US Government & Politics
Checks & Balances
Checks and BalancesExamples of Checks and BalancesEXAM
FOCUSPolitical Importance of Checks and Balances
Checks onChecks byThe legislatureThe executiveThe judiciaryThe
legislatureAmend/delay/reject legislationOverride presidents
vetoPower of the purseDeclare warRatify treaties
(Senate)InvestigationImpeachment, trial, conviction and removal
from officeImpeachment, trial, conviction, removal from
officePropose constitutional amendmentsIssue new legislation to
overturn rulingsThe executiveRecommend legislationVeto
legislationAppointment of judgesPardonThe judiciaryJudicial
ReviewJudicial Review
Checks & Balances
Checks on the Judiciary by the ExecutivePresident Obama signed
into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. This effectively
overturns the Supreme Courts infamous 2007 ruling against Ms.
Ledbetter in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., a ruling
that made it much harder for workers who have been victims of
unlawful pay discrimination to obtain compensation for that
discrimination.Presidential pardon of Randy Eugene Dyer in
2011.Convicted of importing and trafficking drugs from Mexico in
1975 he spent 3 years in prison. After his release he became a
God-fearing family man who has preached and ministered to prisoners
for over 30 years.Obama has pardoned only 17 people in his
presidency (9 people in December 2010 and 8 people in May
2011).
EXAMPLES
Checks on the Judiciary by the LegislatureJudge G. Thomas
Porteous, a federal judge was found guilty on 4 articles of
impeachment by the Senate in December 2008.In March 2008, the House
of Representatives voted unanimously to impeach Porteous on
corruption charges.He was found to have been corrupt, taken bribes,
lied to the Senate and the FBI.4 out of 27 amendments overturn
Supreme Court decisions.The 11th Amendment overturned Chisholm v.
Georgia (1793) by guaranteeing the immunity of states from lawsuits
by citizens of another state or a foreign country. The 14th
Amendment nullified Scott v. Sandford (1857) by guaranteeing the
civil rights and citizenship of African Americans. The 16th
Amendment overrode Pollock v. Farmers' Loan and Trust Co. (1895) by
giving Congress the power to levy an income tax. The 26th Amendment
negated Oregon v. Mitchell (1970) by permitting 18-year-olds to
vote in state elections.EXAMPLES
Checks on the Executive by the LegislatureCongress over-rode
President Bush's veto of legislation protecting doctors from a 10.6
percent cut in their reimbursement rates when treating Medicare
patients in 2008. The override vote in the House (383:41) easily
met the two-thirds threshold needed to nullify the president's
veto. About an hour later, the Senate voted to override, 70:26. The
best way to thwart a presidents policies deemed unpopular by the
Congress is to use the power of the purse and simply defund
existing programs or refuse to appropriate future funds,
effectively killing them.Republicans who won election to the 112th
Congress are threatening to deny funding in an effort to kill the
March 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. EXAMPLES
Checks on the Executive by the JudiciaryIn August 2010 the 11th
Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that the
so-called individual mandate provision of the Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is unconstitutional.A Supreme
Court case is now more than likely to be heard on the issue in
2012.Bush v Gore (2000) found that the manual recount scheme
devised by Florida state Supreme Court was unconstitutional because
it violated the equal protection clause of the Constitutions 14th
Amendment.This effectively handed the election to George W
Bush.
EXAMPLES
Checks on the Legislature by the JudiciaryMcConnell v. FEC
(2003) found parts of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002
(BCRA), which amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
(FECA) to be unconstitutional because it burdens parties right to
make unlimited independent expenditures, and prohibiting persons 17
years old or younger from contributing to candidates or political
parties, is invalid as violating the First Amendment rights of
minors.Texas v. Johnson (1989) found the any law prohibiting
burning of the American flag is unconstitutional as violating the
First Amendment.The only way Congress can prohibit flag burning is
to introduce a constitutional amendment.The most recent attempt to
adopt a flag desecration amendment failed in the United States
Senate by one vote on June 27, 2006.
EXAMPLES
Checks on the Legislature by the ExecutiveIn December 2009 Obama
vetoed House Joint Resolution 64 essentially rejecting a spending
bill that duplicated another spending bill he had already
signed.The override attempt failed in House.Obama has only used 2
vetoes so far.His 2nd veto in October 2010 was a housing
foreclosure bill.Sometimes the threat of a veto can be an effective
tool, and Obama has publicly threatened to veto bills during the
112th Congress - such as House GOP legislation proposed earlier
this spring when the government shutdown was looming.EXAMPLES
EXAM FOCUSUsing examples, explain the limitations on the Supreme
Courts powers.
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Political ImportanceDefine;BipartisanshipDivided government
DefinitionsBipartisanshipClose cooperation between the two major
parties.
Divided GovernmentA situation in which one political party
controls the presidency and another controls one or both houses of
Congress.
Political ImportanceThe checks and balances between the 3
branches of government have important consequences for US politics.
They encourage a spirit of bipartisanship and compromise between
the President and Congress. Laws are passed, treaties ratified,
appointments confirmed and budgets fixed only when both branches
work together rather than pursue a partisan approach.
Bipartisanship & PartisanshipBipartisanship ApproachObama
nominated several Republicans to serve in his Cabinet.Judd Gregg as
Secretary of Commerce (withdrew)Bob Gates as Secretary of Defense
(served GWB - retired July 2011)Ray LaHood as Secretary of
Transport (serving)Partisan ApproachObamas Health Care was passed
by the House by a vote of 219:212 (all 178 Republicans voted NO, as
well as 34 Democrats).Obama had promised to tame partisanship in
Congress, but staked his presidency (and possibly his re-election)
on a strongly partisan approach.EXAMPLES
Divided GovernmentThe instances of one party controlling the
executive, and the other party controlling the legislature have
become more frequent in recent years.Divided government has become
the norm in US politics:1901 1949 8 years of DG1949 1981 16 years
of DG1981 - 2013 25.5 years of DG
YearPSH19011903RRR19031905RRR19051907RRR19071909RRR19091911RRR1911-1913RRD19131915DDD19151917DDD19171919DDD1919-1921DRR19211923RRR19231925RRR
YearPSH19251927RRR19271929RRR19291931RRR1931-1933RRD19331935DDD19351937DDD19371939DDD19391941DDD19411943DDD19431945DDD19451947DDD1947-1949DRR
Divided Government1901-2013
YearPSH1981-1983RRD1983-1985RRD1985-1987RRD1987-1989RDD1989-1991RDD1991-1993RDD19931995DDD1995-1997DRR1997-1999DRR1999-2001DRR2001-2003RD/RR20032005RRR20052007RRR2007-2009RDD20092011DDD2011-2013DDR
YearPSH19491951DDD19511953DDD19531955RRR1955-1957RDD1957-1959RDD1959-1961RDD19611963DDD19631965DDD19651967DDD19671969DDD1969-1971RDD1971-1973RDD1973-1975RDD1975-1977RDD19771979DDD19791981DDD
DiscussionDoes divided government make the checks and balances
between Congress and the president more or less effective?
