WHAT IS THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH There are three parts also called branches of the U S government One of them is the legislative branch It makes laws and it can declare war It can also approve or disapprove of the people that a president might want for a government job like Supreme Court judge Legislative means having the power to make laws VOCABULARY Members of the U S Congress meet at the U S Capitol in Washington D C 4
The legislative branch is also called Congress Congress is made up of two houses or groups the Senate and the House of Representatives or the House The Senate and the House both meet at the U S Capitol a building located in Washington D C Congress has the power to make laws that allow the government to do its job of serving the American people The United States government gets its powers from the United States Constitution The Constitution is a document that explains how the government should work It also lists the rights of the people of the country The U S Capitol houses the U S Congress It is also used for special ceremonies such as presidential inaugurations 5
The other two branches of the government are the executive branch and the judicial branch The Constitution gives each branch separate powers The executive branch enforces the laws that the legislative branch makes The president is the head of the executive branch The judicial branch includes CIA director John Brennan places his hand on an original draft of the U S Constitution as Vice President Joe Biden swears him in to office 6
the Supreme Court and other courts All three branches of government check each other to make sure no one branch uses more power than it should In 1789 the Constitution was signed and put into effect This action created an official government for the United States with a set of rules they would use to govern the country The original Constitution can be viewed at the National Archives in Washington D C The United States has the oldest written constitution Why is a constitution important to a country THINK ABOUT IT The U S Constitution is the oldest written constitution still in use 7
