Portal:Government of the United States

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The federal government of the United States is the central United States governmental body, established by the United States Constitution. The federal government has three branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial. Through a system of separation of powers and the system of "checks and balances," each of these branches has some authority to act on its own, some authority to regulate the other two branches, and has some of its own authority, in turn, regulated by the other branches. The policies of the federal government have a broad impact on both the domestic and foreign affairs of the United States. In addition, the powers of the federal government as a whole are limited by the Constitution, which, per the Tenth Amendment, gives all power not directed to the National government, to the State level. The seat of the federal government is in the federal district of Washington, D.C.

Selected article

The Report of 1800 was a resolution drafted by James Madison arguing for the sovereignty of the individual states under the United States Constitution and against the Alien and Sedition Acts. Adopted by the Virginia General Assembly in January 1800, the Report amends arguments from the 1798 Virginia Resolutions and attempts to resolve contemporary criticisms against the Resolutions. The Report was the last important explication of the Constitution produced before the 1817 Bonus Bill Veto Message by Madison, whose later repositioning as an extreme nationalist won him nationalist praise (despite his substantial defeat in the Philadelphia Convention of 1787) as the "Father of the Constitution." The arguments made in the Resolutions and the Report were later used frequently during the nullification crisis of 1832, when South Carolina declared federal tariffs to be unconstitutional and void within the state. Madison rejected the concept of nullification and the notion that his arguments supported such a practice. Whether Madison's theory of Republicanism really supported the nullification movement, and more broadly whether the ideas he expressed between 1798 and 1800 are consistent with his work before and after this period, are the main questions surrounding the Report in the modern literature.

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President Richard Nixon won 60% of the popular vote and 49 states in the U.S. presidential election, 1972.

Photo credit: NationalAtlas

In the news

• President Bush vetoes an expansion of the popular State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The measure has bipartisan support and Congressional backers may secure a veto-proof supermajority.Washington Post
• The New York Times reports on secret Justice Department memos endorsing the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" widely regarded as torture. Previous memos indicated the opposite.NPR
• Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigns after numerous controversies. President Bush nominates Michael B. Mukasey (pictured) to fill his post.Washington Post
• Commander David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker deliver a report on Iraq that recommends troop drawdowns by summer, 2008. The Economist
• Republican Senator Larry Craig rescinds his earlier promise to resign from the Senate amid ongoing scandal.CNN
• José Padilla is convicted of various terrorism-related conspiracy crimes.PBS
• Gays decry Obama's stand on gay marriage case
• Obama taps more big donors for ambassadorships
• $50M in stimulus will help fish farmers buy feed
• Obama won't rule out releasing detainees in US
• Biden tells "Meet the Press" that "everyone guessed wrong" on the impact of the stimulus, economy was worse off than anyone thought.
• Biden backs away from the promise that the funds could create or save 3.5 million jobs, instead promises 600,000 by the end of the summer.

Current legislation

Legislation

• H.R. 2102 - a bill shielding reporters and their sources from judicial inquiry.NY Times
• H.R. 2419 - a 2007 Farm bill comes close to passage in the Senate.The Hill
• H.R. 976 - an expansion to the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) program is vetoed by the President.Congresspedia

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