I started with How Your Government Works: Your Local City or Town, and next up was the County level, then the Financial Crisis hit. I thought it best to skip it for now. Rather than talk about the local officials again I am going to try and explain how the Federal Government works - so we all can better understand what happened this week.

There has recently been a lot of talk regarding the House of Representatives voting on the $700 billion bailout - but most of us probably haven't thought about who those people are and what they do since our 5th grade history lessons. Here's an update - so you know who is influencing what, what their responsibilities are, and how they affect you on a daily basis.

Your Budget.
You may know that the $1.182 Trillion FY2009 Federal Budget has been approved. Take a look at this visual guide to where the dollars are going, it's pretty incredible. Want to affect where those dollars go, or how to avoid a $402 Billion (before bailout expenditures) deficit next time, learn about who makes the decisions.

As with most US government levels there are three branches - a Legislative branch that makes and passes the laws, a Judicial branch which enforces the laws, and an Executive branch that oversees everything. View the full flowchart here.

In the United States the Executive Branch is made up of the President, the Vice President, and all of the members of the President's Cabinet.

President
There are 5 duties of the president defined in the Constitution, they include:

• Being commander of the armed forces
• The power to require reports (in writing) from all the other departments
• The ability to make treaties with other nations
• The power to appoint officials
• The power to enforce laws and recommend new laws

Other interesting rules and restrictions involving the role of President: You must be at least 35 years old to run for office. You must have been born in the United States, and you must have lived here at least 14 years. A President cannot be elected more than two terms, and each term is 4 years. So far there have been 43 Presidents, with the most recent and current being George W. Bush.

It is an election year, and the first Presidential election since 1928 where there is not an incumbent President or Vice President in the race. Interesting coincidence: 1928 was right before the financial mess of 1929, and now again there is no incumbent and in 2008 we are in another financial crisis. As the news has very feverishly inundated us with the Presidential race, I am not going to go into it here - but as of today, Sept. 30th, 2008 the two main party candidates are John McCain (Sen. AZ, R) and Barack Obama (Sen. IL, D) and the polls show the race as being very close.

Vice President
The are 2 duties of the Vice President defined in the Constitution:

• Being prepared to take over the presidency if something happens to the President
• Being President of the Senate and serving as the tie-breaking vote

The current Vice President is Richard (Dick) Cheney. He is not running for President even though it is common for VP's to do so.

The 15 Cabinet Positions include: (Department heads as of October 2008)

• The Department of Agriculture - supports production of agriculture and farming for all Americans. Headed by Chuck Conner.
  

• The Department of Commerce - deals with international trade, economic growth, and technological advances. Headed by Carlos Guitierrez.
  

• The Department of Defense - all matters related to the armed forces. Headed by Robert Gates.
  

• The Department of Education - all educational roles, including ensuring that all Americans have equal access to education. Headed by Margaret Spellings.

• The Department of Energy - research and development related to energy use. Headed by Samuel Bodman.
  

• The Department of Health and Human Services - primarily responsible for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Headed by Michael Leavitt.

• The Department of Homeland Security - Newest Department, created after September 11th, 2001. Responsible for protecting American from foreign threats. Headed by Michael Chertoff.
  

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development - assists in community development and assuring that all American's have affordable housing. Headed by Alphonso Jackson.

• The Department of Interior - protects the environment and develops our national resources. Headed by Dirk Kempthorne.

• The Department of Justice - assists with legal issues. Headed by Attorney General, currently Peter Keisler, who is the chief law officer.

• The Department of Labor - assists in American's getting jobs, promoting improved working conditions, and labor management. Headed by Elaine Chao.

• The Department of State - advises the President on foreign policy. Headed by Condoleezza Rice.

• The Department of Transportation - providing and ensuring safe and efficient transportation. Headed by Mary Peters.

• The Department of Treasury - deals with all monetary and fiscal policies. Headed by Henry Paulson, author of the Bailout Plan that was rejected.

• The Department of Veteran's Affairs - all benefits and services for Veterans. Headed by Gordon Mansfield.
  

The Cabinet is not elected by voters, so I am not going to go into much detail regarding who they are - especially since many will be changing with the new president.



The United States Legislative Branch is what's known collectively as The Congress. Congress is made up of 435 Representatives and 100 Senators, totally 535 members. The House of Representatives (The House) and the Senate often meet separately and are only called Congress when both groups meet together. There are two groups to balance power between states, regardless of size there are always 2 Senators, but related to size there are several Representatives. This way both large and small states get more equal say in the legislative process. Both groups need to pass legislation before it can be enacted.

Senators:
Each state (Washington D.C. and other territories are not represented) has two Senators who are elected for 6 year terms, but re-election is staggered so that every 2 years 1/3 of the Senate is re-elected.

The Senate has several exclusive powers not granted to the House, including consenting to treaties and consenting to appointments of Cabinet secretaries and federal judges.

There are a few rules and regulations regarding who can be elected to the Senate: you must be at least 30 years old, you must have been a citizen of the United States for the last 9 years prior to your running for office, and you must live and be a resident in the state you are running to represent. (Interesting note: Joe Biden (VP with Obama) was elected at the age of 29, but had turned 30 by the time the swearing in ceremony began, and was thus allowed to stay elected)

Other interesting distinctions between the House and the Senate include the provision that any bill for raising revenue (taxes) can only originate in the House. Additionally the Senate does not have the power to originate appropriation bills or any bill authorizing spending of federal funds.

You can find out who your Senator is here and see their voting records and when they are up for re-election here.

Representatives:
Each state is allotted Reps in relation to their population, but the total number is capped at 435. Each state is guaranteed at least one Representative, and currently the most populated state (California) has 53. Each Representative serves for a two year term, and is currently up for re-election this year, 2008. Again Washington D.C. and territories are not given Representatives, but they do elect one non-voting delegate to give their input.

States that have more than one Representative are divided into Districts, where each district has one Representative. Representatives are commonly called Congressmen and Congresswoman, even though Senators are also technically members of Congress.

Rules and requirements for being a Rep include: being at least 25 years old, being a citizen of the United States for the last seven years prior to the election year, and being a resident of the state you running to represent - however they do not have to live in the specific districts they represent, only the state overall.

The House can do several things the Senate cannot, including initiate spending bills, impeach officials, choose the President in an electoral college deadlock.

You can find out who your Representative is here, and see their voting records here.



There are three levels of judges and courts in the Judicial Branch - District Courts, the Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court. There are 94 district courts in the United States, one Court of Appeals, and one Supreme Court. Currently there are 9 members of the Supreme Court who serve for life. The power of Judicial Review gives the Supreme Court the right to overturn state laws and laws passed by Congress. People do not directly elect any of these judges, rather they are appointed by Congress and the President.



Who is my most effective point of contact?
The people who most closely represent YOU at the Federal level are the House of Representatives. This week constituents from all over the country contacted their Congressmen and voiced concern over the bailout plan - which played a part in why it was voted down. The House is designed to represent the concerns of the people, while the Senate is designed to represent the concerns of the State itself. This year we are electing 1/3 of the Senate, the House of Reps, and the President - it is a very important election year to be informed with your votes.