1. As outlined in Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution, thoroughly discuss the requirements, duties and responsibilities, and policies and procedures, and enumerated powers of the legislative branch.

The legislative branch of the federal government consists of the Congress, which is divided into two chambers -- the Senate and the House of Representatives. The legislative branch was granted several powers by the constitution. Among those are powers to levy and collect taxes, power ti coin money and regulate its value, power to provide for punishment for counterfeiting, power to establish post offices and roads. There are only a few qualifications that one must meet to run for congress. They are: must be at least 25 years old and must have been a US citizen for at least 7 years. There is no limit on the number of terms one can serve in the house of representatives and by contract the senate members can only serve six terms. It is said that roughly 1/3 of the senate stand for reelection every two years. The duties and responsibilities do differ among the two divisions of congress. The senate has to give its approval if many of the appointment, by the president. This approval includes but is not limited to the appointment of cabinet officers, federal judges, department secretaries and US military and naval officers. Congress powers are limited to the enumerated powers on the specific right, given to it by the Constitution of the United States. Congress also has the power to impeach the president of the United States. Even though congress as a whole can impeach the president, both divisions have a different role in this process. Within congress there are congressional committee created to draft legislation and conduct congressional investigations. Each division has the power to name special/ select committee for the purpose to study specific problems. Tody there are approximately 150 subcommittees to handle the congressional work load.

2. As outlined in Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution, thoroughly discuss the requirements, duties and responsibilities, and policies and procedures, and enumerated powers of the executive branch.

The executive power in the federal government is vested in the President of the United States, although power is often delegated to the Cabinet members and other officials. The President and Vice President are elected as running mates by the Electoral College, for which each state, as well as the District of Columbia, is allocated a number of seats based on its representation (or ostensible representation, in the case of D.C.) in both houses of Congress. The President is limited to a maximum of two four-year terms. If the President has already served two years or more of a term to which some other person was elected, he may only serve one more additional four-year term. The executive branch consists of the President and those to whom the President's powers are delegated. The President is both the head of state and government, as well as the military commander-in-chief and chief diplomat. The President, according to the Constitution, must "take care that the laws be faithfully executed", and "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution". The President presides over the executive branch of the federal government, an organization numbering about 5 million people, including 1 million active-duty military personnel and 600000 postal service employees.

The Vice President is the second-highest executive official in rank of the government. As first in the U.S. presidential line of succession, the Vice President becomes President upon the death, resignation, or removal of the President, which has happened nine times in U.S. history. Under the Constitution, the Vice President is President of the Senate. By virtue of this role, he or she is the head of the Senate. In that capacity, the Vice President is allowed to vote in the Senate, but only when necessary to break a tie vote. Pursuant to the Twelfth Amendment, the Vice President presides over the joint session of Congress when it convenes to count the vote of the Electoral College. While the Vice President's only constitutionally prescribed functions, aside from presidential succession, relate to his or her role as President of the Senate, the office is now commonly viewed as a member of the executive branch of the federal government. The U.S. Constitution does not expressly assign the office to any one branch, causing scholars to dispute whether it belongs to the executive branch, the legislative branch, or both.

3. As outlined in Article 3 of the U.S. Constitution, thoroughly discuss the requirements, duties and responsibilities, and policies and procedures, and enumerated powers of the judicial branch.

Article III section I of the Constitution establishes the Supreme Court of the United States and authorizes the United States Congress to establish inferior courts as their need shall arise. Section I also establishes a lifetime tenure for all federal judges and states that their compensation may not be diminished during their time in office. Article II section II establishes that all federal judges are to be appointed by the president and confirmed by the United States Senate. The U.S. Supreme Court adjudicates cases and controversies matters pertaining to the federal government, disputes between states, and interpretation of the United States Constitution, and, in general, can declare legislation or executive action made at any level of the government as unconstitutional, nullifying the law and creating precedent for future law and decisions. The United States Constitution does not grant the judicial branch the power of judicial review (the power to declare a law Unconstitutional). The power of judicial review was asserted by Chief Justice Marshall in the landmark Supreme Court Case Marbury v. Madison (1803). There have been instances in the past where such declarations have been ignored by the other two branches. Below the U.S. Supreme Court are the United States Courts of Appeals, and below them in turn are the United States District Courts, which are the general trial courts for federal law, and for certain controversies between litigants who are not deemed citizens of the same state. There are three levels of federal courts with general jurisdiction, meaning that these courts handle criminal cases and civil lawsuits between individuals. The other courts, such as the bankruptcy courts and the Tax Court, are specialized courts handling only certain kinds of cases. The Bankruptcy Courts are under the district courts, and as such are not considered part of the Article III judiciary and also as such their judges do not have lifetime tenure, nor are they Constitutionally exempt from diminution of their remuneration. Also the Tax Court is not an Article III court. The district courts are the trial courts wherein cases that are considered under the Judicial Code consistent with the jurisdictional precepts of federal question jurisdiction and diversity jurisdiction and pendent jurisdiction can be filed and decided. The district courts can also hear cases under removal jurisdiction , wherein a case brought in State court meets the requirements for diversity jurisdiction, and one party litigant chooses to remove the case from state court to federal court. The United States Courts of Appeals are appellate courts that hear appeals of cases decided by the district courts, and some direct appeals from administrative agencies, and some interlocutory appeals. The U.S. Supreme Court hears appeals from the decisions of the courts of appeals or state supreme courts, and in addition has original jurisdiction over a small number of cases.The judicial power extends to cases arising under the Constitution, an Act of Congress; a U.S. treaty; cases affecting ambassadors, ministers and consuls of foreign countries in the U.S.; cases and controversies to which the federal government is a party; controversies between state and foreign nations ; and bankruptcy cases. The Eleventh Amendment removed from federal jurisdiction cases in which citizens of one state were the plaintiffs and the government of another state was the defendant. It did not disturb federal jurisdiction in cases in which a state government is a plaintiff and a citizen of another state the defendant.

5. Using an web site you deem (be sure to cite), thoroughly discuss the process by which a bill must go through in its attempt to become a law. Make sure you use a
CURRENT (2011- 2012) bill that became a law to explain the process.

Legislation is Introduced, Any member can introduce a piece of legislation
Legislation is handed to the clerk of the House or placed in the hopper.
Members must gain recognition of the presiding officer to announce the introduction of a bill during the morning hour. If any senator objects, the introduction of the bill is postponed until the next day. The bill is assigned a number. The bill is labeled with the sponsor's name. The bill is sent to the Government Printing Office and copies are made .Senate bills can be jointly sponsored. Members can cosponsor the piece of Legislation.The bill is referred to the appropriate committee by the Speaker of the House or the presiding officer in the Senate. Most often, the actual referral decision is made by the House or Senate parliamentarian. Bills may be referred to more than one committee and it may be split so that parts are sent to different committees. The Speaker of the House may set time limits on committees. Bills are placed on the calendar of the committee to which they have been assigned. Failure to act on a bill is equivalent to killing it. Bills in the House can only be released from committee without a proper committee vote by a discharge petition signed by a majority of the House membership.

Comments about the bill's merit are requested by government agencies.
Bill can be assigned to subcommittee by Chairman.
Hearings may be held.Subcommittees report their findings to the full committee.
Finally there is a vote by the full committee - the bill is "ordered to be reported."
A committee will hold a "mark-up" session during which it will make revisions and additions. If substantial amendments are made, the committee can order the introduction of a "clean bill" which will include the proposed amendments. This new bill will have a new number and will be sent to the floor while the old bill is discarded. The chamber must approve, change or reject all committee amendments before conducting a final passage vote.After the bill is reported, the committee staff prepares a written report explaining why they favor the bill and why they wish to see their amendments, if any, adopted. Committee members who oppose a bill sometimes write a dissenting opinion in the report. The report is sent back to the whole chamber and is placed on the calendar.In the House, most bills go to the Rules committee before reaching the floor. The committee adopts rules that will govern the procedures under which the bill will be considered by the House. A "closed rule" sets strict time limits on debate and forbids the introduction of amendments. These rules can have a major impact on whether the bill passes. The rules committee can be bypassed in three ways: 1) members can move rules to be suspended (requires 2/3 vote)2) a discharge petition can be filed 3) the House can use a Calendar Wednesday procedure.

House: Bills are placed on one of four House Calendars. They are usually placed on the calendars in the order of which they are reported yet they don't usually come to floor in this order - some bills never reach the floor at all. The Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader decide what will reach the floor and when. Legislation can also be brought to the floor by a discharge petition.Senate: Legislation is placed on the Legislative Calendar. There is also an Executive calendar to deal with treaties and nominations. Scheduling of legislation is the job of the Majority Leader. Bills can be brought to the floor whenever a majority of the Senate chooses.
House: Debate is limited by the rules formulated in the Rules Committee. The Committee of the Whole debates and amends the bill but cannot technically pass it. Debate is guided by the Sponsoring Committee and time is divided equally between proponents and opponents. The Committee decides how much time to allot to each person. Amendments must be germane to the subject of a bill - no riders are allowed. The bill is reported back to the House and is voted on. A quorum call is a vote to make sure that there are enough members present to have a final vote. If there is not a quorum, the House will adjourn or will send the Sergeant at Arms out to round up missing members.Senate: debate is unlimited unless cloture is invoked. Members can speak as long as they want and amendments need not be germane - riders are often offered. Entire bills can therefore be offered as amendments to other bills. Unless cloture is invoked, Senators can use a filibuster to defeat a measure by "talking it to death." The bill is voted on. If passed, it is then sent to the other chamber unless that chamber already has a similar measure under consideration. If either chamber does not pass the bill then it dies. If the House and Senate pass the same bill then it is sent to the President. If the House and Senate pass different bills they are sent to Conference Committee. Most major legislation goes to a Conference Committee.

Members from each house form a conference committee and meet to work out the differences. The committee is usually made up of senior members who are appointed by the presiding officers of the committee that originally dealt with the bill. The representatives from each house work to maintain their version of the bill. If the Conference Committee reaches a compromise, it prepares a written conference report, which is submitted to each chamber.
The conference report must be approved by both the House and the Senate. The bill is sent to the President for review. A bill becomes law if signed by the President or if not signed within 10 days and Congress is in session. If Congress adjourns before the 10 days and the President has not signed the bill then it does not become law. If the President vetoes the bill it is sent back to Congress with a note listing his/her reasons. The chamber that originated the legislation can attempt to override the veto by a vote of two-thirds of those present. If the veto of the bill is overridden in both chambers then it becomes law. Once a bill is signed by the President or his veto is overridden by both houses it becomes a law and is assigned an official number.