There are three branches of government that was established by the U.S. Constitution: the legislative, the executive and the judicial. Each of these areas have different responsibilities and is to be independent of each other. There is a checks and balances system formed by the constitution, so that no one branch of government has complete power over the affairs of the United States. The legislative branch which consist of the Congress and the Senate job is to propose and enact laws, to legislate. The function of the executive branch to make sure these laws are put into effect through several governmental departments. The president is in command of all governmental departments and offices. Health and Human Services (HHS) is the relevant example for us here. And it is the business of the judiciary (the courts) to “adjudicate”—that is, to make judgments about who is right or wrong according to the law as in (a) disagreements between citizens (civil law), (b) deciding the guilt or innocence of citizens who disobey laws (criminal law), and (c) disagreements between citizens and government agencies (often administrative law). Court orders reinstating an (“unfairly”) terminated government disability benefit or revoking the commitment of a person to a mental institution are examples of checks and balances in action.
Public programs are established through legislation, which usually begins with a group of people concerned about a growing issue within a community or even nationwide. In order for an interest group to establish a public program, the concern must go through eight legislative tasks. In the first task the interest group must clearly define and execute a consensus on what the problem is and what the desired outcome is from legislation. This can be a difficult task because legislation as well as the public wants to know exactly what the interest group wants. The