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Article I section I of the U.S. Constitution states that Congress and Congress alone has legislative power. The job of Congress is to collect taxes, regulate commerce, provide for the common defense and promote the general welfare of the nation.
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Due to the fear of an overbearing legislature, the framers explicitly provided more details of the power and responsibilities of the legislative branch than any other branch. Those specific powers and responsibilities are laid out in Article I of the U.S. Constitution
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Surprisingly, much of the legislative process happens inside of Congressional committees. These committees serve as mini legislatures helping to control the workload and the workflow of Congress. Each house has numerous committees with the House having more than the Senate due to size, but all committees tend to function in similar ways.
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The Constitution states “the executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America” meaning the president is essentially the CEO of the United States. With that title comes a lot of perks such as living in the White House and flying around on Air Force One, but the job comes with a tremendous amount of responsibility.
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No one is above the law. This foundational principle is at the core of American democracy from the beginning as the Founding Fathers found a monarch distasteful and wanted to create a “government of laws, and not men.” It is important for all Americans to realize that the president, the highest position in the land, is not a king and must follow the law
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In the past 200 years, the Constitutional powers of the president haven’t changed. However, that hasn’t stopped presidents from expanding executive power especially in times of crisis or complex problems.
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Prior to the late 1800s, Presidents had relatively little communication with the press or the greater population outside of the campaign season. This all changed as national newspapers began to circulate at the turn of the 1900s and the press had more access than ever before to the president, as presidents found new medias helpful in promoting their agenda.
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