Unit 4

Part 1
Text: The Legislature

The U.S. Congress at work.

The legislative branch of the federal government is represented by

Congress. There are two houses of Congress: the Senate and the House of
Representatives. The Senate is composed of 100 voting members. The
House of Representatives has 435 voting members in addition to two
representatives from Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia who are not
entitled to vote. The members of the House are called representatives or
congressmen (or congresswomen).
Its main functions are lawmaking, forming structures and programmes
to implement policy, overseeing the resulting bureaucracy, raising and
allocating government funds, and advising the President on foreign affairs
and appointments
While the chambers of Congress are in theory equally powerful, there
are several significant differences in their membership, organization and
practices. As originally intended, the House continues to respond more
quickly than the Senate to the electorate’s mood. Elections every two years
in smaller geographical units allow Representatives to more closely reflect
the current views of local voters than do Senators, who serve six-year terms
and represent whole states. The large majority of both chambers has always

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consisted of middle-aged white men, many of whom are usually lawyers.
The House contains the more diverse membership.
There are constitutional differences between the chambers as well. To
qualify for a seat in the Senate, a person must be 30 years old, a citizen for 9
years, and a resident of the state where elected. Representatives must be 25, 7
years a citizen, and (by custom) a resident of their district. Financial bills
must begin in the House, although the Senate can amend them. Treaties and
Presidential appointments must be approved by the Senate. Size, however, is
the constitutional difference that has the most important effect on the
chambers.
Because of its much greater size, the House must regulate its business
carefully. The Speaker of the House and the Rules Committee are given
considerable power to schedule the work of the chamber, limit debate, and
restrict amendments to a bill from the floor. The Speaker also influences the
assignment of members and bills to committees, decides which bills are
brought up foe a vote, and has total power over who speaks during debate.
The Speaker is chosen by the majority party and in turn chooses his party’s
members on the Rules Committee. The Majority party also elects a majority
leader as the Speaker’s next in command and a whip to help round up votes.
The other party selects a minority leader and whip.
Members of Congress organize themselves in several ways. The most
important of these is by party. Members divide along party lines on between
a third and a half of the votes that take place in Congress. Special party
groups pick the offices of each chamber and decide which committees
members will work on. Each party gets a number of committee members
equal to the percentage of seats it won in the last elections. The majority
party wins the leadership positions and the most committee staffing.
Within Congress there exist party leaders who are selected by
congressional party caucuses1 (party meetings).
The Constitution grants Congress all legislative powers in the federal
government. Only Congress can make laws. The President, interest groups,
and private citizens may want laws passed by Congress. But only if they can
convince a member of each chamber to introduce their proposals, is there a
chance that there will become federal law.
Law-making is only the best known of the legislative branch’s duties.
Members are truly representatives, so much of their work involves case-work
( handling pressure groups and voters’ complaints and requests ). The
national legislature alone can make the federal budget. No federal funds can
be raised, allocated, or spent without its direction. Congress also has the
constitutional authority to regulate foreign and interstate commerce. Only it

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has the power to raise, finance, and regulate military forces and to declare
war. The legislative branch has great power over the other arms of the
national government. It creates all the federal courts below the Supreme
Court, can change the number of Supreme Court justices, and decides
which cases the federal courts can hear by defining jurisdictions.
Congress, not the President, establishes the departments and the executive
bureaucracy.
Congress does most of its work in committees, in which members gain
the expertise and power to make their mark on public policy. The volume
and complexity of legislation introduced each year are huge, so committees
are an indispensable tool for the division of labour. The committee system
assigns members to specific legislative work; the supervision of executive
departments and agencies; hearings on public issues and ( in Senate
committees ) on presidential appointments. Members strive for assignments
on committees of the greatest concern to their states or congressional
districts. As government became involved in wider areas of life, the two
dozen or so standing (or permanent) committees in each chamber have
spawned many subcommittees. The most senior member traditionally
becomes chair of a committee and through this position exercises control
over the power to kill or promote a proposal. Since the early 1970s
subcommittees have won greater independence, and chairmen have been
chosen by secret ballot, which has not always resulted in election by
seniority.
The steps in the law-making process are similar in both chambers.
Bills can be introduced in one chamber or in both simultaneously. After that,
the bill is referred to a committee, which usually refers it to a subcommittee.
There members air their views, gather reports from experts and lobbyists,
and hold hearings to get opinions on the proposal. The next step is ‘a mark-
up session’ during which the subcommittee agrees on changes in the bill. It is
then returned to the committee for another mark-up session before it goes to
the whole chamber for debate and a vote on passage. Most bills die in
committee or subcommittee because they were introduced only to publicize a
member’s willingness to do something about an issue, or because they are
too flawed or controversial for passage. If bills pass both chambers, in a few
cases amendments added in one or both result in different texts. Then a
conference committee from both chambers produces a compromise text for
final votes in the House and Senate. If the compromise bill passes, it is sent
to the President, who may sign or veto it.
Congress also plays an informative role. It informs the public about
different and important subjects, such as crime or space exploration.

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 Task1: Phonetic exercises. Practice after the teacher how to
pronounce the words given below.
Puerto Rico [pw°:t ½ri:k8]
party caucuses [ ½pa:t, ½ko:ks,z]
majority [m ½d=cr,t,]

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 automatically [:t ½m4t,k()l,]
prevent [ ½pr,vent]

Task 2: Lexical Exercises.

Exercise 1. Find the English equivalents for the words and word-
combinations given below.
ɑɥɟɧɵ ɩɚɥɚɬɵ ɩɪɟɞɫɬɚɜɢɬɟɥɟɣ, ɜɵɩɨɥɧɹɬɶ (ɨɫɭɳɟɫɬɜɥɹɬɶ), ɧɚ-
ɛɥɸɞɚɬɶ ɡɚ, ɧɟɫɬɢ ɨɬɜɟɬɫɬɜɟɧɧɨɫɬɶ, ɛɨɥɟɟ ɪɚɡɧɨɨɛɪɚɡɧɵɣ ɫɨɫɬɚɜ,
ɜɧɨɫɢɬɶ ɩɨɩɪɚɜɤɢ, ɪɚɫɩɪɟɞɟɥɟɧɢɟ ɱɥɟɧɨɜ, ɫɬɚɜɢɬ ɧɚ ɝɨɥɨɫɨɜɚɧɢɟ, ɱɬɨɛɵ
ɨɩɪɟɞɟɥɢɬɶ ɤɨɥɢɱɟɫɬɜɨ ɩɪɨɬɢɜɧɢɤɨɜ, ɩɚɪɥɚɦɟɧɬɫɤɢɣ ɩɚɪɬɢɣɧɵɣ ɨɪɝɚ-
ɧɢɡɚɬɨɪ, ɭɛɟɠɞɚɬɶ, ɪɟɝɭɥɢɪɨɜɚɬɶ, ɛɵɬɶ ɧɟɨɛɯɨɞɢɦɵɦ ɢɧɫɬɪɭɦɟɧɬɨɦ,
ɛɨɪɨɬɶɫɹ ɡɚ ɪɚɫɩɪɟɞɟɥɟɧɢɟ, ɫɨɡɞɚɜɚɬɶ.

Exercise 2. Match the English words and word-combinations

given below with their Russian equivalents.

1) ɢɦɟɬɶ ɩɪɚɜɨ ɝɨɥɨɫɚ a) a voice vote

2) ɨɬɤɪɵɬɨɟ ɝɨɥɨɫɨɜɚɧɢɟ b) to take a vote
3) ɩɨɢɦɟɧɧɨɟ ɝɨɥɨɫɨɜɚɧɢɟ c) to adjust differences
4) ɧɚɣɬɢ ɤɨɦɩɪɨɦɢɫɫ d) a roll-call vote
5) ɧɚɥɨɠɢɬɶ ɡɚɩɪɟɬ (ɜɟɬɨ ɧɚ ɡɚɤɨɧ) e) to veto a law
6) ɢɦɟɬɶ ɩɪɚɜɨ f) to schedule
7) ɩɨɜɵɲɚɬɶ ɢ ɪɚɫɩɪɟɞɟɥɹɬɶ g) to restrict amendments
8) ɪɚɡɪɚɛɨɬɚɬɶ h) to be entitled
9) ɨɝɪɚɧɢɱɢɜɚɬɶ ɩɨɩɪɚɜɤɢ i) to raise and allocate
10) ɩɪɨɞɜɢɝɚɬɶ j) to be flawed or
11) ɨɞɧɨɜɪɟɦɟɧɧɨ, ɫɨɜɦɟɫɬɧɨ controversial for passage
12) ɝɨɬɨɜɧɨɫɬɶ ɱɥɟɧɚ k) to promote
13) ɛɵɬɶ ɧɟɞɟɣɫɬɜɢɬɟɥɶɧɵɦ ɢɥɢ l) simultaneously
ɫɩɨɪɧɵɦ ɞɥɹ ɭɬɜɟɪɠɞɟɧɢɹ m) a member’s willingness

Exercise 3. Answer the following questions.

1. What are the functions of the Senate and the House of
Representatives?
2. How is the procedure of passing a law organized?
3. Under what circumstances does a bill become law?

Exercise 4. Answer the questions about details..

1. How many branches is the Government in the United States
divided into?

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 a) two
b) three
c) four

2. How is the legislative branch of the Government called?

a) parliament;
b) congress;
c) court.

3. What branch of the Government has the responsibility to carry out

the law?
a) legislative branch;
b) executive branch;
c) judicial branch.

4. What branch of the Government do the Supreme Court and lower

national courts make up?
a) legislative branch;
b) judicial branch;
c) executive branch.

5. What branches of the Government are the most powerful?

a) legislative;
b) judicial;
c) executive.

6. Why do the President and Congress have almost complete

political independence from each other?
a) they are chosen in the same elections;
b) they are chosen in separate elections.

7. What happens to a legislative bill passed by Congress, if the

President vetoes it?
a) it becomes a law;
b) it dies.

8. What happens to a treaty with a foreign government signed by the

President, if Congress refuses to ratify it?
a) it dies;
b) it comes into power.

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 9. What protects specific individual rights and freedom of citizens
from government interference?
a) Constitution;
b) Court;
c) Congress.

10. What is the attitude of the Americans to their system?

a) they are indifferent to it;
b) they are proud of it;
c) they are ashamed of it.

Exercise 5. Say whether the statements given below are true or false,
express doubt or uncertainty. Make use of the reference list given below.
You are right, certainly, of course, it goes without saying, exactly so.
Far from it, not in the least, nothing of the kind, I don't think so, it's
unlikely, certainly not, it's improbable, surely not.
That's hard to tell, it seems so, it looks very much like it, you can
never tell, I'm not quite sure about it, may be, perhaps, quite likely.
1. The Government of the USA is not divided into three separate
branches.
2. If any one part of the Government has all, or even most of the
power, it will become a
threat to the freedom of individual citizens.
3. The legislative branch of the Government is formed by the
Supreme Court and lower national courts.
4. The executive branch has the responsibility to carry out the law, it
is headed by the President.
5. The President and Congress have almost complete political
independence from each other.
6. The election of the Congress determines who will be elected
President, and the Presidential election determines who will be elected to
Congress.
7. It is impossible in the American system to have the leader of one
political party win the Presidency, while the other major political party wins
most of the seats in Congress.
8. It is not necessary for the President to sign bills passed by
Congress in order for them to become law.
9. "Bill of Rights" protects specific individual; rights and freedom
from government interference.
10. The Government may interfere with freedom of religious worship.

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