US Federal Government

State organs

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The Federal government of the United States mainly includes congress , the President and the Federal Court Separation of powers And federalism The two major political ideas are formulated to separate the legislative, judicial and administrative powers and check and balance each other, so as to avoid government abuse of power.

The government has federal government According to the principle that the government must be close to the people so as not to deprive the people of their freedom, the drafters of the Constitution autonomy It is reserved to the state governments. The state governments themselves have legislative, judicial and administrative powers. The power of the federal government is limited to the power that a state government cannot act alone, such as taxation, finance, national defense, diplomacy, monetary banking, entry and exit management, foreign trade, national welfare, postal administration, and the development of science and art.

Chinese name: US Federal Government
Foreign name: Federal government of the United States

Definition: State organs
Composition: Congress, President, Federal Court

catalog

one legislation
two White House
three administration
four cabinet
five Presidential Office
six Independent administration
▪ CIA
▪ National Environmental Protection Agency
▪ Federal Communications Regulatory Commission

▪ SEC
▪ USAID
▪ United States International Trade Commission
▪ USPS
▪ United States Postal Price Commission
▪ National Transportation Safety Board
▪ Futures Trading Commission
seven judicial
eight establish

legislation

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Constitution of the United States Chapter 1 of gives all federal legal rights to United States Congress , implemented by the US Congress the bicameral system , composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Under the definition of the United States Constitution, the Senate is composed of two senators elected by each state of the United States.

The number of members of the House of Representatives is based on the population of each state, so the United States Constitution does not clearly define it. Under this relationship, the House of Representatives has 435 members a member of the House of Representatives form. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives are Majority system Elected, but Louisiana and Washington State This is a special case. These two states have two rounds Electoral system 。

The United States Constitution does not specify the details of the work of appointing members of the United States Congress. However, with the growth of the country, it is really necessary to determine laws and regulations Conduct a more thorough review. For example, in the 108th Congress (2003-2004), there were 19 House committees and 17 Senate committees that were fixed The Senate and the House of Representatives The four co members of the House of Representatives are responsible for the library, printing, taxation and finance of Congress. In addition, both the House and the Senate can name special members or choose their members to study specific issues. Because of the increasing workload, these fixed committees have organized nearly 150 subsidiary committees.

Congress has the responsibility to monitor and influence all aspects of the executive branch: Congress's supervision can prevent waste and fraud and protect Civil liberties and individual rights , guarantee Rule by law , collect information for the purpose of making laws, educate the public, and evaluate the ruling performance.

The United States Capitol

Congressional oversight includes many aspects:

Members of the National Assembly shall make inquiries and hearings, make formal recommendations to the President, accept the President's report, appoint the President and make foreign treaties. The Senate proposes and approves a bill according to the 25th Amendment of the United States Constitution if the President is unable to act, or vice president When the office is vacant, the deputy executive officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives hold informal talks between legislators and executive officers, and send members of the National Assembly to the government committee. Members of the Congress and its auxiliary agencies include the Congressional Budget Office, the Government Accountability Office and other subordinate agencies of the Congress to conduct research work.

The supporting agencies of the United States Congress include:

Houses of Parliament 、 American Botanical Garden , U.S. Government Accountability Office, Medical Insurance Payment Advisory Committee, U.S. Open World Leadership Center, Government Printing Office, Stannis Public Service Center Library of Congress Congressional Budget Office.

White House

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White House (White House) is the Presidential Palace of the United States, located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in the central area of Washington, the capital. It is adjacent to Lafayette Square in the north, Alice Park in the south, and the towering Washington Monument Look at each other.

White House

Separation of powers

Designed by Irish immigrant architect James Hoban. On October 13, 1792, Washington The President personally laid the cornerstone, which was completed in 1800. The second President John Adams (John Adams) first came in to live. Its original color is gray, and it was painted white after reconstruction in 1814-1817 Theodore Roosevelt (Theodore Roosevelt) was officially named as the "White House", also known as the No. 1 rostrum（ BullyPulpit ）。

When it was first built in 1792, it was a gray sandstone building. Since 1800, it has been the place where the President of the United States worked and lived with his family during his term of office. But it happened in 1812 The Second American British War In China, British troops invaded Washington 。 On August 24, 1814, the British burned down the building, leaving only an empty shelf. When it was restored in 1817, in order to cover up the burning traces, Monroe The president ordered a coat of white paint to be painted on the grey sandstone. Since then, this presidential residence has been known as the "White House". In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt officially named it the "White House", and "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" became the synonym of the United States government.

administration

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president

United States of America The head of state of the United States is called the President. He is also the highest leader of the United States government and commander in chief of the three armed forces.^[1]

basis Constitution of the United States of America In the first paragraph of Article 2, the President must be at least 35 years old and have resided in the United States for more than 14 years. He must also be a "natural born American citizen" (usually interpreted as a citizen of the United States at birth) or a citizen of the United States at the time of the adoption of the Constitution. Only the President and Vice President of the United States have the requirements of "being a citizen of the United States at birth".

vice president

Vice President of the United States Is the first successor to the President United States Senate Speaker.

Office

White House Office, Vice President Office Administration and Budget Bureau Economic Advisory Committee National Security Council 、 Office of the United States Trade Representative , Policy Development Office, Science and Technology Policy Office, Committee for Improving Environmental Quality, National Narcotics Control Policy

United States Federal Administration

cabinet

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The role of the Cabinet is to make recommendations to the President on any subject that the President may need in relation to the duties of each member's respective office.

The Cabinet includes the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive departments - the Minister of Agriculture, the Minister of Commerce, the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Education, the Minister of Energy, the Minister of Health and Human Services, the Minister of Homeland Security, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Labour, the Minister of State, the Minister of Transport, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Veterans Affairs and the Minister of Justice. In addition, the Cabinet also includes the Director of the General Office of the White House, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, the Director of National Intelligence and the U.S. Trade Representative, as well as the heads of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Management and Budget Office, the Economic Advisory Committee, the Science and Technology Policy Office and the Small Business Administration.

President Biden's cabinet reflects his commitment to appoint leaders of government agencies that reflect the countries they serve.^[1]

Cabinet members in the order of succession to the presidency
order^[1]	post^[1]
one	vice president
two	secretary of state
three	finance minister
four	defence secretary
five	attorney general
six	Minister of the Interior
seven	Minister of Agriculture
eight	Minister of Commerce
nine	Minister of Labour
ten	Minister of Health and Human Services
eleven	Minister of Housing and Urban Development
twelve	secretary of transportation
thirteen	Minister of Energy
fourteen	minister of education
fifteen	Secretary of Veterans Affairs
sixteen	Secretary of Homeland Security
seventeen	Director of National Environmental Protection Agency
eighteen	Director of National Intelligence
nineteen	US Trade Representative
twenty	U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
twenty-one	Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers
twenty-two	Director of Small Business Administration
twenty-three	Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget
twenty-four	Director of Science Policy Office
twenty-five	director of the CIA
twenty-six	Chief of Staff of the White House^[1]

Presidential Office

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Franklin Roosevelt The President created the Executive Office of President in 1939. Responsible for various tasks, from conveying the President's message to the American people to promoting the government's trade interests abroad.^[2]

Presidential Office Badge^[2]

Organization name^[2]	English name	Institutional responsibility	Year of establishment
Economic Advisory Committee	Council of Economic Advisers（CEA）	Provide objective economic advice to the President on the formulation of domestic and international economic policies. The Commission's recommendations and analysis are based on economic research and empirical evidence, and use the best available data to support the President of the United States in formulating U.S. economic policies.	one thousand nine hundred and forty-six
Environmental Quality Committee	Council on Environmental Quality（CEQ）	Responsible for coordinating the efforts of the federal government to improve, maintain and protect the public health and environment of the United States.	one thousand nine hundred and sixty-nine
Domestic Policy Committee	Domestic Policy Council （DPC）	Promote the formulation and implementation of the President's domestic policy agenda in the White House and the entire federal government, ensure that domestic policy decisions and plans are consistent with the President's set goals and implemented for the American people.	one thousand nine hundred and ninety-three
Gender Policy Council	Gender Policy Council （GPC）	Promoting gender equality in domestic and foreign policy formulation and implementation	two thousand and twenty-one
National Economic Commission	National Economic Council （NEC）	Advise the President on U.S. and global economic policies.	one thousand nine hundred and ninety-three
National Security Council	National Security Council （NSC）	Provide advice and assistance to the President and coordinate national security matters among government agencies.	one thousand nine hundred and forty-nine
Climate Policy Office	Climate Policy Office	Implement the President's domestic climate agenda, coordinate the government's response to the climate crisis, create high wage trade union work, and promote environmental justice.	two thousand and twenty-one
Office of Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordinator	Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator（IPEC）	Provide suggestions to the President on the formulation of the overall intellectual property policy and strategy of the United States, coordinate with various departments and agencies of the Cabinet, promote innovation and creativity, and ensure effective intellectual property protection and enforcement at home and abroad.	two thousand and eight
Office of Intergovernmental Affairs	Office of Intergovernmental Affairs（IGA）	In addition to elected officials from Puerto Rico and some island communities, the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs is committed to involving state, local and tribal governments to address the most pressing issues affecting the nation and communities of the United States.	-
White House Office of Management and Budget	Office of Management and Budget（OMB）	Assist the President of the United States in achieving policy, budget, management and regulatory objectives, and fulfill the statutory responsibilities of the agency	-
Office of National Drug Control Policy	Office of National Drug Control Policy（ONDCP）	Lead and coordinate the national drug policy to improve the health and life of the American people.	one thousand nine hundred and eighty-eight
Public Participation Office	Office of Public Engagement	Support the President's goal of building an inclusive, transparent, responsible and accountable government	-
Office of Science and Technology Policy	Office of Science and Technology Policy（OSTP）	By using the power of science, technology and innovation to realize the greatest aspiration of the United States, this idea will be turned into reality.	one thousand nine hundred and seventy-six
National Network Director's Office	Office of the National Cyber Director（ONCD）	Advise the President of the United States on cyber security policies and strategies.	two thousand and twenty-one
Office of the United States Trade Representative	Office of the United States Trade Representative（USTR）	Provide advice to the President on trade issues, lead international trade negotiations, and supervise the World Trade Organization and other global trade policy organizations in dispute settlement, law enforcement and other matters.	one thousand nine hundred and sixty-two
President's Personnel Office^[4]	Presidential Personnel Office^[4]	Assist the President in recruiting, reviewing and nominating throughout the federal government More than 4000 political appointees.^[4]	one thousand nine hundred and seventy-one^[4]
National Space Commission^[3]	National Space Council（NSPC）^[3]	Provide objective advice to the President on the formulation and implementation of space policies and strategies.^[3]	one thousand nine hundred and eighty-nine^[3]

Independent administration

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^[5] federal government Independent Agencies And Government Corporations United States Congress Independent administrative bodies established through various laws; Directly responsible to the President of the United States. The scope of independence of an independent administrative agency authorized by each organizational legal/statutory grant; And, if any, establish the definition of the administrative law. Federal regulations have the same effect as general federal laws.

Independent Executive Agency of the United States Federal Government

List of independent administrative bodies
S/N	Organization name^[5]	English name^[5]
one	United States Executive Council	Administrative Conference of the United States
two	CIA	Central Intelligence Agency
three	Commodity Futures Trading Commission	Commodity Futures Trading Commission
four	Consumer Product Safety Commission	Consumer Product Safety Commission
five	Consumer Financial Protection Bureau	Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
six	National and community service companies	Corporation for National and Community Service（CNCS）
seven	Environmental Protection Agency	Environmental Protection Agency
eight	National Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Committee	Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
nine	Equal Employment Opportunity Commission	Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
ten	Export Import Bank of the United States	Export-Import Bank of the United States
eleven	Agricultural Credit Administration	Farm Credit Administration
twelve	Federal Communications Commission	Federal Communications Commission
thirteen	Federal Deposit Insurance Commission	Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
fourteen	Federal Election Commission	Federal Election Commission
fifteen	Federal Labor Relations Administration	Federal Labor Relations Authority
sixteen	Federal Housing Finance Agency	Federal Housing Finance Agency
seventeen	Federal Maritime Commission	Federal Maritime Commission
eighteen	Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Committee	Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission
nineteen	Federal Mediation and Reconciliation Service	Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
twenty	Federal Reserve System	Federal Reserve System
twenty-one	Federal Retirement Savings Investment Committee	Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
twenty-two	Federal Trade Commission	Federal Trade Commission
twenty-three	General Affairs Administration	General Services Administration
twenty-four	Americas Foundation	Inter-American Foundation
twenty-five	NASA	National Aeronautics and Space Administration（NASA）
twenty-six	Assessment System Protection Committee	Merit Systems Protection Board
twenty-seven	National Archives and Records Administration	National Archives and Records Administration
twenty-eight	National Capital Planning Commission	National Capital Planning Commission
twenty-nine	State Administration of Credit Cooperatives	National Credit Union Administration
thirty	National Arts and Humanities Foundation	National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities
30（1）	National Foundation for the Arts	National Endowment for the Arts
30（2）	National Humanities Foundation	National Endowment for the Humanities
30（3）	Institute of Museum and Library Services	Institute of Museum and Library Services
thirty-one	National Labor Relations Commission	National Labor Relations Board
thirty-two	National Railway Passenger Company	National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK)
thirty-three	National Mediation Commission	National Mediation Board
thirty-four	National Science Foundation	National Science Foundation
thirty-five	National Transportation Safety Board	National Transportation Safety Board
thirty-six	Nuclear Regulatory Commission	Nuclear Regulatory Commission
thirty-seven	Occupational Safety and Health Review Committee	Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission
thirty-eight	Government Ethics Office	Office of Government Ethics
thirty-nine	Personnel Management Office	Office of Personnel Management
forty	Office of the Director of National Intelligence	Office of the Director of National Intelligence
forty-one	Peace Corps	Peace Corps
forty-two	Overseas Private Investment Company	Overseas Private Investment Corporation
forty-three	Pension benefit guarantee company	Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
forty-four	Postal Administration Commission	Postal Regulatory Commission
forty-five	Railway Retirement Committee	Railroad Retirement Board
forty-six	Securities and Exchange Commission	Securities and Exchange Commission
forty-seven	selective service	Selective Service System
forty-eight	Small Business Administration	Small Business Administration
forty-nine	Surface Transport Committee	Surface Transportation Board
fifty	Social Security Administration	Social Security Administration
fifty-one	Tennessee River Basin Authority	Tennessee Valley Authority
fifty-two	American Foundation for African Development	United States African Development Foundation
fifty-three	Trade and Development Agency	Trade and Development Agency
fifty-four	US global media institutions	United States Agency for Global Media
fifty-five	USAID	United States Agency for International Development
fifty-six	American Civil Rights Commission	United States Commission on Civil Rights
fifty-seven	United States International Trade Commission	United States International Trade Commission
fifty-eight	Office of the United States Special Adviser	United States Office of Special Counsel
fifty-nine	USPS	United States Postal Service

The following is an introduction to some independent administrative agencies of the federal government:

CIA

CIA (CIA) is responsible for collecting and analyzing overseas intelligence openly and secretly; Publicity activities overseas; And carry out covert operations for the President. The CIA Director of National Intelligence (Director of National Intelligence) Report daily work.

Central Intelligence Agency

National Environmental Protection Agency

National Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, Environmental Protection Agency) environmental pollution ； EPA regulations and implementation of environmental standards to assess the negative impact of pollution; A fund to manage the clean-up of toxic waste areas.

Federal Communications Regulatory Commission

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - responsible for the regulation, licensing, price management, etc. of any domestic interstate and U.S. external communication channels.

Federal Reserve Board

The Federal Reserve Board - the central bank of the United States; Management and specification banking . By buying and selling US Treasuries To execute monetary policy Maintain a strong payment system.

Federal Trade Administration Commission

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is responsible for implementing federal anti-monopoly and consumer protection laws; Investigate unfair trade incidents.

General Services administration

General Services Administration (GSA) - supplies daily services to the federal government Logistics services 。

NASA

NASA (NASA) - Founded in 1957, responsible for space program, long-term civil and Military aviation Cosmic research.

NASA

National Archives and Records Administration

NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) - to preserve and manage the historical and documentary heritage of the United States.

National Labor Relations Commission

National Labor Relations Commission (NLRB, National Labor Relations Board) - Implement major federal labor laws (National Labor Relations Act); It is also authorized to prevent or compensate for unfair business operations, and to ensure that employees become and exercise their rights in organizing trade unions.

National Science Foundation of the United States

The National Science Foundation of the United States supports scientific and engineering education and research through monetary incentives; Encourage universities and colleges to cooperate with industries and governments around the world in scientific research.

Personnel Management Division

OPM (Office of Personnel Management) - the personnel agency of the federal government; And maintain the political neutrality of federal civil servants.

Peace Corps

Peace Corps -It was established in 1961 and sent volunteers to overseas for training to assist infrastructure construction in developing regions in the next two years.

General Administration of Small Enterprises

small business SBA (Small Business Administration) - established in 1953 to assist small and ethnic minorities in the United States Enterprise development And survival.

General Administration of Social Security

SSA (Social Security Administration) - manages the US social security system.

SEC

Securities and Exchange Regulatory Commission

SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) - safeguard the rights of securities investors; It requires listed companies to report all operating information to make it more transparent; Investigate and monitor any fraud of the company.

USAID

USAID (USAID, United States Agency for International Development) Humanitarian assistance American money.

United States International Trade Commission

United States International Trade Commission (USITC, United States International Trade Commission) - provide expertise on trade scope to U.S. government departments and Congress; And prosecuting violations of intellectual property rights.

USPS

USPS (United States Postal Service) - an autonomous public agency that has been providing postal services throughout the country since 1971; through Universal Postal Union Exchange international mail.

USPS

United States Postal Price Commission

National Security Agency Badge

The Postal Rate Commission of the United States was established in 1971 to advocate postal prices and gained greater regulatory power in 2007.

National Transportation Safety Board

National Transportation Safety Board （ NTSB , National Transportation Security Board), established in 1967, is responsible for the safety of land, sea, air and pipeline transportation and Accident investigation 。

Futures Trading Commission

U.S. Futures Trading Commission

CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) - regulates the futures market transactions in the United States.

judicial

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The judicial branch is responsible for making decisions on judicial cases that challenge or require interpretation of the legislation of Congress, and hearing criminal cases involving violations of federal law. In constitutional cases, federal courts have appeals that go beyond state law Jurisdiction 。 Federal courts are also responsible for hearing cases involving more than one state or involving citizens of more than one state, and Foreign related cases 。

United States Supreme Court

The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts, including appeal court (also called Circuit Court ）Federal District Court, Bankruptcy court , and the Federal Solicitation Court. Federal courts hear civil and criminal appeals from state courts. The first instance jurisdiction of the federal courts includes patents, trademarks, federal claims, bankruptcy Finance and Securities 、 Maritime law , as well as international litigation.

The judicial branch is one of three branches independent of the other two branches of the federal government. The only restriction is Constitution of the United States Established checks and balances. Independent federation Judicial system It is seen as the key to ensuring the justice and equality of the law for all citizens. There are two advantages in the US Constitution judicial independence Important provisions of.

First, federal judges serve for life. That is, a judge cannot be removed from office unless he is impeached by the Congress and convicted of "treason, bribery or other felony and misdemeanor".

Second, the Constitution stipulates that the salary of federal judges "shall not be reduced during their tenure". In other words, neither the President nor Congress has the authority to reduce the salaries of federal judges. These two provisions help to protect judges from the influence of public sentiment or political forces and handle cases independently.

Although the drafters of the US Constitution Judicial system Avoid the pressure of politics and public opinion, but the process of selecting judges has now become quite politicized. The justices of the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts are nominated by the President and must be approved by the Senate before they can take office.

According to the law, the Supreme Court is composed of nine judges. The lower federal courts, including their jurisdictions, the number of judges and funding, are determined by Congress. All federal judges must be approved by the Senate to serve for life. However, the President has the right to appoint judges for non life terms during the recess of Congress. The federal government is mainly responsible for making bail, issuing arrest or search and other department decrees and general violation hearings local administration Judges are appointed by the Federal District Court for eight years.

establish

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The establishment of the United States federal government (the United States became independent on July 4, 1776)

I“ Constitution of 1787 ”The United States in the early days of independence was only a confederate country.

United States Federal Government Badge

Principles: "separation of powers" and "checks and balances": legislative power executive power 、 jurisdiction Balance the constraints between them;

There are constraints between the President and Congress, between the two houses of Congress itself, and between the judiciary and other departments.

President of executive power, the president is indirectly elected by the voters. The president is not only the head of state, but also the Head of Government He is also the commander in chief of the army, who can exercise dictatorship in wartime.

The Legislative Power Congress is composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The senators of the Congress are elected by the state legislatures, and each state has two senators; Members of the House of Representatives are directly elected by the voters, and the number is proportional to the population of the state.

In the Federal Court of Judiciary, the Chief Justice is appointed by the President and serves for life. The federal courts have the power to interpret all laws and treaties.

Structure: centralization And Decentralization In combination, the United States is Federalism , federal power is superior to state power

Split central power: 1. Legislative power - Congress

Secretary of State Badge

2. Executive power - President

3. Jurisdiction - Federal Courts

2、 Significance of the 1787 Constitution

1. It is the first complete film in the world bourgeois class Written constitution (Nature), established American political system The foundation of capitalism Development of;

2. The United States established a federal state;

3. Further consolidated war of independence The results of American Revolution It was completed and the United States was maintained.

3. Limitations of the "1787 Constitution": reflection masses The Bill of Rights for rights and interests was added to the Constitution as an amendment several years later;

It recognizes black people Slavery and slave trade , stay racial discrimination And oppression;

Women, Indians, black slaves The right to vote Deprived.

Development history

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Test phase

The experimental stage (1788-1828): the government that cannot rule

Two rival parties

At the end of the 18th century, the internal mobilization limited to the federal government formed the first two major rival parties: the Federalist Party and the Jefferson Republican Party. These parties set up "decision-making meetings" in the Congress to manipulate the presidential nomination and election process, making the electoral house system provided by the Constitution meaningless. From 1788 to 1799, the Federalists had the upper hand in the government. The party advocates Aristocratic politics , advocating "the gentleman does not belong to the party"; George Washington The President specially "solemnly warned" before leaving office factional political struggle Hazards.

In 1800, Thomas Jefferson Parliamentary Anti Federalist Party Power, won the presidential and congressional elections by a large margin, and since then the "Jefferson era" has begun. In the next two decades, the "Republican Party" won three quarters of the House seats and presidential candidates, and four fifths of the Senate seats. With the exception of the Supreme Court, the Federalist Party's influence in the government has since declined.

The decline of the Federalist Party has led to the premature disappearance of party competition and the loss of party activities Organizational objectives 。 Republican overwhelming victory Instead of splitting itself, the party struggle has turned into a factional struggle within the "Republican Party". Therefore, the political party activities in Jefferson's era were also mainly confined to the government; They do not have the basic characteristics of a modern, popular political party that Jack was born in 1832 outside the government.

During this period, people's Political participation Extremely limited; Political parties are loosely organized and weak. The Constitution totally ignores the possibility of political party leadership, and parties do not prepare to organize voters and lead the government.

District of Columbia, the federal capital

At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China Washington, D.C It is an inconspicuous remote place. new Government size Small, lack of funds. Few congressmen from the states want to stay here. In the first 40 years, one third to two thirds of the members of the House of Representatives left their posts every year to seek other positions in state or local governments. The average renewal rate of the House of Representatives every two years was as high as 42%.

The Congress is composed of these members who come from all regions of the country, have different voter bases, and are mostly composed of members who do not know each other. The Constitution envisages that they independently make federal laws without the intervention of the President or other external forces. They think so themselves; Everyone is careful to guard against the violation of the "separation of powers" on the other side of the Tiebo River. Washington period finance minister Hamilton wanted to go to the Congress specially to admonish the legislative proposal, but the Congress tabooed setting a precedent that administrative officials directly affect the legislature, and asked him to write a written opinion and send it to the Congress.

The main reason why the President cannot lead the Congress is the lack of institutionalized power. Thomas Jefferson The President of the era had no personal assistant and could not lobby Congress independently. Each cabinet department has its own unity, dealing directly with the corresponding committees of the Congress in charge of its affairs, as if it were an independent kingdom, not under the control of the President. On the contrary, the President depends on the Cabinet and Congress to carry out political liaison and obtain legislative and Administrative information 。

The main task of the President is to make all cabinet departments in harmony and have consensus on the government's goals, so as to obtain a unified policy to effectively lead the Congress. Unfortunately, this goal is also unattainable. Yes, each cabinet department is equivalent to Administrative decision-making The committee is more united than the congressional committee. But solidarity within departments seems to be based on hostility between departments.

Since the appointment of cabinet members is subject to the approval of the Senate, the composition of departments reflects the proportion of regional interest factions in the Congress. Young believes that there are at least four factors that cause the division between departments: the alliance between different institutions within the cabinet, and the alliance between different regions outside the government interest group The alliance between them is responsible for different congressional committees, as well as the association with different gangs in Congress.

US Federal Government

These divisive factors make each department congress The committee is equally independent. The President is the only possible unifying force, but the President of Thomas Jefferson's era was more than willing. Thomas Jefferson was able to maintain the unity of the cabinet by virtue of his personal leadership, but this unity disappeared with his departure. Each cabinet department forms its own social circle and does not interact with each other. Later, even individuals turned against each other for revenge, and families broke off relations, fearing to talk about cooperation.

1788-1832 was the experimental stage of the classic "separation of powers" theory. It proves that the system of government stipulated in the Constitution itself is inoperable; Just like the interest group politics envisaged in the tenth chapter of the Commonwealth Series, it provides a weak government with nothing to do. During this period“ Constitutional principles Victory is achieved at the expense of a viable government ".

After all, the requirements of ruling the people are different from those of representing the people; Congress, which represents the interests of local voters, cannot lead itself to complete the legislative function. Without the leadership of a political party or a president, a government centered on Congress will become a government that cannot be ruled. The only way to organize an effective political party is to implement mass democracy; To enable the president to have leadership ability, he must be provided with power from the mechanism. The United States has tried these two ways successively; Different results can be obtained by examining them below.

Democratization stage

Democratization stage (1829-1860): the rise of mass political parties

United States Congress

In 1824, the "Jefferson Republican Party" split into four factions, after which the faction led by Jack Sen established the first Modern political parties : Democratic Party. For the first time, the party organized mass mobilization outside the government to bring a large number of people who had the right to vote but did not participate in the political process to the ballot box, thus realizing the presidential election for the first time, making the Democratic Party win the presidential and congressional elections in 1829. The "Jacksonian Revolution" ushered in the era of the Democratic Party: in the next three decades, the Democratic Party ruled the White House and the House of Representatives for 24 years, and the Senate for 26 years.

At the same time, most of the states of the federal government quickly canceled Voter qualification The United States became the first country to implement universal suffrage for most white men, at least 30 years earlier than Europe.

At that time, there were still 80% agricultural population 。 Therefore, and Continental Europe The democracy of the United States is different from that of industrial capitalism urbanization Before that, we first entered mass democracy. In order to compete with the emerging democratic forces, the former Federalist Party formed a coalition of opposition factions between 1834-40 Whig Party Thus marking the maturity of the modern bipartisan system. In 1948, the Democratic Party established the National Committee, and the political party structure of the United States has rarely changed since then.

Civil War and Reconstruction Period

Civil War and Reconstruction period (1861-1900): "Congressional Government"

civil war

Between 1854 and 1860, the North and the South split, Bipartisan system The suspension is over. Before and after that, the Whig Party, the free land people and the northern opposition Slavery Forty five percent of the Democrats formed the Republican Party. The end of the Civil War marked the beginning of the Republican era until Great Depression Its hegemony ended only with its arrival. During this period, the Republican Party, as the party that really formulated the federal policy, has occupied all branches of the federal government.

In more than 60 years before the Civil War and the New Deal, the Republican Party ruled the White House for 55 years, the House of Representatives for 50 years, and the Senate for 60 years. Since the reconstruction period began in 1874, the two parties have entered a unique stalemate in the north and south: the Republican Party in the north has absolute dominance, while the Democratic Party in the south has absolute dominance absolute majority 。 Therefore, according to the region, "two one party rule" has been formed locally.

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The Progressive Party Era (1901-1932)

(1) Congressional Power transfer

In the 20th century, when the power of Congress reached its peak under the leadership of political parties, it was also the beginning of its decline. In the late 19th century, political parties implemented the rule of party leaders, and maintained their competitiveness by granting positions, leading to rampant corruption within the party and local governments. The speaker of the House of Representatives concentrated his power to control legislation and exercised "single rule" based on his own joy and anger. Senators are elected by state legislatures and gradually degenerate into Money politics ； The Senate has become a symbol of the corrupt government and is called the "Millionaire Club".

The Progressive Party, which rose during this period, weakened the leadership of Congress and political parties while eliminating party corruption and the "tsarist rule" of Congress. The Progressive Party, together with some Republicans, attacked the ruling position of House Speaker Cannon and finally "took it off" in 1910 czar The crown of ", removed most of the power of the spokesman, his role is limited to coordinating the parliamentary discussion and other important aspects. Control House of Representatives Legislative procedures The Rules Committee no longer includes speakers, and is elected by all members. At the same time, the two parties set up a Committee on Committees to elect the chairman and members of each committee.

In 1911, the power center of the House of Representatives was temporarily transferred from the speaker to Majority party Decision making meeting (Caucus). The resolution passed by two-thirds of the decision-making meeting constrains all party members to vote in the House of Representatives later, and those who violate the party discipline will be punished. The Senate had already adopted a similar "two-thirds rule" in 1903, so the decision-making committee became the main legislative battlefield in both houses. But only in an era when political parties are highly united within the government can this institution truly have binding force 。 Therefore, during the First World War, the decision-making meeting declined due to the internal division of the Democratic Party. It has only existed in the House of Representatives for two years.

In the 1920s, Congress entered the Era of Barons. There has been specialization in the institutions of Congress. The size of the House of Representatives is too large, and it must be divided into highly specialized committees and branches to carry out legislative work independently. The number of senators is smaller than that of the House of Representatives, and the pressure of specialization is relatively small. However, the institutions and rules of the House of Representatives are gradually copied, and the committee system is adopted.

The power centers are scattered from the decision-making meetings of the majority parties to various Standing Committee On the chairman. In order to ensure that the affairs of the committee will not be interfered by the future "tsar" or "king's decision-making meeting", each committee strictly implements the seniority rule: that is, the member with the longest term of office in the Congress holds the position of chairman of the committee with real power. This principle of automatic promotion has been implemented by the two houses for half a century. The term of office of the chairman and members is similar to that of a lifetime system: unless they retire, die or fail to be elected, they will always hold the same positions on the committee.

Among the committees, the "rules committee" is still the most important. Since it controls the legislative process, the chairman can almost suffocate any legislative proposal. Campbell, chairman of the Republican Rules Committee, once threatened to say: "I am the standing committee member... The proposal is in my pocket, and it will stay there". Only when the Members with a two-thirds majority of the House of Representatives sign on the "Discharge Petition" and the proposal is withheld by the Rules Committee have a chance to "See the sun again", which was discussed and handled by the House of Representatives. The independence of the committee and the power of the chairman indicate that the political party's Leadership It has gone down a lot.

(2) Mass political parties began to decline

The Progressive Party has also carried out far-reaching reforms in the political party system of the United States. During this period, there were "two" in the southern part of the solid Democratic Party and the northern part of the equally solid Republican Party One party system ”。 Localism Our two party system is not to provide competition, but to eliminate competition. local Party organization Without the unified leadership of the central government, the outdated political party institutions cannot meet the requirements of modern times industrial society Requirements. On the other hand, the urban working class is not yet mature and cannot form a united and effective independent political party due to the influence of ethnic division. The disappearance of party competition caused a sudden decline in the political participation of voters, so that by the 1920s, the participation rate in elections in the United States was only modern Western Europe Between one third and two fifths of. Therefore, it was during the period of social crisis caused by modern industrialization that American political parties began to decline. This is closely related to the progressive party's weakening the development of political parties in several aspects at the same time.

(3) The President becomes the Executive General Manager

The decline of political parties and Congress is accompanied by the rise of presidential power. Although the President of the Progressive Party did not have Economic regulation Or the institutional power to lead the Congress. They have been able to exert personal influence on the Congress and have obtained unified jurisdiction over the cabinet and the executive branch. As early as 1908, Theodore Roosevelt The President began to formulate policies independently and made broad and strong recommendations to the Congress. In 1912, President Taft formally submitted the draft legislation to the Congress for the first time, which was generally opposed. However, President Wilson controlled the political party the following year, and the Congress did not have independent leadership after the speaker lost his power, so the two houses generally accepted the legislative leadership of the President.

revolutionary character The change took place during President Harding's term of office in 1921. Until then, the President is not required to provide Congress with an annual fiscal policy Therefore, there is no overall plan for the whole government; Cabinet departments directly apply to the Congress for funding. World War I brought huge expenditures and budget deficit 。 To improve Government efficiency The federal government must be reasonable Planning budget And fiscal policy. This task falls mainly to the President. In 1921, the "Budget and accounting law ”It requires the President to Administrative department Provide a unified annual plan; As a policy initiator and financial leader, the President must be responsible for formulating the government's Financial plan 。 At the same time, Congress established the General Audit Office, which is independent of the administration, to be in charge of inspection.

If the Congress of this period is compared to the board of directors of the company, the president is like the general manager. Just for Separation of powers The "general manager" is usually not elected or removed by the "board of directors". The "Board of Directors" has the responsibility to authorize, fund and supervise the executive activities of the "General Manager", and delegate more powers to the "General Manager" when necessary.

New Deal Period (1933-1952)

(1) The rise of presidential power

All administrative agencies are also under the unified leadership of the President. In addition to its judicial function, the independent administrative agency is also included in the administration under the President Hierarchy 。 In 1934, the President founded the nation State of Emergency Committee All proposals of the executive branch must be approved by it. In 1937, this function was transferred to the Budget Bureau, which decided whether the executive department's proposal was in line with the President's plan; If not, the proposal must be modified, otherwise it will be cancelled. The Government Reorganization Act of 1939 established the President's Executive Office, which is divided into five departments, including the Budget Office. The President was expanded from the former Chief Executive Judge to the Chief Executive Officer.

In 1945, the Roosevelt administration proposed the symbol welfare society Second of Bill of Rights 。 The President suggested that the federal government must "guarantee economic stability Everyone is rich, and the right of everyone to useful and gainful employment in industry, shops, farms and mines is guaranteed ". The Employment Law of 1946 finally revised these radical words, requiring the government to continuously engage in active economic intervention to ensure "maximum employment, production and purchasing power ”。

This law sets a new standard for the federal government: the federal government is responsible for providing appropriate conditions for the general well-being of citizens. The role of the government goes beyond the interest representative function of the 19th century; It must provide production and services for the society, and distribute and deliver welfare. The new government functions are completed under the leadership of the President; The President is not only the Chief Executive, but also a major force for economic stability. From the Budget Act of 1921 to the Employment Act of 1946, there were seven major policy areas: budget, economy national security , human resources, environment, housing and urban construction, the President becomes the legislative leader.

The Employment Act of 1946 established the President's leadership over the Congress, which finally marked the end of the era of "Congressional Government". As the President happened to be the leader of the majority parties in both houses of Congress at that time, the Congress was not wary of "legislative suicide", so it voluntarily gave up the traditional legislative function and entrusted most policy formulation tasks to the President and the executive branch. Congress is no longer the origin of legislation, but more like a filter of presidential proposals; It mainly adopts, modifies or refuses to accept the President's proposal, and carries out supervision of legislation 。

(2) The decline of the "Congressional Government"

The 1946 "Legislative Restructuring Act" was formulated from the perspective of jurisdiction personnel system And democratic procedures Committee Organization And cut the total number of committees in both houses from 81 to 34. In practice, however, this reform has strengthened the size, power and independence of the existing committees. The committees have added assistants, and the number of subordinate branches has rapidly increased to more than 250 power structure More decentralized.

Professor Wilson pointed out at the end of the 19th century: "(Congress) is like an army without officers, lacking common thinking -- or even if it has thinking, there is no mechanism to change it; it is led by ten or twenty committees, and its composition must remain fixed, too many, and too lack of interconnection to contend with it". This description also applies to Congress in the twentieth century, but the number of committees is larger and more independent.

In fact, the independence of the committee and the power of the chairman of the committee often become the means to prevent the majority party from implementing new policies. In particular, the chairman of the Rules Committee can refuse to approve the proposal for discussion by the Congress, which makes the legislation go nowhere. During the New Deal period, this mechanism once provided convenience for the Republican Party and united with the conservative forces of the Southern Democratic Party to oppose the presidential policy. For example, the Wage and Working Hours Act of 1938 passed the Senate by a two to one majority and was approved by the Labor Committee of the House of Representatives, but the Rules Committee refused to release it. Finally, it was only after the House of Representatives obtained the "release application" with the signatures of 218 members, that it was discussed by the House of Representatives and passed by an overwhelming 314 votes to 97.

The 1946 "Legislative Restructuring Act" required each committee to meet regularly, at which the members of the whole committee decided on the agenda. After the law was passed, the situation has changed. Ten years later, two thirds of the committees in both houses ended the chairman's "one-man rule". But in the other third of the committees, the chairman still controls the legislative process, including the rules committee. Smith of the Democratic Party served as the chairman of the committee for 12 years, but he never met regularly.

In 1958, he refused to take "citizens Bill of Rights ”The bill was submitted to the House of Representatives for discussion, and unexpectedly returned to his Virginia farm during the session of the Congress. It disappeared without a trace, which delayed the passage of the bill for a year. The following year, only when the "release application" was only 10 votes short of the signature in the House of Representatives, was Smith "voluntarily" released. The leader of the political party was helpless to the chairman of the committee because of the prohibition of any disciplinary action. In the 1960s, even the most popular Senate party leaders Johnson And House Speaker Ray Bourne also had to rely on patient persuasion for fear of angering the "princes".

Therefore, on the one hand, the institutionalization of Congress has led to Decentralization of power ； On the other hand, the age requirement for positions of real power in Congress has been constantly raised. In the 19th century, the average term of office of the speaker of the House of Representatives was seven years average age Between 30 and 40 years old. By the twentieth century, the average term of office of speakers had grown to 23 years, and the average age of leaders had reached 60-70 years. At the same time, the seniority rules encourage members to be re elected for a long time, causing members to be reluctant to part with their positions. From 1900 to 1957, the number of members who were re elected for more than five terms in the House of Representatives increased from 9% to 45% of the total, and the number of members who were re elected for more than ten terms increased from 1% to 14% of the total. This made the replacement of members of Congress not diligent, and new blood could not be replenished in time.

The seniority rules also impede the exchange of personnel between Congress and the executive branch. The executive branch and the Congress have different representation bases: most of the members come from rural towns and live locally for a long time, so they are less mobile across the country; Most of the administrative and enterprise representatives come from cities and pass the national political organization As a result, it is almost isolated from local politics.

Therefore, the administration represents the national functional interests, while the Congress represents the local special interests. Since entering the Congress halfway means a new start in official career, the elites in the cabinet and executive departments are generally unwilling to become members of Congress. The interruption of personnel exchanges in the Congress has strengthened its regionalism, making it even less experienced in dealing with the national problems arising from the modern economy.

The localism of the Congress is reflected in the primary consideration of the members: pay attention to the voter service in the region to obtain re-election. Since the members of the House of Representatives are elected by regional voters, the central task of the members of the House of Representatives is to make the region get as much federal benefits as possible to gain the favor of the voters. Therefore, the legislator's Personal interests And the institutional function of Congress Conflict of Interest 。

To a certain extent, members "run for Congress through opposition to Congress": for the sake of reasonable interests, members first consider personal achievements, and then consider national issues from the perspective of Congress. For this reason, the immediate interests of legislators have made them very secretive about the mechanism reform. Members personally hope that the committee will have more independence to increase Personal influence To maintain a decentralized committee and branch system is to maintain their own personal power.

To some extent, the fate of the "Congressional Government" in the twentieth century seems doomed. federal constitution The government created by the separation of powers is doomed to be a weak government, and the mutual restriction between government branches makes it unable to deal with domestic and foreign crises harmoniously and decisively. It is conducive to the vested interests of society and opposes any rapid change. However, the economy of the twentieth century social reality Require a strong and timely central government 。 As a result, power comes from Legislature Transfer to law enforcement agencies. In the twentieth century“ Offensive The "spirit" is no longer the Congress, but the President and the executive branch.

At the same time, the central function of Congress shifted from legislation to administrative supervision ； Between 1950 and 1962, the number of congressional investigations exceeded that of the entire nineteenth century. Therefore, like other parts of the world, the Congress of the United States also failed to maintain legislative power Work Center Transition from the formulation of laws to the adoption, modification or control of government legislation, and supervision administrative act 。

Therefore, Huntington pointed out the contradiction of the congressional government in the twentieth century: "Congress can maintain its independence only by refusing to legislate, and can legislate only by giving up its independence... If Congress makes laws, it belongs to the President; but if it refuses to legislate, it alienates public opinion. Congress can uphold its power or pass laws; but it cannot achieve both at the same time" 。

(3) "The Fourth Branch": the Rise of Independent Administrative Organizations

The New Deal has created a "presidential government" as well as an "administrative government". The focus of legislative power is not only transferred from the Congress to the President, but also transferred to an independent executive body through extensive and abstract delegated laws. In the short years from 1933 to 1939, the federal government budget nearly doubled from $4.6 billion, and the civil service team increased from 570000 in 1933 to 920000. Large and independent administrative institutions have sprung up and become the "fourth branch" of the federal government under the Congress, the President and the courts.

Although these fourth branches are subordinate to and subject to the legislative, law enforcement and judicial powers with constitutional status, they also have three powers. Therefore, modern occupation Bureaucracy The rise of, constitutes an important amendment to the traditional doctrine of separation of powers.

In fact, as early as 1813, Federal Supreme Court It is recognized that law enforcement agencies can be entrusted with certain "quasi legislative" and "quasi judicial" functions. In 1822, Congress established the first independent administrative agency, which marked that the practice of the United States government deviated from Locke's theory that the legislative power of Congress cannot be delegated and Montesquieu's theory of absolute decentralization.

Interstate 1887 law of trade Created the first modern form of Independent institutions : Interstate Trade Commission（ ICC ）。 Established successively in 1913 and 1915 Federal Reserve Board It is similar to the Federal Transportation Commission (FTC). At the beginning of the New Deal, three independent institutions with broad powers were established: the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

So far, the federal government has 52 independent administrative agencies, the most important of which is the so-called "seven heads": interstate trade, securities trading, federal transportation, federal communications, federal energy (FEC), national labor relations and civil aviation commission (CAB, which has been canceled)

Unlike the Cabinet, these independent institutions are independent in personnel. Although the Cabinet is also an administrative body, they exercise their powers under the President's pleasure and can be dismissed at any time in principle. The highest level of independent institutions is the executive committee formed by 3-5 people; They are nominated by the President, approved by the Senate, and have a fixed term of 3-5 years. The President cannot be dismissed without reason. The executive body is generally composed of two parties: among the five top officials, the number of members belonging to the same party should not exceed three. As a result, independent administrations usually maintain political neutrality 。

The vast majority of independent institutions have the right to formulate Administrative regulations . Determine whether the behavior of a private person or enterprise legal person violates the rules and charge as a prosecutor illegal activities 。 For example, they can decide whether to issue business license, determine transportation and Energy price , Regulation Private enterprise be engaged in economic activity Conduct and prohibition of Unfair competition Or labor practices. In the century after 1887, 67 Government units 7500 regulation regulations have been formulated, which greatly exceeds the number of legislation made by Congress. As long as they are within the scope of legislative authority, these administrative regulations have the same legal effect , which has a great impact on the lives of American citizens.

The New Deal has significantly expanded the scope of power of independent administrative agencies. Luwei《 The End of Liberalism 》A book pointed out that before the New Deal, the name of the proxy law was specific and narrow, and its content was limited to the prohibition of misconduct. After the New Deal, the proxy law became general and abstract, resulting in a wide range of Discretionary Power , and often require the administrative organ to formulate good Rules of conduct 。 The most typical example is the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1935, which authorized the administrative agency to determine "fair competition rules". Under the bill, the Roosevelt government established more than 700 regulations and issued more than 10000 rules within one and a half years of its entry into force administrative decree And judgment.

Constitutional law Professor Corwin, an authority, called it "the real legislative giant and the original embodiment of the New Deal Enterprise structure 。 At the beginning of the law, it was claimed that 'huge unemployment and industrial disorder' caused the whole country state of emergency And bring burden to 'interstate and foreign trade', thus affecting‘ public welfare ’And lowered the "American people's living standards ’”。

Professor Schwartz, an expert in administrative law, pointed out that "the so-called fair competition rules include provisions for comprehensive regulation of relevant enterprises: wages, working hours, prices, production quotas, competition and others Enterprise activities , advertising, sales technology -- these and more aspects are all under control, and often go to the most trivial details. ".

In the two cases of Panama Oil Refining Company and Shekett Poultry in 1935, this bill was declared unconstitutional by the Federal Supreme Court because of the lack of appropriate standards and the wide scope of the commission. But they are the last two cases in which the court declared that the proxy was unconstitutional: after 1937, the federal court finally made a concession to the economic regulation power of the federal government. Since then, no law in the Congress has been declared unconstitutional due to the lack of appropriate proxy standards.

of course, administrative power It is not free from legislative and judicial control. If Civil rights When illegally violated by administrative agencies, citizens can always appeal court , require it to declare in accordance with laws or regulations Invalid administrative act And get compensation for the losses suffered. Congress can amend the legislation to adjust the restrictions on administration, or even completely eliminate the administrative agencies stipulated in the legislation.

In addition, the Appropriations Committee of Congress can refuse to provide funds for administrative agencies, while the Office of Management and Budget under the President can Control mechanism Budget for. Finally, the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 strengthened the legislative supervision of congressional committees over corresponding administrative agencies. Administrative agencies must periodic report Or hold a hearing to answer the questions of the committee members. The committee may also hold confirmation hearings to ensure that the executive branch fulfills its legislative tasks in a timely manner and requests it to respond to complaints made by citizens. However, due to Administrative affairs It is impossible for the administrative organs to be in the legislative and judicial position Effective control Therefore, it is often called "the fourth branch without head".

Post war period (1952)

(1) The decline of political parties

Half a century later, the Progressive Party weakened American political parties A series of measures of statistical data The effect is shown on the. In Personal President, Luwei pointed out that the decline of political party organizations is manifested in many aspects. first, Australia Ballot system Make a voter Vote distribution it ' s a piece of cake. From 1942 to 1972, the proportion of voters who chose the same political party for the President and members of Congress dropped from 62% to 38%. In 1980, the proportion was 37%; Reagan was elected because he won 28% of the Democratic voters, and Carter But only 12% of Republican voters support it.

Secondly, within the Congress, the number of members voting for "party votes" has plummeted: 50% at the beginning of this century, 23% during the New Deal period, World War II At the end of the year, it was 15%, 8% in the early 1960s and only 1% in 1970. At the same time, the "bipartisan voting" has been rising: 35% in the New Deal period, World War II At the end of the decade, it was 45%, 60% in the late 1950s and 70% in the early 1970s. In the 1980s, 10% of the House of Representatives voted for the opposition more often. In line with the above trend, the non partisan "independents" rose correspondingly: from 1952 to 1980, the Democratic Party's proportion of voters fell from 47% to 40%, and the Republican Party's proportion fell from 27% to 23%, while the proportion of independents in the same period rose from 22% to 37%, which can be described as a confrontation with the two major parties.

At the same time, political parties lost the ability to control the nomination of presidential candidates in local primary elections. One of the leadership capabilities of political parties is to reduce the challenges to the designated candidates of political parties in local primary elections, and the frequency of such challenges has been rising in recent years. Just New York In the 1940s, only 10-20% of the primary elections challenged candidates. In the 1950s, it rose to 20-30%, while in the 1970s, it reached 50-60%.

Therefore, in the early 1950s, local party leaders were still able to control the list of candidates, but after the 1970s, party control was no longer effective in most states. In the first round of voting at the National Conference, the delegation elected in the primary election rarely deviated from the candidates directly elected by party members and voters. Finally, the credibility of political parties has generally declined, and the public lacks confidence in political parties and the government.

Public opinion polls show that in the 1960s, 70% - 75% of voters believed that the government was doing the right thing, watergate event After that, only 45% of the voters held this belief; By the end of the 1970s, public trust in the Democratic government had dropped to 40%, while trust in the Republican Party was only 35%. In the 1980s, the trust rate of both parties was lower than 35%.

The result of the lack of political party organization is "the disappearance of voters": the proportion of voters participating in the election has declined significantly, as well as the strong class distortion and age gap in the participation rate. If actual participation is used Political elections To the total number of eligible voters Political democratization The United States, the first democratic country in the world, is far less than Western Europe National democracy.

In Western Europe, voters participate extensively and actively Political process 。 Effective concentration of political parties organization skills Not only mobilize the broad masses of voters to vote, but also provide public political education And is responsible for formulating national policies. In addition, Social Democratic Party The implementation of automatic registration has reduced the initial obstacles to political participation. Finally, unlike the regional single representation system, Proportional representation system eliminate Voided ticket , increasing the motivation of voters to participate. These factors have promoted the political participation of European voters.

From the early 1950s to the late 1970s, the voter participation rate of the federal and local governments in the United States continued to decline. In the 1950s and 1960s, presidential election The participation rate of the National People's Congress in the presidential election year and the non presidential election year was around 50% and 65% respectively. However, in the 1970s, the participation rate dropped sharply, and the participation rate in the presidential election barely exceeded 50%.

In 1988, only half had The right to vote Of the citizens participated in the presidential election; The participation rate in parliamentary elections is lower. States chief executive Usually only one third to two fifths of the voters elect. In 1976, the participation rate in the federal government election in New York City reached the lowest point (42%) since 150 years ago, and the mayoral election in the following year reached the lowest point in history since the first election in 1834. Therefore, if citizens of some countries in the world lack the real democratic right to vote, Americans who have this right do not seem to attach much importance to its exercise.

At the same time, the weak party organization also increases the class distortion and age gap of the participation rate. In the United States, the political participation of the lower labor force is far more than middle class Is low, and the gap is growing. From 1968 to 1976, the ratio of the middle class to the lower class workers increased from 1.42 to 1.65; In the same year Sweden The same proportion is only 1.03. Although racial issues are closely related to the economy, differences between different classes outweigh differences between different races.

In 1972, only 41% of white workers with high school diplomas participated in the election, while 86% of managers with university diplomas participated in the election, twice as many as lower level workers. In addition, the political parties in the United States also failed to effectively bring many young people into the political process, resulting in a much smaller proportion of young people participating in elections than middle-aged people. In the federal elections in the early 1970s, the average participation rate in the United States was around 60%, and the largest gap between different age groups was 23 Percentage point ； Meanwhile Federal Germany The participation rate of is more than 90%, and the difference between different ages is only 10 percentage points at most.

Burnham pointed out that the decline of political party organizations is the common reason for the decline of voter participation and class distortion. For those voters who lack other information sources, political parties are an important shortcut to provide these voters with the calculation of their participation in utility. As a result of obtaining Political information There are huge class differences in the ability of, Party propaganda It provides essential political information for the lower class of society.

Therefore, the disappearance of the role of political parties has not only reduced the overall participation of voters, but also reduced the participation of the lower strata who originally believed in fate, did not believe in politics, and tended to abstain. In Burnham's words:“ American politics Not according to class struggle The real class struggle is not the competition between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party who actively participate in the election, but the opposition between two different entities: one is the voters who actively participate in the voting, and the other is the half of the adult population who do not participate in the voting.

At the same time, political parties are a means to strengthen the relationship between the government and citizens, reduce the distance between the rule and the ruled, and provide feedback to the government Social needs And provide the government with Legitimacy of rule 。 The ruling crisis in the United States since the 1970s requires all sectors of society, including the middle class and the lower class, to change their political concepts and reform the party structure so that they can bring 40 million "disappeared voters" back to the political process. Only in this way can "American democracy" truly represent the interests of all voters - not the special interests of certain classes.

(2) "Personal President"

While the political party organization declined, the independent power rose. Since the era of the New Deal, the President has begun to break away from the control of the political parties in the election and directly contact the voters. This is inseparable from the development of two related aspects: mass media And modernization Communication technology , especially radio and Television broadcasting 。

In the nineteenth century, newspapers were the most important mass media. Because of its financial dependence on the sponsorship of political parties, newspapers have become the mouthpiece of political parties without exception, serving the political purposes of political parties. In the 20th century, newspapers published commercial advertisement And gain economic independence As a result, a propaganda media independent of the control of political parties has emerged. Both Roosevelt and Wilson used Newspapers and magazines Contact voters. radio broadcast After popularization, Roosevelt lost no time in using new communication technology to gain direct communication with voters.

The development of modern high technology has transformed political competition from labor-intensive to Capital intensive 。 These high-tech means include public opinion polls, television mass media Auto-Control Phone library and mass production direct mail Campaign leaflets, etc. In particular, mass media and direct mail leaflets need a lot of money, which makes the huge campaign funds become successful precondition 。 Politics depends on money; Campaign spending is rising. The book American Government, written by Ludwig and Ginsberg, lists the total expenditure of all national campaigns over the years: the total expenditure in 1956 was 1.5 billion yuan dollar In 1968, it reached US $300 million, nearly doubled in 1976, and broke through the US $1 billion mark in 1984.

The huge expenditure required by high-tech politics also affects the mass party politics Have adverse effects. The former labor-intensive politics is conducive to the political parties supported by the lower social strata, so that they can effectively use manpower and compete with the number advantage by mobilizing the political participation of the lower social strata opposition Advantages in economic and institutional resources. On the contrary, capital intensive politics is more conducive to the political parties supported by the middle and upper classes of society; New technologies not only enable them to make more effective use of their financial resources, but also enable candidates with strong funds to run independent elections without the support of political parties.

(3) Limited recovery of congressional power

In recent years, the re-election campaign of members of Congress has achieved an unprecedented success rate. In 1986 and 1988, 98% of those who ran for re-election were re elected. The success rate of senators for re-election is no less than 85%. At the same time, the number of "safe constituencies" has increased competitiveness Down. The reason is that the incumbent members have many free election resources, including through voter service and the feelings they have established with voters, and make full use of them to create a good image for themselves in the election. Re elected members can also get more campaign funds. There are four main sources of funding for congressional elections: the federal government, private individuals, political parties and Parks.

In the 1988 House of Representatives elections, political party funding accounted for only 6%, while Parks' contribution accounted for 36%. The flow of these funds is significantly conducive to re-election. In 1980, Parks donated 80% of its funding to the candidates for re-election, 10% to the challengers, and the other 10% went to those candidates who wanted to compete for vacant seats after the former legislators abdicated. Through fundraising and borrowing, each member of the re elected members can raise an average of 180000 dollars and spend 360000 dollars; The average challenger can only get 42000 dollars and spend 100000 dollars.

A similar situation also exists in the Senate: the average amount of money raised by the re elected members is 3 million, while the challenger is only 1 million US dollars (Wirls, p.21). The advantage of the re elected members in funding is no less than three times that of the non re elected candidates, which enables the former to scare away the challenger without spending a cent by establishing a "war preparation treasury". In this way, potential candidates with good quality will disappear; Without sufficient funds, people dare not rush into the election field. Voters face a limited choice: if they are not re elected members, they will be third rate challengers. This also reduces the practical significance of the election and makes voters less interested in voting on their own initiative.

(4) "Double sovereignty" and institutional struggle

For the federal government with the separation of three powers, the final result of the decline of political parties is the split between the Congress and the President within the government. Fellina pointed out that during the civil war Reconstruction period Due to the connection of political parties, members of Congress have personal motivation to support the President's election. Whenever one party replaces the other party and wins the presidential election, the party composition of the Congress also changes significantly, so that the majority party of the Congress is consistent with the party of the President. However, the modern president and Congress lack the connection in the election. Whether the president is elected or not has nothing to do with the immediate interests of legislators. Since the independent election is held, the legislators rely on the goodwill of the local voters rather than the political parties or the president.

In 1984, Reagan won the presidential election by a large margin, but the Republican Party only added 14 seats in the Congress. In that year, 44% of the members of Congress were in opposition to the President. Therefore, in the post-war period, the two parties had long held half of the country, forming a "dual sovereignty" in the federal government, in which the Democratic Party controlled the Congress and the Republican Party controlled the President, which led to a protracted "institutional struggle".

(5) The US federal government closes again after 17 years Government employees unpaid leave

On Monday night, October 1, 2013, New York time, the two parties in the US Congress Government expenditure The stalemate of the bill failed to be resolved within the deadline before 0:00 this Tuesday. Since October 1, the United States federal government has been suspended. Government employees involved in American security and other aspects continue to work, but their salaries will be paid after Congress resumes funding. The number of these employees will reach 1 million, while more than 800000 employees in non exceptional departments will start to take leave without pay.

Since the House of Representatives put forward the spending bill with the extension of Obama's health care reform bill for one year and the reduction of taxes as additional conditions last Sunday, public opinion has tended to think that the government is bound to shut down. Obama Administration He and his staff have made it clear before that they will not accept any spending bill that will affect the new health care law. Democrats believe that Republicans should support a relatively "clean" spending bill without additional conditions. At the same time, Republicans in the House of Representatives have not wavered in their position on Obama's health care reform bill.

On Monday night, the House of Representatives and senate The budget bill requiring Obama to postpone the health care reform for one year was repeatedly discussed and voted in a "ping-pong" manner. Finally, the House of Representatives no longer sought a vote on the revised bill.

US President Barack Obama Press conference "The internal dispute in a branch of the government over a dispute over a result after the election should not affect the operation of the whole government." About half an hour before zero, the relevant departments of the federal government had begun to prepare to implement the plan to stop the operation of some government departments. At 0:00 on October 1, the US government closed down.

Previously, American Republican Party The controlled House of Representatives passed Obama's healthcare reform plan To postpone the proposal for one year so as to "save money" to provide working capital for the government; The House of Representatives voted 248 to 174 to repeal Medical equipment Tax, and passed the proposal to postpone the medical reform for one year by 231 votes to 192 votes. However, the Senate subsequently vetoed the bill.

Minutes before the arrival of October 1 local time, the White House ordered the closure of federal agencies. This is another shutdown of the US government in the past 17 years.

The last shutdown of the US government took place during the Clinton administration in 1995-96; The reason is that the Republican Party opposes President Clinton's proposal medical insurance Plan.

The analysis points out that once the above situation occurs again, it means that the US government can no longer pay wages old-age pension 、 Pension Tens of thousands of civil servants across the United States are forced to take unpaid leave and may never be able to recover the salary owed by the government.

(5) On October 17, the closure of the US federal government for 16 days was officially ended

On the evening of the 16th, the House of Representatives of the United States Congress voted to pass a bill to give the federal government temporary funding and raise its public debt ceiling 。 US President Barack Obama signed the bill in the early morning of the 17th, officially ending the 16 day shutdown of the US federal government.

The U.S. government has asked federal employees to return to work from the 17th. However, the bill did not solve the fundamental problem, and the US government faced the danger and test of "closing down" again a few months later.

Obama signed the bill in the early morning of the 17th

The bill proposed by the leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties in the Senate was passed by the Senate on the evening of the 16th, and the House of Representatives held a meeting overnight, and then passed the bill with 285 votes in favor and 144 votes against. According to this proposal, all departments of the federal government have obtained the budget operation until January 15, 2014, and extended the authority of the Ministry of Finance to issue national debt until February 7, 2014. US President Barack Obama signed the bill in the early morning of the 17th, putting an end to the "closure storm" of the US federal government that has lasted for more than half a month and temporarily calming down international market Possible debt to the United States default risk Concerns.

Government employees Return to normal work

White House Administration and Budget Bureau Director Sylvia Matthews Berwell said the federal government should resume normal operation as soon as possible. It has been requested in the past half a month unpaid holiday % of federal agency employees will resume normal work from the next working day. For the vast majority of federal government employees, the 17th is their first working day after the end of the "closure storm" of the government.

"The federal government employees came back to work on the morning of the 17th," Silvia Berwell said. "For the government employees, they have experienced very challenging moments in the past few weeks. I want to express my gratitude to those civil servants who continue to serve the American people." International Monetary Fund CEO Christina Lagarde Reach an agreement with the two parties of the United States to avoid Debt default Expresses its appreciation. she Simultaneously The increase of the US government's debt ceiling has caused the Uncertainty 。 In the future, it is crucial to reduce this uncertainty in a "sustainable way".

The financial problem has not been fundamentally solved

US Federal Government (8 sheets)

October 17 is the "deadline" for the United States to avoid debt default. Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew Previously, it was said that the unconventional measures taken to avoid the US debt default could only be maintained until October 17, when the Ministry of Finance had only about 30 billion dollars in funds, which was difficult to cope with all the spending pressures of the federal government. The compromise plan reached by the two parties in the United States at the last moment before the debt default was within the expectations of all parties.

However, the bill passed by the US Congress did not fundamentally solve a series of financial problems faced by the US government, but only postponed this thorny problem to the beginning of the next year. If, at that time, lawmakers from both parties of the United States still fail to solve these financial problems, the United States government will again face the danger of "closing down". United States House of Representatives budget committee chairman paul ryan Voted on the bill Negative vote He said, "Today's proposal will not help reduce our rapidly growing debt. In my opinion, this is not a breakthrough, we just take a breather."

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