Title: Legislative-Executive Checks and Balances | Encyclopedia.com
Headings: Legislative-Executive Checks and Balances
Legislative-Executive Checks and Balances
Legislative-Executive Checks and Balances
Checks and balances
Chambers of Congress
Veto power and override
Presidential veto
Line Item Veto
Congressional override
Legislative veto
Executive recommendation power
Legislative appropriations power
Impoundment
Reprogramming
Personnel ceilings and floors
Senatorial advice and consent
Executive appointments and removals
Treaties
War powers
Legislative oversight
Impeachment
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Content: They were especially fearful of giving too much power to the president, who might come to resemble an uncontrollable king. They were also fearful of giving too much power to the House of Representatives, which they saw as the chamber of Congress that would represent the popular will of America. The men who wrote the Constitution wanted to protect the wealthy class of society from the passions of popular democracy. To prevent the power of any one branch from being absolute, the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution to contain a system of checks and balances. These are powers that each branch has for limiting the power of the other branches. Some scholars say the system of checks and balances actually creates a government of shared powers instead of one with separated powers. Chambers of Congress
The term "checks and balances" usually refers to the power that one branch of government has to limit the powers of the other branches. For example, the president checks the power of Congress with the ability to veto laws that Congress passes. Congress, however, has an internal system of checks and balances. Its two chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate, check each other, because a law cannot pass Congress unless both chambers approve it by simple majorities.