Free Custom «American Federal Government» Essay Paper

Since 1800 there has long been a general popular idea that the national government needs reorganizing and that great changes in constitution should be made toward of the national government, a tendency has developed to use the term as a blanket to cover many kinds of changes that are not organization in the narrow and technical sense of structure. The U.S. government consists of three branches the executive, Legislative, and the Judicial Branch. With these branches running our government there are many tasks that each must carryout. The main components of them are the President, Congress, and the Supreme Court. The Constitution seems to supply the President with quite a few powers, yet the other branches prevent him/her from becoming too strong. The President has the power to enforce laws and even make treaties. While the President is trying to enforce a law the Supreme Court could review the law, and possibly find something unconstitutional within it. Congress makes the laws, the president submits legislation to it or veto laws passed by Congress, and the judicial review decides whether the laws passed by Congress or actions taken by the president are constitutional. The Constitution did not express the Supreme Court's power of judicial review until the ruling of the Marbury vs. Madison case of 1803. The ruling of the Supreme Court states since the Constitution is superior to the act of Congress, the judicial department should decide what the law is. The framers of the Constitution knew that the Constitution might have to change; therefore, they provided amendments to revise the Constitution to meet current conditions. These amendments are proposed two ways, by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress or by a national convention called by Congress at the request of legislatures in two-thirds of the states. In order for an amendment to take effect it must be ratified by either by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states or by special ratifying conventions in three-fourths of the states. However, in Texas there is only one way to propose an amendment to revise its Constitution. Proposals for an amendment to the Texas Constitution can be initiated during regular or special session of the legislature, and an absolute two-thirds majority of the House and Senate. The members of Congress then vote to submit proposed changes to the voters, also the legislature sets a date at the election for the public to vote on the amendment. A simple majority of half plus one is needed for ratification of an amendment. However, the governor still proclaims the passage or rejection of amendments. Since the Texas Constitution of 1876, Texas has passed 377 amendments. These amendments have occupied enormous amounts of legislative time resulting in criticisms and the needed of reform. The Texas Constitution was indirectly written with the idea that less government intervention is the best government. For example, the governor is held responsible by the public for leadership and the actions of state agencies of the overall state; however, he or she has limited direct control over the major policy making offices, boards, and commissions. The legislature must operate within the constraints of poverty level salaries, short and infrequent sessions, and restrictions on legislative action. The judicial system is virtually powerless to provide simpler, more uniform justice because of the overlapping and parallel jurisdictions of the state's courts. The constitution still does not conform to current federal law. These are just a few examples of the commonly held criticisms of the Texas Constitution. The need for reform in the Texas Constitution is evident but may only be seen by the citizens after the downfalls of the current document. ...