US Federal Government Development Over Time

The Federal government of the United States mainly includes the Congress, the President, and the Federal Court. It is based on the two political ideas of separation of powers and federalism. It separates the three legislative, judicial, and administrative powers from one another Checks and balances to avoid government abuse.

The government is divided into the federal government and the state governments. The drafters of the Constitution, in accordance with the principle that the government must be close to the people so as not to deprive the people of freedom, reserve the relevant state autonomy to the state governments. Each state government has its own legislative, judicial and administrative powers. The power is limited to those that a state government cannot exercise alone, such as taxation, finance, national defense, foreign affairs, currency banking, immigration management, foreign trade, national welfare, postal services, and the development of science and art.





In December 2018, according to the official website of the White House, on the 18th local time, President Trump issued an executive order announcing that the federal government will be closed on December 24, the day before Christmas.





Table of Content

1. History

▪ Experimental stage

▪ Democratization stage

▪ Civil War and Reconstruction

2. Build

3. White House

4. Legislation

5. Administration

▪ President

▪ Vice President

▪ Office

6. Institutions

▪ CIA

▪ General Services Department

▪ Archives Department

▪ Science Foundation

▪ Personnel Management Office

▪ General Administration of Small Business

▪ General Administration of Social Security

▪ International Development Agency

▪ US Postal

7. Justice

8. Origin

▪ Progressive Party era (1901-1932)

▪ The New Deal (1933—1952)

▪ Post-war period (1952 to present)









History: Trial stage

Experimental phase (1788-1828): Unruly government

At the end of the eighteenth century, internal mobilization confined to the federal government formed the first two hostile parties: the Federal Party and the Jefferson Republican Party. These parties established "decision-making meetings" in Congress to manipulate the process of presidential nominations and elections, making the electoral house system provided by the Constitution substantiated. From 1788 to 1799, the federalists prevailed in the government. This party advocates aristocratic politics and advocates that "gentlemen do not party"; President Washington specifically "solemnally warns" of the dangers of party struggle before leaving office.

In 1800, Jefferson led the Congress ’s anti-Federal party forces and won the presidential and congressional elections. Since then, the "Jefferson era" has begun. Over the next two decades, the "Republicans" won three-quarters of the House and presidential electors, and four-fifths of the Senate seats. With the exception of the Supreme Court, the Federalist power in the government has since declined.

With the decline of the Federal Party, party competition disappeared prematurely, and party activities lost their organizational goals. The overwhelming victory of the "Republican Party" split itself internally, and partisan struggles were transformed into factional struggles within the "Republican Party." Therefore, party activities in the Jefferson era were also mainly confined within the government; they did not have the basic characteristics of a modern, popular party organized by Jackson outside the government in 1832.





During this period, popular political participation was extremely limited; party organizations were loose and weak. The Constitution as a whole ignores the possibility of party leadership, and parties do not have the capacity to organize voters and lead the government.

The new government is small and lacks funding. Almost no one from the states is willing to stay here. In the first forty years, one-third to two-thirds of MPs left the state or local government to do another job every year, and the average update rate of the House of Representatives is 42% every two years.





Federal District of Columbia

Congress is composed of these members from different parts of the country, with different voters base, and most of them do not know each other. The Constitution envisages that they will independently formulate federal law without the intervention of the President or other outside forces. They think so too. Everyone is careful about the invasion of the "separation of powers" on the other side of the Tiebai River.







Washington-based Treasury Secretary Hamilton wanted to make a special trip to Congress to face a legislative proposal, but Congress had taboo to set a precedent for executive officials directly affecting the legislature, requiring him to write down written opinions and forward them to Congress.





The main reason why the President cannot lead Congress is the lack of institutionalized power. The President of the Jefferson era had no personal assistant and could not lobby Congress independently. The various cabinet departments are self-contained and deal directly with the corresponding committees in charge of its affairs. They are independent of the kingdom and are not under the control of the president. Instead, the president relies on the Cabinet and Congress for political liaison and access to legislative and executive information.





The President's main task is to harmonize the various Cabinet departments and achieve consensus on the government's goals, so as to obtain a unified policy to effectively lead Congress. Unfortunately, this goal is also unachievable. Yes, each cabinet department is equivalent to an executive decision-making committee and is more united than a parliamentary committee. But unity within the sector seems to be based on the rivalry between the sectors.





Since the appointment of cabinet members is subject to the approval of the Senate, the composition of the departmental composition reflects the proportion of regional interests in Congress. Young believes that at least four factors have led to divisions between departments: alliances between different agencies within the cabinet, alliances outside the government with different regional interest groups, accountability to different congressional committees, and differences from within parliament Gang alliance.





These divisive factors make each department as independent as a parliamentary committee. The president is the only possible uniting force, but the president of the Jefferson era has more than enough power. Jefferson was able to maintain the unity of the cabinet with his personal leadership, but this unity disappeared with his departure. Each cabinet department forms its own social circle and does not associate with each other. Later, even individuals turned against each other, severing relationships between families, let alone working together.





1788-1832 was the experimental phase of the classic "separation of three powers" theory. It proves that this constitutional regime is not functional in itself; purely interest-group politics, as envisaged in Chapter 10 of the Federal Review, provides a weak government with inaction. During this period, "constitutional principles prevailed 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 voters everywhere, cannot lead itself to fulfill the legislative function. Without the leadership of a political party or president, a parliament-centric government becomes an unruly government.







The only way to organize an effective political party is to implement popular democracy

In order for the president to have leadership, he must be provided with power from the mechanism. The United States has tried these two approaches one after the other; let us examine them below with different results.









Democratization (1829-1860): the rise of popular parties

U.S. Congress

In 1824, the "Jefferson Republican Party" split into four factions. Since then, the faction led by Jackson has established the first modern political party: the Democratic Party. For the first time, the party organized a mass mobilization outside the government, bringing a large number of people who previously had the right to vote, but did not participate in the political process to the ballot box, thus achieving the first presidential election, which led the Democratic Party to victory in the 1829 presidential and congressional elections. The "Jackson Revolution" started the Democratic era: in the next thirty years, 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 federal states quickly removed past property restrictions on voter eligibility, making the United States the first country to implement universal suffrage for most white men, at least 30 years before Europe.





At the time, there were still 80% of the agricultural population in the United States. Therefore, unlike democracy in continental Europe, the United States first entered mass democracy before industrial capitalism and urbanization. In order to compete with the emerging democratic forces, the former Federalist United Opposition formed the Whig Party in 1834-40, thus marking the maturity of the modern bipartisan system. In 1948, the Democratic Party established a National Committee, and the party structure in the United States has changed little since.





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

From 1854 to 1860, the North-South split and the two-party system ended temporarily. Around this time, the Whig Party, the Free Landers, and Democrats in the North who opposed slavery formed the Republican Party. The end of the civil war marked the beginning of the Republican era, and it did not end its hegemony until the arrival of the Great Depression. During this period, the Republican Party, as the party that truly formulated federal policy, has occupied all branches of the federal government.





Civil War in the US

In the sixty years before the Civil War to 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. Beginning with the reconstruction period that began in 1874, the two parties entered a unique stalemate in the north and south: the Republican Party has absolute dominance in the north, and the Democratic Party has an absolute majority in the south. Therefore, according to the region, "two one-party rule" was formed at the local level.

Establishment of the U.S. Federal Government (Independence of the United States on July 4, 1776).





1. Formulation of the "1787 Constitution": The United States in the early days of independence was only a confederate state.

Principle: "decentralization" and "checks and balances": the balance between legislative power, executive power and judicial power.









US federal government badge

Restrictions are imposed between the President and Congress, between the two houses of Congress, and between the judiciary and other ministries.

Executive power President, the president is elected by the elected people. The president is both the head of state and the head of government, and the commander-in-chief of the army. He can exercise dictatorship during wartime.

Legislative power: The Congress is composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected by the state legislatures, two in each state; members are directly elected by voters, and the number is directly proportional to the state's population.

Judicial power Federal court, the judges are appointed by the president and serve for life. The Federal Court has the power to interpret all laws and treaties.

Structure: The combination of centralization and decentralization. The United States is a federal state, and federal rights are higher than state rights.





Dividing Central Power:

1. Legislative Power-Congress

2. Executive Power-President

3. Judicial power-federal courts





Significance of the "1787 Constitution" of the US

1. It is the first relatively complete bourgeois constitution in the world (nature), which lays the foundation of the American political system and promotes the development of American capitalism;

2. The United States established a federal state;

3. The results of the War of Independence were further consolidated, the American Revolution was completed, and the United States was maintained.

3. Limitations of the "1787 Constitution": The Bill of Rights, which reflects the rights and interests of the people, was added to the Constitution as an amendment a few years later;

It acknowledges black slavery and the black slave trade, leaving a mark of racial discrimination and oppression;

Women, Indians, and black slaves were deprived of their right to vote.





White House

The White House is the presidential palace of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in the downtown area of ​​Washington, DC. It is connected to Lafayette Square in the north, Alice Park in the south, and the tall Washington Monument.





United States White House

Designed by Irish immigration architect James Hoban. On October 13, 1792, President Washington personally broke the ground and laid the foundation stone. By 1800, the second president John Adams first moved in. Its original color was gray, and it was painted white after reconstruction from 1814 to 1817. It was officially named the "White House" by Theodore Roosevelt in 1902, and it was also called the Tianzi No. 1 pulpit ( BullyPulpit).

When it was built in 1792, it was a gray sandstone building. From 1800, it was the place where the President of the United States worked and lived with his family during his term. But during the Second American-British War in 1812, British troops invaded Washington. The British army burned down the building on August 24, 1814, leaving only an empty shelf. In order to conceal the burnt traces during the restoration in 1817, President Monroe ordered a white paint on the gray sand. Since then, the presidential residence has been called the "White House." In 1902, US President Theodore Roosevelt officially named it "White House", and together with "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" became synonymous with the US government.









The US Legislation

Chapter I of the United States Constitution grants all federal legal rights to the United States Congress, which implements a 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 the states.





United States Capitol

The number of members of the House of Representatives is based on the population of each state, so the US Constitution does not explicitly limit it. In this relationship, the House of Representatives now consists of 435 House members. Members of the Senate and House of Representatives are elected by majority, but Louisiana and Washington are a special case. Both states have two rounds of elections.





The US Constitution does not specify the details of the work of appointing members of the United States Congress. However, as the country grows, it is indeed necessary to conduct a more thorough review of pending laws and regulations. For example, the 108th Congress (2003-2004) had 19 House committees and 17 Senate committees fixed, plus 4 joint senators / congressmen from both houses of the Senate responsible for the library's library, printing, Tax and finance. In addition, both houses of the Senate can name special or choose their members to study specific issues. Due to the increasing workload, these fixed committees organized nearly 150 subsidiary committees.









Congress has the responsibility to monitor and influence all aspects of the executive branch: Congress's supervision can stop waste and fraud, protect civil liberties and individual rights, guarantee governance in accordance with the law, collect information for the formulation of laws, educate the public, and evaluate governance performance.





Congress's oversight includes many aspects:

United States Capitol

Questions and hearings from members of Congress, making formal recommendations to the president and accepting presidential reports, appointments to the president, and foreign treaties. The Senate proposes and supports the proposal. According to the amendment to Article 25 of the US Constitution, if the president is unable to act or the vice president's office is vacant, the Senate and the House of Representatives conduct informal talks between legislators and executive officials. Member of Congress. Members of Congress and its auxiliary agencies include the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Government Accountability, and other subordinate Congressional institutions to conduct research.





U.S. Congressional Aids include:

Capitol Building, U.S. Botanical Gardens, U.S. Government Accountability Office, Medical Insurance Payments Advisory Board, Open World Leadership Center, Government Printing Office, Stanislas Public Service Center, Library of Congress, Congressional Budget Office.









Administrative: President

The head of state of the United States of America is called the President, and is also the supreme leader of the US government and commander of the three armed services.

According to Article 2 (1) of the Constitution of the United States of America, the President must be at least 35 years of age and have resided in the United States for more than 14 years. He must also be a "naturally born U.S. citizen" (usually interpreted as a citizen of the United States at birth) or in the Constitution U.S. citizens at the time of adoption. Among the official positions in the United States, only the vice president's two posts are required to serve as a citizen of the United States at birth.





Vice-president

The Vice President of the United States is the President's first successor and concurrently the Speaker of the United States Senate.





Office

The White House Office, the Office of the Vice President, the Office of Management and Budget, the Economic Advisory Board, the National Security Council, the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the Office of Policy Development, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Committee for the Improvement of Environmental Quality, the Office of National Narcotics Control Policy, administrative office.





U.S. Federal Administration

The executive branch headed by the president and vice president has 15 ministries and specialized agencies, which constitute what is commonly referred to as "the government department". These departments are responsible for implementing the law and providing various government services.





U.S. Federal Administration

The US Federal Administration is the oldest established major group within the US Federal Administration. The US State Department, the Department of War, and the US Treasury were all established within a few weeks of each other in 1789. Every head of the executive branch of the federal government is a politically-appointed United States Cabinet Secretary; starting in 1792, federal law established the Cabinet Secretary as one of the required members of the United States President's succession order.





U.S. Federal Government Independent Administration

The federal government's independent administrative agency is an independent administrative agency established by the US Congress through legislation; it reports directly to the President of the United States. Every organic law / statutory grant is empowered by an independent administrative agency to establish its own scope; and, if any, establish federal regulations.





U.S. Federal Government Independent Administration (Administrative law)

Federal regulations have the same effect as general federal law. The following are some of the federal government's independent administrative agencies:

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)-Responsible for the collection and analysis of overseas intelligence publicly and secretly; conduct propaganda overseas; and perform covert operations for the president. The CIA reports daily work to the Director of National Intelligence.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-oversees futures trading in the United States.





US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-Reduces and controls all environmental pollution with state and local governments; EPA regulates and implements environmental standards to assess the negative impact of pollution; and manages funds to clean up toxic waste areas.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-Responsible for the supervision, licensing, price management, etc. of any domestic interstate and US external communication channels.

United States Federal Reserve Board (Fed Board)-The central bank in the United States; manages and regulates the banking industry, enforces monetary policy by buying and selling U.S. Treasuries, and maintains a strong payment system.





Federal Trade Commission (FTC)-Responsible for enforcing federal antitrust and consumer protection laws; investigating unfair trade incidents.

General Services Administration (GSA)-Provides daily logistics services to the federal government.









CIA

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-Established in 1957, responsible for space programs, conducting long-term civil and military aerospace research.

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)-Preserves and manages US historical documentary heritage.

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)-Implements major federal labor laws (National Labor Relations Act); concurrently has the power to prevent or compensate for unfair business practices, and to ensure that employees become and exercise their rights within organized unions.





National Science Foundation (NSF)-Supports scientific and engineering education and research through monetary awards; encourages colleges and universities to collaborate with industry and government research around the world.





Office of Personnel Management (OPM)-The federal government's personnel agency; also maintains the political neutrality of federal government officials.





Peace Corp- was established in 1961 to send trained volunteers overseas to assist infrastructure in developing regions over the next two years.

Small Business Administration (SBA)-Established in 1953 to assist the development and survival of small and minority businesses in the United States.





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

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission)-protect the rights of securities investors; require listed companies to declare all operating information for greater transparency; investigate and prosecute any deceptive behavior of the company.

United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-Manages U.S. money that provides foreign economic and humanitarian assistance.

United States International Trade Commission (USITC)-Provides US government agencies and Congress with expertise in trade planning; and prosecutes intellectual property offenders.





United States Postal Service: Autonomous public agency that has undertaken national postal services since 1971, exchanges international mail through the Universal Postal Union.

United States Postal Rate Commission-Established in 1971 to specifically promote postal prices and to gain greater regulatory authority in 2007.

The National Transportation Security Board (NTSB) was established in 1967 and is responsible for the safety and accident investigation of land, sea, air and pipeline transportation.









National Security Agency badge: Mechanism

The federal government ’s independent administrative agency is an independent administrative agency established by the US Congress through various laws; it is directly accountable to the White House. Each organic law / statutory grant is empowered by an independent administrative agency to establish its own scope; and, if any, establishes the definition of an administrative law. Federal regulations have the same effect as general federal law. The following are some of the federal government's independent administrative agencies:





Central Intelligence Agency CIA

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)-Responsible for collecting and analyzing overseas intelligence publicly and secretly; conducting propaganda overseas; and performing covert operations for the president. The CIA reports daily work to the Director of National Intelligence.





U.S. Futures Trading Commission

Futures Trading Commission

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-Oversees futures trading in the United States.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, Environmental Protection Agency)-Reduce and control all environmental pollution with state and local governments; EPA regulates and implements environmental standards to assess the negative impact of pollution; and manages funds to clean up toxic waste areas.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-Responsible for the supervision, licensing, price management, etc. of any domestic interstate and US external communication channels.





US Federal Reserve Board

US Federal Reserve Board (Fed Board): The Central Bank in the United States manages and regulates the banking industry, enforces monetary policy by buying and selling U.S. Treasuries and maintains a strong payment system.





US Federal Reserve Board

Federal Trade Commission

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)-Responsible for enforcing federal antitrust and consumer protection laws; investigating unfair trade incidents.

General Services Department

General Services Administration (GSA)-Supplies daily logistics services to the federal government.





NASA

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-Established in 1957, responsible for space programs, conducting long-term civil and military aerospace research.





NASA Archives service

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)-Preserves and manages US historical documentary heritage.

National labor relations committee

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)-Enforces major federal labor laws (National Labor Relations Act); concurrently has the power to prevent or compensate unfair business practices and protect employees' rights to become and exercise unions.





Science Foundation

National Science Foundation (NSF)-Supports scientific and engineering education and research through monetary awards; encourages colleges and universities to collaborate with industry and government research around the world.





Personnel Management Office

Office of Personnel Management (OPM)-The personnel agency of the federal government; it also maintains the political neutrality of federal government officials. Peace Corp- was established in 1961 to send trained volunteers overseas to assist infrastructure in developing regions over the next two years.









Small Business Administration

Small Business Administration (SBA)-Established in 1953 to assist the development and survival of small and minority businesses in the United States.





Social Security Administration

Social Security Administration (SSA)-Manages the US Social Security System.

Securities Trading Regulatory Commission

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission)-protect the rights of securities investors; require listed companies to declare all operating information for greater transparency; investigate and prosecute any deceptive behavior of the company.





International Development Agency

United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-Manages U.S. money that provides foreign economic and humanitarian assistance.





U.S. International Trade Commission

United States International Trade Commission (USITC)-Provides US government agencies and Congress with expertise in trade planning; and prosecutes intellectual property offenders.





US Postal

United States Postal Service-Autonomous public agency that has undertaken national postal services since 1971; exchanges international mail through the Universal Postal Union.





U.S. Postal Price Commission

United States Postal Rate Commission-Established in 1971 to specifically promote postal prices and to gain greater regulatory authority in 2007.





National Transportation Safety Board

The National Transportation Security Board (NTSB) was established in 1967 and is responsible for the safety and accident investigation of land, sea, air and pipeline transportation.

National Transportation Safety Board: Judicial

The judiciary's role is to adjudicate judicial cases that challenge or explain the legislation of Congress, and to hear cases involving federal offenses.





US Supreme Court

Criminal case. In constitutional cases, federal courts have jurisdiction to appeal beyond state law. Federal courts are also responsible for cases involving more than one state or related to citizens of more than one state, as well as foreign-related cases.

The judicial branch is composed of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts, including the Court of Appeal (also known as the Circuit Court), the Federal District Court, the Bankruptcy Court, and the Federal Solicitor Court. Federal courts hear civil and criminal appeals from state courts. Jurisdiction in federal courts includes patents, trademarks, federal claims, bankruptcy, financial securities, maritime law, and international litigation.

The judicial branch is one of three branches independent of the other two branches of the federal government. The only constraint it has is the mutual checks and balances established by the US Constitution. An independent federal judicial system is seen as the key to ensuring justice and equality for all citizens. There are two important provisions in the US Constitution that are conducive to judicial independence.





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





Second, the Constitution stipulates that federal judges' salaries "may not be reduced during their term of office." In other words, neither the president nor Congress has the power to reduce the salary of federal judges. These two provisions help to protect judges from public sentiment or political influence and to handle cases independently.

Although the drafters of the United States Constitution have protected the judicial system from political and public pressure, the process of selecting judges has become quite politicized. Supreme Court justices and lower federal court judges 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 for life. However, the President has the power to appoint non-life judges during the Congressional recess. The federal magistrates, who are responsible for judicial orders such as security, arrest or search, and general violation hearings, are appointed by the federal district court for a term of eight years.





Origin: Progressive Party Era (1901-1932)

(1) Power transfer within Congress

In the twentieth century, when parliamentary power reached its peak under the leadership of political parties, it was also the beginning of its decline. In the late nineteenth century, political parties were ruled by party leaders, and positions were maintained to maintain the party's competitiveness, leading to corruption within the party and local governments. A spokesman for the House of Representatives concentrated his power on controlling the legislation and practiced "single rule" on his own. Senators are elected by state legislatures and gradually degenerate into money politics for lack of democratic oversight; the Senate becomes a symbol of a corrupt government and is nicknamed the "Millionaires Club".





The Progressive Party, which emerged during this period, weakened the leadership of Congress and parties while eradicating party corruption and the "tsarist rule" of Congress. The Progressive Party ’s joint Republicans attacked House Speaker Cannon ’s dominance and finally “removed the Tsar ’s crown” in 1910, removing most of the speaker ’s power and limiting his role to coordinating congressional discussions Key aspects. The Rules Committee, which controls the legislative process in the House of Representatives, no longer includes speakers and is elected by all members. At the same time, the two parties set up Committees on Committees to elect the chairmen and members of each committee.





In 1911, the House of Representatives' power center was temporarily transferred from the spokesperson to the majority party's decision-making meeting (Caucus). A resolution passed by two-thirds of the decision-making committee restricts all party members' subsequent voting in the House of Representatives, and offenders will be punished by party discipline. The Senate already adopted a similar "two-thirds rule" in 1903, so policymaking became the main battleground for legislation in both houses. But only at a time when political parties are highly united within the government can this institution be truly binding. As a result, during the First World War, the decision-making meetings fell due to internal divisions in the Democratic Party. It has been in the House of Representatives for only two years.

In the 1920s, Congress entered the "Era of Barons." Congressional institutions have undergone specialization.





The House of Representatives is too large and must be divided into highly specialized committees and branches to conduct legislative work independently. The number of members of the House of Representatives is smaller than that of the House of Representatives, and the pressure for specialization is relatively small, but it has gradually copied the institutions and rules of the House of Representatives and adopted the committee system.





The center of power is scattered from the decision-making meetings of the majority party to the chairmen of various standing committees. In order to ensure that the affairs of the Committee are not interfered by the future "Czar" or "King Decision Meeting", the committees strictly implement the Seniority Rule: that is, the longest-serving member of the parliament holds the chairmanship of the committee with real power. This principle of automatic promotion has been implemented in both houses for half a century. Both the chairman and the members serve a life-long term: they will continue to serve on the same committee unless they retire, die or fail to be elected.





Among the committees, the "rule committee" is still the most important, because it controls the legislative process, and the chairman can stifle almost any legislative proposal. Campbell, the chairman of the Republican Rules Committee, once threatened: "I am the Standing Committee ... the proposal is in my pocket, and it will stay there." Only when a two-thirds majority of the members of the House of Representatives sign the "Discharge Petition" and the proposal withheld by the Rules Committee will have the opportunity to "see the sun again" and be discussed and processed by the House of Representatives. The independence of the committee and the power of the chairman indicate that political parties' leadership of modern parliaments has been much worse than before.





(2) Popular parties begin to decline

The Progressive Party has also made far-reaching reforms to the party system in the United States. During this period, the Federation had a "two one-party system" in the southern part of the strong Democratic Party and the northern part of the equally strong Republican Party. Localist bipartisan systems are not designed to provide competition, but to eliminate it. Local party organizations lack the unified leadership of the central government, and old party organizations cannot meet the requirements of modern industrial society. On the other hand, the urban working class is immature and affected by racial divisions and cannot form a united and effective independent political party. The disappearance of party competition caused a sudden decline in the political participation of voters, so that in the 1920s, the American election participation rate was only one-third to two-fifths of modern Western Europe. Therefore, it was during the period of social crisis in modern industrialization that American political parties began to decline. This is closely related to the progressive party's weakening of party development from several aspects at the same time.





(3) President becomes executive general manager

The decline of political parties and parliaments was accompanied by the rise of presidential power. Although the Presidents of the Progressive Party did not yet have the economic power to regulate or lead the institutional powers of Congress, they have personally been able to influence Congress and have unified jurisdiction over cabinets and administrative agencies. As early as 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt began to formulate policies independently and made broad and strong recommendations to Congress. In 1912, President Taft submitted the draft legislation to Congress for the first time, but it was generally opposed. However, President Wilson controlled the party the following year, and because Congress did not have an independent leadership force after the speaker lost power, the two houses generally accepted the president's legislative leadership.





A revolutionary change occurred during President Harding's term in 1921. Prior to that, the president did not have to provide Congress with annual fiscal policy, and therefore lacked a comprehensive plan for the entire government; cabinet departments applied directly to Congress for funding. The First World War brought huge spending and budget deficits to the federal government. To improve government efficiency, the federal government must plan budgets and fiscal policies appropriately. This task rests mainly on the president. The Budget and Accounting Law was passed in 1921, which required the president to provide a unified annual plan for the executive branch; the president became the policy initiator and fiscal leader, and he must be responsible for formulating the government's financial plan every year. At the same time, Congress established the General Audit Office, independent of administration, to conduct audits.





If the parliament of this period is compared to the company's board of directors, the president is like the general manager. However, for a government with a separation of powers, this "general manager" usually cannot be elected or fired by the "board of directors". The "Board of Directors" has the responsibility to authorize, fund and supervise the implementation activities of the "General Manager" and to delegate more power to the "General Manager" when necessary.





New Deal Period (1933—1952)

(1) Rise of Presidential Power

All executive bodies are also under the unified leadership of the President. In addition to its judicial function, the independent executive body is also included in the administrative hierarchy of the President. The National Emergency Committee was established by the President in 1934, and all administrative agencies' proposals must be approved by it. In 1937, this function was transferred to the Budget Bureau, which determines whether the executive branch's proposal is in line with the president's plan; if it does not, the proposal must be modified, or 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 expanded from the former chief law officer to the chief administrator.





In 1945, the Roosevelt administration introduced a second human rights bill that symbolized a welfare society. The president suggested that the federal government must "ensure economic stability, prosperity for all, and the right of everyone to useful and paid employment in industry, shops, farms, and mines." The "Employment Law of 1946" passed in 1946 finally revised these radical words, requiring the government to continue to engage in active economic intervention to ensure "the greatest degree of employment, production and purchasing power."





The law sets new standards for the federal government: the federal government is now responsible for providing appropriate conditions for the general well-being of citizens. The role of government goes beyond the function of interest representation in the nineteenth century; it must provide production and services to society, and distribute and transfer benefits. The new government function will be completed under the leadership of the president; the president is now not only the chief executive, but also a major economic stabilization force. From the Budget Act of 1921 to the Employment Act of 1946, the President became the legislative leader in seven major policy areas: budget, economy, national security, human resources, environment, housing, and urban construction.





The Employment Act of 1946 established the President's ability to lead Congress and ultimately marked the end of the "Congressional Government" era. Because the President happened to be the leader of both parties in the House and the House, Congress was wary of "legislative suicide", so it voluntarily gave up traditional legislative functions and delegated most policy-making tasks to the President and the executive. Congress is no longer the origin of legislation, but more like a filter for presidential proposals; it primarily passes, modifies, or rejects presidential proposals and oversees the executive branch with legislation.





(2) The Decline of the Congress Government

The Legislative Reorganization Law of 1946 reformed the committee organization from jurisdiction, personnel system and democratic procedures, reducing the total number of committees in the two houses from 81 to 34. In practice, however, this reform has increased the size, power and independence of the existing committees. With the addition of assistants to the committees and the rapid increase in the number of subordinate chapters to more than 250, the power structure of Congress has become more decentralized.





Professor Wilson stated at the end of the nineteenth century: "(Congress) is like an army without officers and lacks common thinking-or even with thinking, there is no mechanism to change it; it is led by one or twenty committees, and its The composition must remain fixed, too many, and too poorly interconnected to compete with it. " This description also applies to Congress in the twentieth century, but with more committees and greater independence.





In fact, the independence of the committee and the power in the hands of the chairman of the committee often become a means to prevent the majority party from implementing new policies. In particular, the chairman of the rules committee may refuse to approve a proposal for discussion in Congress, leaving legislation to an end. During the New Deal, this mechanism facilitated the Republican Party and united the conservative forces of the Southern Democratic Party to oppose presidential policies. For example, the Wages and Hours Act of 1938 passed the Senate with a two-to-one majority and was praised by the House Labor Committee, but the Rules Committee refused to let it go. In the end, it was only after the House of Representatives obtained the "application for release" with the signatures of 218 members that it was discussed by the House of Representatives and passed with an overwhelming advantage of 314 to 97 votes.





The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 requires each committee to meet on a regular basis, and at the meeting, the committee members decide the agenda. The situation has changed since the law was passed. Ten years later, two-thirds of the committees in both houses ended the chairman's "single rule." But in another third of the committees, the chairman still controls the legislative process, including the rules committee. Democratic Smith chaired the committee for 12 years, but never met regularly.

In 1958, he refused to submit the "Civil Rights Bill" to the House of Representatives for discussion, but went back to his Virginia farm during the meeting of the Congress. The following year, Smith was "actively" released only when his signature of "release application" in the House of Representatives was only 10 votes away. As any disciplinary action is prohibited, the party leader is helpless to the chairman of the committee. In the 1960s, even the highly-popular Senate Majority Leader Johnson and the House Speaker Ray Burne had to persuade them patiently, lest they would anger the "princes."





Therefore, on the one hand, the institutionalization of the Congress has led to the decentralization of power within the Congress; on the other hand, the age requirements for real positions in Congress have been increasing. In the nineteenth century, the average term of the House of Representatives spokesman was seven years, and the average age of leaders was between 30 and 40. By the twentieth century, the average term of a spokesperson has grown to 23 years, and the average age of leaders has reached 60-70 years. At the same time, the seniority rules encourage long-term re-election of parliamentarians, causing them to be reluctant to post. From 1900 to 1957, the number of parliamentarians in the House of Representatives who served five consecutive terms increased from 9% to 45%, and the number of consecutive members who served more than ten terms increased from 1% to 14%. This makes it difficult for congressional personnel to replace and new blood cannot be replenished in a timely manner.





Qualification rules also impede personnel exchanges between Congress and the executive branch. The executive branch and the parliament have different representation bases: most of the parliamentarians come from rural towns and live locally for a long time, so they are less mobile across the country; most of the administrative and corporate representatives are from cities and are promoted through the network of national political organizations. It is thus almost isolated from local politics.





Therefore, the administration represents the national functional interests, and the Congress represents the local special interests. Since entering the parliament halfway meant a resumption of the career journey, the elites of the cabinet and the executive branch were generally reluctant to become members of Congress. The discontinuation of Congress's personnel exchanges has strengthened its localism and made it lack the experience needed to deal with the national problems arising from the modern economy.





Localism in Congress is reflected in parliament's primary consideration: focus on serving voters in the region for re-election. Since members of the House of Representatives are elected by district voters, the central task of parliamentarians is to strive to get as much federal benefits as possible for the district in order to gain voters' favor. As a result, there is a conflict of interest between the personal interests of parliamentarians and the functioning of Congress.





To a certain extent, lawmakers are running for Congress by opposing Congress: for reasons of reasonable interest, lawmakers first consider their personal achievements, and secondly they consider the state from the perspective of Congress. For this reason, the vital interests of parliamentarians have led them to be extremely secretive about the reform of the mechanism. Members personally hope that the committee will have more independence to increase personal influence, and maintaining a decentralized committee and branch system is equivalent to maintaining its own personal power.





In a way, the fate of the "Congressional Government" in the twentieth century seems to be inevitable. The separation of powers created by the federal constitution is destined to be a weak government. Mutual restraints between branches of government make it impossible to deal with domestic and foreign crises in a harmonious and decisive manner. It benefits the vested interests of society and opposes any rapid change. However, the economic and social realities of the twentieth century required a strong and timely central government. As a result, power is transferred from the legislature to law enforcement. In the twentieth century, the "offensive elf" was no longer Congress, but president and executive.





At the same time, the central function of Congress shifted from legislation to administrative oversight; between 1950 and 1962, the number of investigations conducted by Congress exceeded the number of investigations conducted by Congress throughout the nineteenth century. As a result, like the rest of the world, the US Congress has failed to maintain legislative power, and Congress ’s work center has transitioned from making laws to passing, modifying, or controlling government legislation and monitoring administrative actions.





To this end, Huntington pointed to the twentieth-century contradiction of the congressional government: "Congress can only maintain its independence by rejecting legislation, and can only legislate by abandoning its independence. If Congress makes laws, it will belong to the President; but if it refuses Legislation, it will alienate public opinion. Congress can assert its power or pass the law; but it cannot achieve both."





(3) Fourth Branch

The Rise of Independent Administrative Institutions

While the New Deal has created a "Presidential Government," it has also created an "Administrative Government." The focus of legislative power is not only shifted from the Congress to the President, but also through an extensive and abstract law of representation to independent administrative agencies. In just a few years from 1933 to 1939, the federal government budget nearly doubled from $ 4.6 billion, and the civil service team increased from 570,000 to 120,000 in 1933. Large and independent administrative agencies have sprung up and have become a veritable "fourth branch" of the federal government under Congress, the President, and the courts.





Although these fourth branches are subordinate and subject to constitutional legislative, law enforcement, and judicial powers, they combine all three powers at the same time. Therefore, the rise of modern professional bureaucracy constitutes an important amendment to the traditional doctrine of separation of powers.





In fact, as early as 1813, the Federal Supreme Court recognized that law enforcement agencies could be delegated to certain "quasi-legislative" and "quasi-judicial" functions. In 1822, Congress established the first independent administrative agency, marking the departure of the US government's practice from Locke's theory of unrepresentable legislative power and Montesquieu's absolute decentralization theory.





The Interstate Trade Law of 1887 created the first modern form of independent agency: the Interstate Trade Commission (ICC). The Federal Reserve and Federal Transportation Commission (FTC), which were established in 1913 and 1915, have similar characteristics. From the beginning of the New Deal, three independent agencies with extensive powers were established: the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).





Until now, the federal government has 52 independent administrative agencies, the most important of which are the so-called "seven heads": interstate commerce, stock exchange, federal transportation, federal communications, federal energy (FEC), national labor relations and civil aviation commission (CAB cancelled)





Unlike the Cabinet, these independent agencies have personnel independence. Although the Cabinet is also an executive body, they exercise their powers under the President's pleasure and can in principle be fired at any time. The highest level of independent agencies is an 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, and the president cannot be fired for no reason. The members of the executive body generally consist of two parties: Of the five top officials, the number of members of the same party must not exceed three. As a result, independent administrative agencies often remain politically neutral.





To the extent required by the commissioned law, most independent agencies have the power to formulate administrative regulations, determine whether a private or corporate legal person has violated the rules, and accuse the lawsuit as a prosecutor. For example, they can decide whether to issue business licenses, determine transportation and energy prices, regulate private companies' economic activities and prohibit unfair competition or labor practices within their jurisdictions. In the century after 1887, 67 federal government units have formulated 7,500 regulatory regulations, which greatly exceeds the number of legislative acts in Congress. As long as it is within the scope of legislative authorization, these administrative regulations have the same legal effect as legislation and thus have a huge impact on the lives of American citizens.





The new policy has significantly expanded the scope of power of independent administrative agencies. In his book "The End of Liberalism", Lu Wei pointed out that before the New Deal, the names of deputy laws were specific and narrow in scope, and the content was limited to the prohibition of misconduct. After the New Deal, the law on behalf of delegates became general and abstract, resulting in a wide range of discretionary powers for administrative agencies and requiring administrative agencies to formulate good rules of conduct. The most typical example is the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1935, which authorized administrative agencies to set "fair competition rules." Under the bill, the Roosevelt government established more than 700 regulations and issued more than 10,000 executive orders and judgments within a year and a half of its entry into force.





Constitutional authority Professor Corwin calls it "the real legislative giant and the original incarnation of the New Deal. It tries to traverse the entire corporate structure of the United States from hot stamping to the production of steel. It was declared in the opening paragraph 'Huge unemployment and industrial disorder' has caused a national emergency and a burden on 'interstate and foreign trade', which has affected 'public welfare' and lowered 'the living standards of the American people'. "





Professor Schwarz, an expert in administrative law, said: "The so-called fair competition standards include provisions for the comprehensive regulation of relevant enterprises: wages, working hours, prices, production limits, competition and other corporate activities, advertising, sales techniques-these and more Many aspects are under control, and often to the most trivial details."





In the Panamanian Oil Refining Company and Shecht Poultry case of 1935, the bill was declared unconstitutional by the Federal Supreme Court because it lacked appropriate standards and was too broad. But they are the last two cases in which the court declared the commission unconstitutional: after 1937, the federal court finally made concessions to the federal government's economic control power. Since then, no law in Congress has been declared unconstitutional for lack of appropriate representation standards.





Of course, executive power is not free from legislation and judicial control. If a citizen's rights are illegally violated by an administrative agency, the citizen can always appeal to the court, asking it to declare the administrative act invalid according to laws or regulations, and to obtain compensation for the losses suffered. Congress can amend legislation to adjust administrative restrictions, or even completely eliminate the administrative agencies required by legislation.





In addition, the Congressional Appropriation Committee can refuse to fund the executive, and the President's Office of Management and Budget can control the agency's budget. Finally, the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 strengthened the legislative oversight of the corresponding executive bodies by the Congressional Committee. Administrative agencies must report regularly or hold hearings to answer questions from members. The Commission may also hold confirmation hearings to ensure that the executive authorities fulfill their mandated tasks in a timely manner and require it to respond to complaints from citizens. Nevertheless, due to the complexity of administrative affairs, it is impossible for the executive authorities to be under the effective control of legislation and justice in all aspects, so it is often nicknamed the "headless fourth branch".





Post-war period (1952 to present)

(1) The decline of political parties

A half-century later, a series of measures that weakened American parties during the Progressive Party finally showed their effects in statistics. In his Personal President, Lu Wei pointed out that the decline of party organizations is manifested in many aspects. First, the Australian ballot system makes voting easy for voters. From 1942 to 1972, the ratio of presidents to MPs who voted for the same party in the ballot dropped from 62% to 38%. In 1980, this percentage was 37%; Reagan was elected that year because he received 28% of Democratic voters' support, while Carter received only 12% of Republican voters.





Secondly, within Parliament, the number of "party votes" cast by parliamentarians plummeted: 50% at the beginning of the century, 23% during the New Deal, 15% at the end of the Second World War, 8% at the beginning of the 1960s, and 1970 Only 1%. At the same time, the "dual-party voting" has been rising: 35% in the New Deal period, 45% at the end of World War II, 60% in the late 1950s, and 70% in the early 1970s. In the 1980s, 10% of the House of Representatives voted more often in favour of the opposition. Consistent with the above trend, the non-party "independence" has risen accordingly: from 1952 to 1980, the Democratic Party's share of voters dropped from 47% to 40%, the Republican Party fell from 27% to 23%, while the proportion of independents during the same period From 22% to 37%, it can be described as standing with the two major parties.





At the same time, political parties lost their ability to control the nomination of presidential candidates in local primaries. One of the manifestations of party leadership is the reduction in the number of challenges to party-appointed candidates in local primary elections, and the frequency of such challenges has increased in recent years. As far as New York City is concerned, only 10-20% of primaries in the 1940s challenged candidates, rising to 20-30% in the 1950s and 50-60% in the 1970s.





As a result, in the early 1950s, local party leaders were still able to control the list of candidates, but after the 1970s, party control no longer worked in most states. In the first round of balloting at the national conference, the delegations from the primary election rarely deviated from the candidates directly elected by party voters. Finally, the credibility of political parties has generally declined and the public lacks confidence in political parties and governments.





Polls show that 70% to 75% of voters believed that the government would do the right thing in the 1960s, but only 45% of voters held this belief after the Watergate incident; by the end of the 1970s, public trust in the Democratic government It has fallen to 40%, and only 35% trust in the Republican Party. In the 1980s, the trust rate of both parties was less than 35%.





The result of the lack of party organization is the "disappearance of voting voters": a significant decline in the proportion of voters participating in elections, and strong class distortions and age gaps in participation rates. If the degree of political democratization is measured by the proportion of voters actually participating in political elections to the total number of eligible voters, then the United States, the world's first democracy, is far less democratic than Western European countries today.





In Western Europe, voters are widely involved in the political process. Political parties have the ability to organize effectively, not only mobilizing a large number of voters to vote, but also provide public political education and are responsible for formulating national policies. In addition, the Social Democratic Party implements automatic registration, which reduces the initial obstacles to political participation. Finally, unlike the regional single representative system, the proportional representative system eliminates invalid votes and increases 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 federal and local government voter participation rates continued to decline. In the 1950s and 1960s, the participation rate in the presidential election remained at 70%, while the participation rate in the presidential election year and the non-presidential election year was around 50% and 65%, respectively. But the participation rate dropped sharply in the 1970s, and the participation rate in the presidential election barely exceeded 50%.





In 1988, only half of the citizens with voting rights participated in the presidential election; the participation rate in parliamentary elections was even lower. State executives are usually elected by only one-third to two-fifths of voters. In 1976, participation in federal elections in New York City reached its lowest point in 150 years (42%), and the mayoral election the following year reached its lowest point since the first election in 1834. Therefore, if citizens of some countries in the world lack true democratic voting rights, Americans who possess such rights do not seem to value its exercise.





At the same time as low election participation rates, weak party organization has also increased class distortions and age gaps in participation rates. In the United States, the political participation of the lower labor force is much lower than that of the middle class, and the gap is getting wider. From 1968 to 1976, the ratio of middle class participation to lower workers increased from 1.42 to 1.65; the same ratio in Sweden in the same year was only 1.03. Although racial issues and economics are closely related, differences between different classes outweigh differences between different races.





In 1972, only 41% of white workers with a high school diploma in the United States participated in the elections, while 86% of managers with a college diploma participated in the elections, more than twice the number of lower-level workers. In addition, political parties in the United States have not been able to effectively bring many young people into the political process, resulting in far fewer 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 as high as 23 percentage points. At the same time, the participation rate in federal Germany exceeded 90%. The difference is only 10 percentage points at most.

Burnham pointed out that the decline of party organization is the common cause of declining voter participation and class distortions. For voters who lack other sources of information, political parties are an important shortcut to providing these voters with calculated utility. Due to the huge class differences in the ability to obtain political information, party propaganda provides essential political information to the lower levels of society.

Therefore, the disappearance of the role of political parties has not only reduced the overall participation of voters, but also made the lower strata, who had believed in fate, disregarded politics, and tended to abstain from voting, even less. In Burnham's words: "U.S. politics is not organized in terms of class struggle ... The real class struggle does not lie in the competition between the Democratic and Republican parties actively participating in the race, but in the opposition between two different wholes: One is an active voter, and the other is the half of the adult population who do not vote."





At the same time, political parties are a means to strengthen government-civilian relations and reduce the distance between rule and the governed. It provides a channel to reflect the social needs of the government and provides the government with the legitimacy of governance through this feedback process. The crisis of American dominance that began in the 1970s requires all sectors of society-including the middle class and lower classes-to change political views and reform party structures so that they can bring 40 million "disappeared voters" back to the political process. . Only then can "American democracy" truly represent the interests of all voters-not the special interests of certain classes.





(2) "Personal President"

As the party organization declines, we see the rise of the president as an independent power. Since the New Deal era, the president has begun to run away from party control in elections and has made direct contact with voters. This is inseparable from the development of two related levels: mass media independent of political parties and modern communication technology, especially radio and television broadcasting.

In the nineteenth century, newspapers were the most important mass media. Because of its financial reliance on the sponsorship of political parties, newspapers have, without exception, become the mouthpiece of political parties and serve their political purposes. After entering the twentieth century, newspapers achieved economic independence through the publication of commercial advertisements, thus creating propaganda media independent of party control. Both Roosevelt and Wilson used newspapers and magazines to reach voters. After radio broadcasting became popular, Roosevelt Jr. lost no time in using new communication technologies to get direct communication with voters.





The development of modern high technology has transformed political competition from the previous labor-intensive to capital-intensive. These high-tech methods include polls, TV mass media, automated telephone libraries and direct mailing of campaign leaflets in large quantities. Mass media and direct mail leaflets, in particular, require a lot of funding, making huge campaign funding a prerequisite for successful elections. Politics depends on money; election expenses are rising. The book "U.S. Government" co-authored by Lu Wei and Ginsberg lists the total expenditures of all elections in the country over the years: the total expenditure in 1956 was US $ 100 million and US $ 300 million in 1968, and nearly 1976 It doubled, and in 1984 it broke the billion-dollar mark.





The large expenditures required by high-tech politics have also adversely affected popular party politics. The former labor-intensive politics is beneficial to the political parties supported by the lower strata of society, by making use of lower-level political participation, effectively using manpower, and countering the opposition's economic and institutional advantages with quantitative advantages. On the contrary, capital-intensive politics is more beneficial to political parties supported by the upper and middle classes in society; new technologies not only enable them to make more efficient use of their financial resources, but also enable candidates with strong funds to run away from political party support and run independently.





(3) Limited recovery of parliamentary power

In recent years, MPs have achieved unprecedented success rates for re-election. In 1986 and 1988, 98% of all members of the House of Representatives running for re-election were successfully re-elected. The success rate of senators is not less than 85%. At the same time, the number of "safe constituencies" has risen, and the competitiveness of congressional elections has declined. The reason is that incumbent lawmakers have many freely available campaign resources, including through voter services and relationships that have been established with voters, and make the most of them in the election to create a good image for themselves. Re-elected parliamentarians can also get campaign funding from more sources. There are four main sources of funding for the Congressional campaign: the federal government, the private sector, political parties, and Parkes.

In the 1988 House of Representatives elections, party funding accounted for only 6%, while Parkes' contribution accounted for 36%. The flow of these funds has significantly benefited reelection. In 1980, 80% of Parkes' donations went to lawmakers for re-election, 10% to challengers, and the other 10% went to those candidates who were vying for vacancies after their previous members abdicated. Through fundraising and borrowing, each re-elected member can raise an average of 180,000 US dollars and spend 360,000 dollars; the challenger can only get an average of 42,000 dollars and spend 100,000 dollars.





A similar situation exists in the Senate: per-members running for re-election raise 3 million per capita, while challengers only have $ 1 million (Wirls, p. 21). Re-elected parliamentarians have at least three times the financial advantage of non-re-elected candidates, enabling the former to rely on the establishment of a "ready treasury" that can scare away challengers without spending a penny. In this way, potential candidates with good qualities disappear; people cannot dare to rush into the battlefield without accumulating sufficient funds. Voters face limited choices: if not re-elected, they are third-class challengers. This also reduces the practical significance of the election and makes voters even less interested in volunteering to vote.





(4) "Dual Sovereignty" Struggles with Institutions

For a federal government with a separation of powers, the end result of the decline of political parties is the split between Congress and the President within the government. Fellina noted that during the Civil War and Reconstruction, due to political party ties, MPs had a personal motivation to support the presidential election. Whenever one party succeeds the other in the presidential election, the party composition of Congress changes accordingly, bringing the parliamentary majority and presidential parties together. However, modern presidents and parliaments lack electoral linkages, and whether or not the president is elected has no stake in the vital interests of parliamentarians. Since independent elections take place, parliamentarians rely on neither the political parties nor the president, but the preferences of regional voters.





In 1984, Reagan won the presidential election, but the Republican Party only added 14 seats in Congress. In that year, 44% of MPs and presidents in the Congressional area were in opposing parties. Therefore, in the post-war period, the two parties have long separated from each other. In the federal government, a "dual sovereignty" with the Democratic Party controlling the Congress and the Republican Party controlling the President has led to protracted "institutional battles."





(5) US federal government shuts down after 17 years

New York time, October 1, 2013. On Monday evening in Japan, the stalemate between the two parties in the US Congress over government spending bills failed to be resolved by the deadline of 2020 this week. Since October 1, the US federal government has begun to shut down. Government employees involved in U.S. security and other aspects will continue to work, but salaries will be in place after Congress resumes funding, and this number of employees will reach one million, while employees in non-exceptional departments with more than 800,000 will begin to take paid leave.





Since Sunday ’s House of Representatives introduced a spending bill that would postpone the Obamacare bill by one year and reduce taxes and fees as a condition, public opinion has tended to believe that the government is definitely closed. The Obama administration and its staff have previously made clear that they will not accept any spending bills that would affect the new health care law. Democrats believe that the Republicans should support a relatively "clean", untied spending bill. At the same time, the House of Representatives Republicans' position on the Obamacare bill has not wavered.





On Monday night, the House and Senate conducted "ping-pong" repeated deliberations and votes on a budget bill requiring Obamacare to be delayed for one year. Finally, the House of Representatives no longer seeks a vote on the revised bill.





US President Barack Obama said at a press conference at 11 pm on Monday: "The internal disputes arising from a branch of the government over a result after the election should not affect the operation of the entire government." About half an hour before zero, Relevant federal government departments have begun to implement plans to stop some government departments. Starting at 00:00 on October 1, the US government shut down.

Previously, the U.S. Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a motion to postpone the Obamacare reform plan for one year in order to "save money" to provide the government with operating funds; the House of Representatives passed the abolition of the medical equipment tax by 248 to 174 votes, and 231 to 192 The vote passed a proposal to postpone medical reform for one year. However, the Senate subsequently rejected the bill.

Minutes before local time arrived on October 1, the White House ordered federal agencies to close. This is another shutdown and shutdown incident in the US government in the past 17 years.





The last US government shutdown occurred during the Clintonadministration in 1995-96; the reason was that the Republicans opposed President Clinton's universal health insurance plan.

The analysis points out that once the above situation occurs again, it means that the US government will not be able to pay wages, pensions, pensions and other expenses again. Tens of thousands of civil servants across the United States will be forced to take unpaid leave and may never be recoverable. Government arrears.





(5) On October 17, the 16-day closing of the US federal government officially ended.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted on the evening of the 16th to pass a bill granting the federal government temporary funding while increasing its public debt ceiling. US President Barack Obama signed a bill in the early morning of the 17th, officially ending the 16-day shutdown of the US federal government.





The US government has required federal government employees to return to work from the 17th to work. However, the bill did not solve the fundamental problem, and the US government will again face the danger and test of "closed doors" in a few months.





Obama signs bill early in the morning

After the bill was passed by the Senate Republican and Democratic leaders in the Senate on the evening of the 16th, the House of Representatives met overnight. The bill was passed with 285 votes in favor and 144 votes against it. According to this bill, all federal government departments will receive budget operations until January 15, 2014, while extending the authority of the Ministry of Finance to issue national debt to February 7, 2014. US President Barack Obama signed the bill in the early morning of the 17th, putting an end to the "closed door" of the US federal government that lasted for more than half a month, temporarily calming international market concerns about the risk of a possible debt default in the United States.





Government employees resume normal work

The White House Chief of Administration and Budget, Sylvia Matthews Burwell, said the federal government would resume normal operations as soon as possible. Federal agency employees who have been asked for unpaid leave for more than half a month will resume normal work from the next business day. For the vast majority of federal government employees, the 17th will be their first working day after the government's "closed turmoil" has ended.









Federal government employees will come back to work in the morning of the 17th," Silvia Burwell said. "For government employees, they have experienced very challenging times in the past few weeks. I want to ask those who are constantly The civil servants who serve the American people are grateful. "Christina Lagarde, president of the International Monetary Fund, praised the two parties for reaching an agreement to avoid debt default. She also said that the US government's increase in debt ceiling caused uncertainty in US fiscal policy. In the future, it will be critical to be able to reduce this uncertainty in a “sustainable manner”.





Financial problems are not resolved at all

October 17 is the "big limit" for the United States to avoid debt default. U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lu previously said that for

United States federal government unconventional measures to avoid US debt defaults will only last until October 17, when the Treasury Department will have only about $ 30 billion in funding, making it difficult to cope with all federal government spending pressures. It was within the expectations of the parties that the two parties reached a compromise at the last minute before the debt default.





However, the bill passed by the US Congress did not fundamentally solve a series of fiscal problems facing the US government, but merely postponed this difficult problem to the beginning of next year. If by that time, bipartisan lawmakers in the United States still do not solve these financial problems, the US government will once again face the danger of "closing the door." Paul Ryan, the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Budget Committee, voted against the motion, saying: "Today's motion will not help reduce our fast-growing debt. In my opinion, this is not a breakthrough, we just breathed."















