Americans vote for divided government
Lawmaking in the US may be difficult over the next two years as Americans have elected a Republican Congress to share power with its Democrat president.
Lawmaking in the US may be difficult over the next two years as Americans have elected a Republican Congress to share power with its Democrat president.
Please join us on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/bangkokpostlearning
U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Republican U.S. Senator-elect in Arkansas greets supporters during an election night gathering on November 4, 2014 in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Cotton defeated two-term incumbent Democrat U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR). Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/AFP
I’ll have more shortly as the results are declared.
Americans vote for divided government
Americans are now certain to have a divided government for the next two years as the results of Tuesday’s election continue to come in.
This is a mid-term election – Democrat President Obama’s job is not at stake since it is only the middle of his four-year term – so the focus in on both houses of Congress.
The Republicans already controlled the House of Representatives going into the election and were expected to increase their numbers there. CBS News projected the Republicans would hold at least 226 of the 435 House seats. NBC said the party would take 242 seats.
As the vote count progresses towards its conclusion, the Democrats hold on the US Senate has slipped away. Republicans needed only a net gain of six Senate seats and by noon our time, they were assured of at least 52 or the Senate's 100 seats.
Democratic supporters listen to speakers during an election night rally November 4, 2014 in Arlington, Virginia. Republicans moved closer to a majority in the US Senate as midterm election results were being counted. AFP PHOTO / Brendan SMIALOWSKI
Under the US system, the president can propose legislation, but it is the Congress that actually makes the laws. It does not have a free hand, however, as the president has veto power. If he rejects legislation sent to him from the Congress, it takes a two-thirds majority in both houses to pass it into law, something very difficult to do.
Thus, the next two years leading up to the 2016 elections could see very little being accomplished in the US Congress, unless there is a willingness on the part of lawmakers and the president to compromise. There hasn’t been much of that in recent years.
สามารถฝึกอ่านออกเสียงและดูคำแปลได้ที่ : http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/441546/americans-likely-to-vote-for-divided-government
