The Chief Executive's Role

Activity # GV211

Activity Introduction Hey I’m (name),

You know in the Preamble to the US Constitution it says (makes voice as deep as possible) “We the People of the United States in Order to form a more perfect Union” (coughs.) Sorry. So, what the heck is a perfect Union? Well, the framers of the U.S. Constitution thought having three different branches of government would help separate the power to govern, so no single person or small group of people could have total control over everyone. This way the power to govern is separated and “We the People” elect our leaders to help protect our freedom.

The three branches of our government are the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch, and the Judicial Branch. Let’s talk about the Executive branch. Reading Passage 1 IntroductionThe head of the Executive Branch is the President. Being the president of this country is not an easy job, but a job it is. The president is paid, just like anyone else who has a job, but the president’s workday is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In fact, when a new president is elected, the new president and the president’s family must move to Washington, D.C. to live in the White House for the four-year term. Though most people born in the United States are eligible to become the president, there are certain qualifications that they must meet to be eligible. So why don’t you read this and see if you’d ever want the job of President of the United States. Reading Passage 1 OutroReading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. So your mind just did fifty pushups.

Video 1 – Introduction

Ok, now that you’ve got a better idea about whom we can elect as president and what we pay the president to run the country, let’s look at the main functions of the whole Executive Branch. You didn’t think the president did everything himself, did you?! No human could run the entire Executive Branch alone. The president gets by with a little help from his friends! The Executive Branch is huge and requires a working staff of billions and trillions…well, okay maybe not that many – but not just a few either. Check it out.

Video 1 Over 200 years ago, the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution and created the greatest democratic republic in the history of the world, the Unites States. The Constitution divides the national government into three separate but equal branches. One of these, headed by the President, is called the Executive Branch. When it started, the Executive Branch was small; however, today the Executive Branch employs millions of people, not just the President. So let's take a quick look at what they do.

Article 2 of the Constitution spells out the roles and duties of the President, and there are many. The president should serve as the Chief of State, the ceremonial head of the government. He's also the Chief Executive, and exercises broad executive power in domestic and foreign policy. As the Chief Administrator, the President is the director of the Executive Branch. As the Chief Diplomat, the President gets to set the Unites States foreign policy and send U.S. representatives to countries around the world. As the Chief of Legislature, he gets to set the national legislative agenda, and then as the Commander in Chief, he gets to be the head of all of the U.S. armed forces. Plus, he gets another duty. He's the Chief of Party. No, not that kind of party. We're talking about politics here, right? The Chief of Party gets to lead his or her political party.

Now that we know that the President has a lot of duties, what about the Vice President? Well, the Constitution really gives the Vice President a pretty limited role in our government. For example, the Vice President should be the first in line of ascension, meaning that if anything happens to the President, the Vice President steps in and takes over the duties of the presidency. Additionally, the Vice President presides over the Senate, and the Vice President helps decide questions of presidential disability. Finally, the Vice President can be given other duties and responsibilities if the President decides to do so.

But to help them do their jobs, they need a lot of support, and you find this in the Executive Office of the President. The President's closest staff and advisors work in the White House office, and the Vice President's staff works in the office of the Vice President. The President gets a lot of advice from different people, but when it comes to matters of national security, the National Security Council gives him the advice dealing with security matters. When preparing the federal budget, the President gets help from the Office of Management and Budget, and when it comes to matters dealing with the economy, he has a council of economic advisors who give him information and advice that he can set policies.

Besides these offices, there are several others in the Executive Office of the President. For example, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Office of Policy Development, the Council on Environmental Quality, the Office of the Unites States Trade Representative, the Office of Science and Technology Policy as well as the Office of Administration. Outside of this direct support, the President also gets a lot of advice from other people, usually found from the members of the Cabinet. Currently, there are 15 cabinet departments, each of them headed by a Cabinet secretary. For example, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy or education.

The purpose of these departments and these Cabinet secretaries is to provide the information and advice to the President about matters of national importance, and then

to enforce the policies of the President within their departments. When it comes to the enforcement of the federal laws, there are actually 150 independent agencies, commissions and federal corporations that are set up to write the rules and regulations, and to enforce federal law.

For example, the agencies, there's the CIA, which is the Central Intelligence Agency, who gathers information about possible threats to the Unites States. The Social Security Administration was also set up to deliver disability and retirement benefits for millions of Americans. The independent regulatory commissions, the commissions in the Executive Branch would include the Federal Trade Commission that enforces federal trade law.

We also have the Consumer Product Safety Commission that makes sure that the products on the shelves in American stores are safe for us to consume. Government corporations also have a vital role in our Executive Branch. For example, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the FDIC, insures the deposits of Americans in banks across the Unites States, and the Tennessee Valley authority, which was established to control flooding and to provide electricity to many Americans.

So as you can see, the Executive Branch is a huge operation, but the organizations within the Executive Branch provide services that thousands, even millions of Americans rely on and expect to be there when they need help. This would not be possible if it had not been for the wisdom and foresight of our Founding Fathers over 200 years ago.

Video 1 – Recap So, one more time…

Okay, so let’s review the main points.

The President has six main roles from the Constitution and one more since the development of political parties.

The Vice President is first in line of succession, should something happen to the president, but outside of that, he has two main roles (pause) to preside over the Senate and help decide the question of presidential disability.

The Executive Office of the President helps run the White House and all councils that hold office there.

The Cabinet Departments currently total 15. Each one is run by a Secretary that reports directly to and advises the president in matters concerning each department’s area.

The Executive Branch also has over 150 Independent Agencies, Commissions, and Governmental Corporations that support the government in very specific areas. Reading Passage 2 IntroductionWhen you think of the President of the United States, what do you think of? A super hero? A business man in a suit? A woman? Or maybe someday, yourself?

Well, the President of the United States may not be a super hero, but the president is an ordinary person like you and me.

In fact, you may be surprised to learn that some of our past presidents were farmers and teachers.

Some were from large families and some small. Some were rich and some were poor. One had a PhD, but many weren’t formally educated!

So you know how the executive office works and how to become a president. Now, check out some cool facts about our past and current presidents. While you’re reading try to find any similarities between them. Reading Passage 2 OutroNow that is what I call a "good read"… What the Class ThinksMichael Dude! I am soooo going to run for president! “Mr. Michael Trejo, President of the United States!” “You’ll vote for me, right Beth?” Beth Not if I am running against you. But I think it will be a close race. And then we will have our pictures in the school books and on the Internet – and Maybe, by then – on the walls of a colony on Mars.

Then, we’d be President of the Universe! Michael Wait a second; you’re getting way ahead of yourself. First we need to finish high school and then college… That’s it for this episode. Thanks for tuning in.