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."
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