All About the United States Legislative Branch
The legislative branch of the United States government is delegated and established in Article I of the Constitution. Essentially, this branch was put in place in an effort by the founding fathers to represent the people of the country directly. In a time when the founding fathers were creating the framework for what would become the United States government, there was a fear of giving too much power to the president of the country. For this reason, the legislative branch was established to propose and pass laws in direct representation of the various states in the country.
The main power of the legislative branch is to present laws to the executive branch and to pass laws presented to them. This is done by a vote; if two-thirds of the members vote for a bill, then it will be passed on to the president of the United States, who has the power to either sign it into law or veto it. If the president vetoes a bill, the legislative branch then has the power to override it and pass a bill into law anyway, though this must be done with a three-fourths majority. This system is in place to establish checks and balances between the various branches of government.
The two branches together–the Senate and the House–are known as the United States Congress. Congress is also responsible for confirming a president’s request to officially go to war with another country. As you can see, the legislative branch has a lot of power in the government; even though many people see the president as the most powerful figure in decision-making, the truth is that there is very little he or she can do without first having approval from Congress.
Overall, the legislative branch includes many members from every single one of America’s territories and states. Truly a entity by the people and for the people, the legislative branch is a powerful one indeed.