美国政府机构分支：三权分立

The US government relies on a system called “federalism”, which means that the federal government shares power with the states. Three equal and separate branches are checked and balanced by one another in the US government: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial.

美国政府实行“联邦制”，即联邦政府与各州共享管理人民的权利。美国政府由三个权利平等、相互制衡的分支组成，分别是：立法机构、行政机关和司法部门。

1. The Legislative Branch---Congress

Congress is the legislative branch responsible for creating laws. It consists of two sections: the House of Representatives and the Senate.（The House of Representatives is often referred to as The House for short.）  

国会是美国立法机构，主要负责法律的制定与修改。美国国会由两院组成：众议院和参议院。（注：众议院The House of Representatives 英文简称：the House）

The House of Representatives has 435 officers who serve for a term of two years. Membership in this chamber is based on population to represent the citizens. Each of the 50 states receives a minimum of one representative in the House. Therefore, a heavily populated state, like California, has more representatives than a sparsely populated state, like Alaska.The House also has six non-voting members from the District of Columbia and other five US territories. The speaker of the House, is the political and parliamentary leader of the House of Representatives, and second in the United States presidential line of succession after the vice president. 

众议院议员总数为435名，任期为两年。各州在众议院中拥有的席位比例以人口为基准（即比例代表制），以代表公众利益。每州在参议员中至少保有1个席位。因此，像加利福尼亚这样人口稠密的州，比人口稀少的州，如阿拉斯加，拥有更多的代表席位。此外，众议院还包括6个列席席位，分别来自哥伦比亚特区和5个美国海外属地，他们在国会中无投票权。众议院议长是众议院多数党的最高领袖,也是继美国副总统之后的第二顺位总统继承人。

The Senate has 100 voting members to represent the interests of the 50 states.  Every state gets two seats no matter how large or small it is. That assures the small states having an equal voice in the Senate. The Senators serve a 6-year term that overlap, with one third being elected every two years. The leader of this house is also the Vice-president of the United States. He may vote when in the event of a tie in the Senate.

参议院共有代表50个州的100名议员。各州无论大小，在参议院中均有两位议员代表，与人口无关（即平均代表制）。此举为了确保各州利益，以保证小州能在参议院拥有平等发言权。参议员任期为六年，相互交错，每隔两年改选约三分之一的席位。参议院议长由副总统兼任，一般不参与投票，只有在参议院票数持平时，才由副总统投票以打破平局。

The main duty of Congress is to make laws and the two houses are fundamentally equal in legislative roles and functions. The House of Representative initiates all revenue bills and impeaches federal officers. While the Senate has powers of advice and consent which are unique to it, including the approval of treaties, and the confirmation of president nomination. The legislative process is very complicated in the US Congress. For a bill to become an act, several versions of the text must be discussed and revised, and must pass through in both houses with a majority before presenting to the president.

国会的主要职责是立法，两院在立法职能上权利平等，但又有所侧重。如税收法案只能由众议院起草，且众议院由有弹劾政府官员的权利。而参议院则享有诸如批准条约，通过总统对官员的任命状等专属职权。国会两院的立法程序非常复杂。议案在成为法案之前需经过多轮的讨论和修改，只有在通过参众两院半数以上同意之后，再经总统签署颁布成为联邦法律。

When a bill is proposed by legislators in the House, it will be referred to a sub-committee which are formed by expertise on special subjects. The sub-committee often holds hearings, at which people who argue for or against the bill offer their written statements. After the hearings , the sub-committee members will write up the bill in formal legal language,or markup, and vote on it. If the sub-committee votes not to report the legislation to the full committee, the bill dies.

正式程序始于立法者提出某项议案。当参议两院的议员提出某项立法提案时，此法案将被提交给该院全体委员会下属的常务委员会进行讨论。常务委员会成员由各相关领域的专家组成，在经过对该提案进行详尽周密地论证之后，委员会将安排公证听证会。人们在听众会广泛发表意见，并提交书面材料。听证会结束后，下属委员会成员将根据听证意见对草案进行修改，并用正式公文对其进行法律注释，再进行投票表决。如果不能获得常务委员会半数以上的赞成票，该提案便止步于此，不再进入全体委员会审议环节。

If the full committee passes the bill, it will reach the floor of the full House for consideration. Once it is passed by the House it will go to the Senate for a similar procedure. But if the bill is not favorably voted in the second house, it dies there.

如果众议院全体委员会通过常务委员会提交的议案，则该提案自动进入全体议员审议阶段。众议院通过的法案，将送往参议院进行讨论。参议院接到该法案后，将其分配到下属委员会，再走一遍和参议院类似的流程。此间一旦任何环节失去半数以上赞成票，即使是前一院通过了的法案，也会在下一个议院过会时被枪毙掉。

In case the Senate wants to make some changes to the bill, it will go to a Conference Committee from both houses. The Committee attempts to reconcile both versions and come up with a new version called a compromise bill. The bill is lost if the two chambers still can not reach an agreement. 

若参议院对众议院的议案提出修订意见，该提案将由两院联席的协商委员会进行协调。协商委员会将对两院的不同版本进行协商调和，并最终形成一个条文完全一致的“折衷法案”。如此时两院仍无法达成共识，该提案将以失败告终。

Once passed by both houses in identical forms, the bill becomes an Act and is presented to the president. The president may sign it into a law or veto it within 10 days. However, if Congress really wants a bill that the president has vetoed, they can override the veto by a two thirds majority.

当两院对同一提案形成完全一致的版本后，该提案成为提交总签署的法令（Act）。总统可在十天内签署法令使其成为法律，或是否决该法令，发还过会重新考虑。国会可以再投票表决被总统否决的法令，参议两院中可以通过绝大多数赞成票，再次通过该法案。

2. The Executive Branch---The Presidency

The executive branch enforces the laws passed by Congress. It includes the president, vice president, Cabinet and most executive department. The president heads the branch, he is leader of the federal government, and Commander-in-Chief of the United States armed forces. The president serves a four-year term and can be elected to only two terms. According to the US Constitution, if the president dies, resigns, or being removed from office, the vice president becomes a president.

行政部门负责执行国会的通过的法律, 它包括总统、副总统、内阁和其他行政部门等。总统是美国政府的行政首脑，他统领联邦政府，也是美国武装部队的总司令。根据美国宪法，总统每届任期四年，最多连任两届。如果总统去世、辞职或被免职，副总统将顺位成为总统。

The executive branch consists of 15 departments: State, Treasury, Defense, Justice, Transportation, Energy and Education, etc. The president appoints the heads and senior officials of the executive agencies, with each appointment confirmed by a vote of the Senate. The major departments of the government are headed by Secretaries who form the president’s cabinet and act as the major source of advice and assistance to the president.  

美国政府由15个部门组成：它们分别是：国务院、财政部、国防部、司法部、交通部、能源部、教育部等。总统提名各部门首长和高级官员，但总统任命需要征求参议院的意见兵取得其同意。以上各政府部门由部长带领，各部部长组成总统内阁，但内阁只是起到总统助手和顾问团的作用，并没有集体决策的权力。

The president is the central figure in the US political system, and he has unique powers. He can propose legislation to Congress or veto any bills passed by Congress. He can influence the decision of the federal courts, having the power to nominate justices of the Supreme Court. He is also the Commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

总统是美国政治体系的核心人物，拥有极大的政治权力。总统有委托立法权，也由法案否决权；总统可以影响联邦法院的决定，并有权提名最高法院的法官；总统同时也是美国武装部队的总司令。

   The president has power to manage national affairs and the working of the federal government. He can issue rules, regulations and instructions, which are called executive orders. Besides, the president is primarily responsible for foreign relations. Subject to the Senate approval, the president can appoint ambassadors and make treaties. Together with the Secretary of State, he manages the nation’s foreign policy .

总统负责联邦政府的内政外交。他可以通过签署“总统令”来颁布行政法规和政府命令。在外交事务方面，总统还负责处理对外关系。总统有权任命驻外大使（需经参议院认可），并有权与外国缔结条约。总统与国务卿一起管理国家的外交政策。

3. The Judicial Branch---The Supreme Court

The judicial branch,or judiciary, interprets the meaning of the laws and decides if laws violate the Constitution. It is comprised of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. The Supreme Court is head of the judicial branch of the federal government. The Supreme Court consists of a chief justice (首席大法官) and eight associate justices(大法官). Federal judges are appointed for life or until voluntary retirement, and can only be removed from office through process of impeachment in Congress.

司法部门（也叫司法机构）解释法律的含义，并判定法律是否违反宪法。司法机构由最高法院和其他联邦法院组成。最高法院是联邦司法部门的最高审判机关。联邦法官由1名首席法官和8名大法官组成。联邦法官实行终身任命制，除非他们到了年龄自愿退休，否则就只能通过国会弹劾来对其进行免职。

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