The US executive and legislative branches communicate through meetings, negotiations, and official messages. Executive communications are assigned a reference number and become part of the Congressional Record. They can include updates on agency operations and suggestions for legislation. The presidential veto is another form of executive communication.
Members of the executive and legislative branches of the US government are in constant communication to carry out the work of governing their country. Such communications typically take the form of meetings, negotiations and telephone calls between staff members at the two respective sites. However, effective communication goes beyond these informal contacts. It is an official message from a member of the executive to a specific legislator or committee within the legislative branch.
Most of the communication that occurs between the executive and legislative branches is not added to the official collection of proceeding transcripts, letters, and legislative bills that make up Congressional Minutes. Instead, each executive communication is assigned a reference number when the legislative branch receives it, and becomes part of the Congressional Record. Executive communications can come from the president, a member of the presidential cabinet, or the head of an independent agency.
These officials can use an executive communication to keep Congress apprised of the current operations of different agencies. These can include day-to-day details, such as grants approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) or contracts awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Officials may also use executive communications to respond to specific requests for information requested by a member of congress or a congressional committee through official channels.
The United States Constitution explicitly reserves legislation-making powers to the legislative branch alone. The executive branch may, however, suggest legislation to legislators to introduce as bills. When a member of the executive branch has such a suggestion, he usually sends it to a member of Congress via an executive communication. Such a message might contain language that is ready to be introduced into the legislative process as a bill, or a set of principles that the legislator must use in crafting one.
Another form of executive communication is one that most people are familiar with: the presidential veto. When a president vetoes a bill that Congress has passed and sent to the White House for signature, the executive branch sends the bill to Congress with a message stating the president’s objections to the bill and why he vetoed it. When Congress officially receives this veto message, it serves as an official notice that both houses of Congress must vote again. The bill must receive a two-thirds majority in each house to override the presidential veto.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
