Checks and Balances Examples of Checks and Balances EXAM FOCUS
Political Importance of Checks and Balances
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Checks on Checks by The legislatureThe executiveThe judiciary
The legislature Amend/delay/reject legislation Override presidents
veto Power of the purse Declare war Ratify treaties (Senate)
Investigation Impeachment, trial, conviction and removal from
office Impeachment, trial, conviction, removal from office Propose
constitutional amendments Issue new legislation to overturn rulings
The executive Recommend legislation Veto legislation Appointment of
judges Pardon The judiciary Judicial Review Checks &
Balances
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Checks on the Judiciary by the Executive President 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).
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Checks on the Judiciary by the Legislature Judge 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.
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Checks on the Executive by the Legislature Congress 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.
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Checks on the Executive by the Judiciary In 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 14 th
Amendment. This effectively handed the election to George W
Bush.
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Checks on the Legislature by the Judiciary McConnell 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.
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Checks on the Legislature by the Executive In 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 2 nd 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.
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EXAM FOCUS Using examples, explain the limitations on the
Supreme Courts powers. 15 marks = 15 minutes 5 4 3 2 1 0 5 Minutes
Start Timer 10 8 6 4 2 0 10 Minutes Start Timer
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Political Importance Define; a)Bipartisanship b)Divided
government
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Definitions Bipartisanship Close cooperation between the two
major parties. Divided Government A situation in which one
political party controls the presidency and another controls one or
both houses of Congress.
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Political Importance The 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.
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Bipartisanship & Partisanship Bipartisanship Approach Obama
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 Approach Obamas 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.
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Divided Government The 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 DG 1949 1981 16 years
of DG 1981 - 2013 25.5 years of DG
EXAM FOCUS Does divided government make the checks and balances
between Congress and the president more or less effective? 10 marks
= 10 minutes 5 4 3 2 1 0 5 Minutes Start Timer 10 8 6 4 2 0 10
Minutes Start Timer