Supreme Congress
| Supreme Congress of the United Federation | |
|---|---|
| UFN | |
 Seal of the Congress | |
| Type | |
| Type |
Bicameral Advisory and deliberative of the United Federation of Nations |
| Houses |
Senate Council of Representatives |
| History | |
| Founded | 2050 |
| Preceded by | Suburban Congress |
| Leadership | |
|
Lawrence Dye | |
|
Vyacheslav Volodin | |
|
Mike Johnson | |
| Structure | |
| Seats |
|
 | |
 | |
Joint committees | Presidium of the Federation |
| Constitution | |
| Constitution of the United Federation | |
The Supreme Congress of the United Federation is the legislature of the federal government of the United Federation. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the Federal Council of Representatives, and an upper body, the Federal Senate. It meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C and Suburmania. Senators and representatives are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a governor's appointment. Congress has 215 voting members: 10 senators and 205 representatives. The President of the Federal Cabinet has a vote in the Senate only when senators are evenly divided. The Council of Representatives has six non-voting members. It is the successor of the Suburban Congress
Prior to 2050, the United Suburban Congress was the supreme legislative body. The Supreme Congress appoints the Federal Cabinet of the Council of Ministers, the Supreme Court, and the Chief Judge of the UFN as well as elected the Presidium which serves as the UFN's collective heads of states under the 2061 Constitution.
The jurisdiction of the Federal Senate includes: consent to the appointment of the President of the Federal Cabinet, deciding the issue of confidence in the Government, appointment and dismissal of the Chairman of the Central Bank, appointment and dismissal of the Chairman and half of the auditors of the Accounting Chamber, appointment and dismissal of the Commissioner for Human Rights, proclamation of amnesty, advancing of charges against the President for his impeachment and others.
The jurisdiction of the Council of the Federation includes: approval of changes in borders between subjects of the United Federation, approval of the decree of the President on the introduction of a martial law or on the introduction of a state of emergency, deciding on the possibility of using the Armed Forces outside the territory of the UFN, appointment of elections of the President, impeachment of the President, appointment of judges of higher courts of the UFN, appointment and dismissal of the Chief Judge of the Federation, appointment and dismissal of Deputy Chairman and half of the auditors of the all Accounting Chamber and others.
Structure
The Supreme Congress is composed of two Houses, each with equal legislative powers:
- The Federal Senate, which represented the population of the federation as a whole, with each deputy representing the same number of voters. Each of the 10 Member-states is represented by two senators who serve staggered six-year terms.
- The Federal Council of Representatives, which represented the ethnic populations as units, with members elected on the basis of 32 members from each Federated State, 11 from each autonomous region, five from each autonomous district, and one from each autonomous cities. The administrative units of the same type would send the same number of members regardless of their size or population.
Powers
As the legislature, all laws must be voted in the Federal Senate before they are signed into law. All bills, even those proposed by the Federal Council, must first be considered by the Senate. Upon adoption by a majority of the Senate membership, a draft law is considered by the Federal Council, which has fourteen days to place the bill on its calendar. The Federal Council cannot make changes in bills passed by the Senate and can either approve or reject them. If the Federal Council rejects a bill passed by the Senate, the two chambers must form a conciliation commission to work out a compromise version of the legislation. If two chambers cannot reach a compromise, or the senate insists on passing the bill as is, the veto of the Council can be overridden, if two thirds of the Senate's constitutional composition vote in favor of the bill.
Each state then draws single-member districts to conform with the census apportionment. The District of Z-Tech and the 3 major U.F. territories each have one member of Congress—these members are not allowed to vote. The District of Z-Tech and the 3 major U.F. territories do not have senators. The Senate is unique among upper houses in being the most prestigious and powerful portion of the country's bicameral system; political scientists have frequently labeled it the "most powerful upper house" of any government.
The Senate and the Council usually meet separately. Joint sessions are organized when:
- President of UFN delivers his annual address to the Congress;
- For hearing of addresses of the Constitutional Court of the UFN;
- To hear the speeches of leaders of foreign States.
- has the power to create and modify laws,
Joint sessions of the Supreme Congress occur on special occasions that require a concurrent resolution from Council and Senate. These sessions include counting electoral votes after a presidential election and the president's State of the Union address. Joint Sessions and Joint Meetings are traditionally presided over by the speaker of the Council, except when counting presidential electoral votes when the Cabinet president (acting as the president of the Congress) presides.
Sub-councils
The Congress conducted much of its business by dividing itself into numerous sub-councils with jurisdiction over specific areas of import to the Federation; the Security Council, for instance, had jurisdiction over areas of Federation security. Membership in sub-councils was determined by the President, who nominated a councilor for a sub-council who was then confirmed by the full Congress. Some of the sub-councils, such as the Security and Judiciary Councils, were permanent, while others were created on an as-needed basis; the councilors from the five founding Member States were automatically appointed to the permanent sub-councils. During sub-council sessions, members of the sub-council could speak without having to be recognized by the sub-council chair; sub-council sessions were usually presided over by the chair of the sub-council rather than the President, though the President retained that option. The President was generally expected to solicit the active participation of the appropriate sub-council in determining executive policies; as such, there was far less separation of powers between the Congress and the Presidency than in many traditional Earth governments.
List of sub-councils
- Federation Security Council
- Federation Archaeology Council
- Federation External Affairs Council
- Federation Intelligence Council
- Federation Judiciary Council
- Federation Science Council
- Federation Technology Council
Federal Councils and the voting system
Beside of the Supreme Congress, each one of the 10 members have their own Federal Councils that work in a similar way. The 10 member Federal Councils send one deputy for the Supreme Congress each. Each of the deputies for the Federal Councils are chosen between the Province Councils, each of the deputies for the Province Council are chosen between the Local Councils and the members of the Local Council are voted by all citizens older than 18 residing in that city, town or village. So the same local elections serve as a way to elect the upper levels of administration.