Answer to Question 1
An ideal response will:
1, Explain that budgets are created by an interaction of Congress and the president, but there are other important actors.
2, Discuss that the most significant of these is the Congressional Budget Office, created in 1974, to strengthen the role of Congress in the budget process, which changes how the budget is crafted, especially through long-term budget outlooks and fiscal impact statements.
3, Explain how the Office of Management and Budget and the Council of Economic Advisors aid the president in the budget process by providing information and advice.
4, Provide a clear and concise conclusion.
Answer to Question 2
An ideal response would be:
The first state constitutions were outgrowths of colonial charters. Massachusetts and New Hampshire can boast of charters still in effect that are older than the federal Constitution. Virginia added a bill of rights to its constitution in 177613 years before the national one was proposed by Congress. In 1787, the Framers of the U.S. Constitution drew heavily on their experience with these state charters.
Subject only to the broad limitations of the U.S. Constitution, the people of each state are free to create whatever kind of republican government they wish. All state constitutions are similar in general outline. A state constitution typically consists of a preamble, a bill of rights, articles providing for the separation of powers, a two-house legislature (Nebraska only has one), an executive branch, and an independent judiciary with the power of judicial review. It will also have a description of the form and powers of local units of government, an article on how to amend the constitution, and miscellaneous provisions dealing with election procedures, corporations, railroads, finances, education, and other specific topics.