the Department Seal of the Department Date created

Why was it formed? Which president created Department?

Focus of the Department (ex: International Relations, Domestic Trade, International Finance, etc.)

Roles of the Department (what all do they do?) Programs and/or Bureaus within that

department

Cabinet Overview

Department of State—Key Terms Main function is to regulate Foreign Policy

Ambassadors: Highest ranking US representatives in foreign nations

Embassy: Official residence and offices of ambassadors in foreign countries

Consul: Represents US commercial interests in foreign nations

Consulate: Consul’s office, normally found in large cities

Department of State’s Domestic Role

Since it deals with international affairs, the state department keeps track of international travel

Passports: formal documents that allow US citizens to travel abroad

Visas: Allow foreigners to come to the United States

DO YOU THINK THE UNITED STATES NEEDS STRICTER CONTROLS ON TRAVEL?

Department of Defense

Runs armed forces and military bases globally Military endeavors Peacekeeping missions Relief efforts

Secretary of Defense is always a civilian to ensure nonmilitary control over the armed forces Secretary’s assistants are military officers

Joint Chiefs of Staff: highest-ranking military officers of each of the armed forces They advise the president on military action

DO YOU THINK THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE SHOULD HAVE A MILITARY BACKGROUND?

Other Cabinet Posts

Homeland Security Created after 9/11 Primary goal: prevent terrorist attacks within the US Other roles: Federal assistance with natural disasters

Treasury Manages federal finances; collects taxes; produces

postage stamps, currency, and coins; investigates and prosecutes tax evaders, counterfeiters, and forgers

Justice Enforces the laws of the United States and ensures

safety against both foreign and domestic threats

Independent Agencies &Regulatory Commissions

Independent Agencies

Executive Branch covers many areas, including some outside of the cabinet posts

Each commission was created by Congress to perform a specialized job

Examples: NASA, US Commission on Civil Rights, CIA, EPA, Office of Personnel Management, etc.

WHY ARE INDEPENDENT AGENCIES IMPORTANT IN THE UNITED STATES?

Regulatory Commissions

Special type of independent agency that has the power to make rules and bring violators to court

Established because of a perceived need Example: Government monitoring of

elections needed so Congress creates Federal Election Commission (FEC)

More Examples

Consumer Product Safety Commission Sets and enforces standards for products and

conducts safety research Can recall goods

Securities and Exchange Commission Enforces laws regulating buying and selling of stocks

and bonds

National Labor Relations Board Enforces federal labor laws and prevents unfair labor

practices

Regulatory Commissions (continued) Heads of commissions are appointed by president

Congress feared presidential influence of commissions As a result, president only appoints a few commission

leaders and Senate must approve all appointments

Commissions run themselves for most part and have a lot of freedom and power Supporters: Public protection and focused on certain

areas Opponents: Over-regulation and interference in lives

DO YOU THINK REGULATORY COMMISSIONS ARE GOOD OR BAD FOR THE PUBLIC?

Federal Bureaucracy

Employees of agencies, commissions, and executive departments make up the federal bureaucracy Consists of almost 3 million workers

People often believe regulations are confusing and that there are too many departments involved in the same areas Red tape: Symbol for government paperwork and

working through the levels of bureaucracy Other people say that the complexity of our modern

society requires many layers of oversight and management

Discussion Questions

Is the United States government too big? Why/why not?

Do you believe bureaucracy is a good or bad thing for the people of the United States? Why/why not?

Are government agencies and regulatory commissions necessary for the US to function?