17 September 2008

America’s Federal, State and Local Governments

Podcast on powers and duties of different levels of U.S. government

(begin transcript)

Narrator:  The United States is defined as a constitutional federal republic. That means the American government is based on a Constitution that is the supreme law of the land, and that there is both a national government and 50 state-level governments, plus a government for the District of Columbia. The term republic means that the people hold power, but elect representatives to exercise that power.

The American government may seem very simple to some — Congress makes the laws and the president implements them. But much of the business of government that affects everyday citizens happens at the state and local level.

When the Constitution was written, the nation’s founders fiercely debated the necessity of a large federal government. Many advocated a confederation, where states would cooperate voluntarily. Others favored the creation of a central government. Eventually, the Constitution would reflect the views of all parties in which states rights’ were respected and a federal government established.

The United States government has several layers, ranging from the federal government at the national level, to state and local governments. The federal government exercises only those powers given to it in the Constitution, such as providing for national defense, creating money, regulating immigration and entering into treaties with foreign countries. All other powers are reserved to the state and local governments. This is an important protection of the rights and powers of the people.

In each of America’s 50 states, there is a government. Most state governments are organized like the federal government headquartered in the city of Washington, D.C.  Each state has its own constitution, describing how the state and local governments interact. In each state there is an elected head of the executive branch, called the governor, an independent judiciary and a popularly elected legislative branch.  Local governments include cities, counties, towns, school districts and special-purpose districts, which govern such matters as local natural resources or transportation networks.

Paul Ferguson:  I served for 12 years on the Board of Supervisors in Arlington County….

Narrator:  Paul Ferguson is Clerk of the Circuit Court for the County of Arlington in Virginia, located next to Washington, D.C. As an elected official, his office handles administrative matters for the court as well as important legal matters like recording deeds and issuing marriage licenses.

Ferguson:  We’re the most densely populated county in the United States; we’re only 26 square miles, and we are 200,000 people.

Narrator:  State governments are not subunits of the federal government. Each state is independent. The U.S. Constitution and federal law, however, receive priority over state laws in areas where they disagree. But this doesn’t mean that national policies always come from Washington, D.C.

Ferguson:  People should know that our system of government is such that it’s not easy to pass major legislation. Oftentimes in the United States, there’s a tradition of state and local governments that have policy initiatives that are ultimately adopted by the federal government.

Narrator:  American history is filled with examples of states asserting their independence. Time and again, states have disagreed with the federal government and with each other. Each state has its own traditions. Depending on where you are in America, opinions of the federal government can change.

Ferguson:  People have come here from all over the country to do something in government. That’s our traditions. So because of our proximity to the federal government, people believe in government. The tradition is one of making the proper investments, schools, and we’ve done a lot of great development, transit-oriented development or smart growth.

Narrator:  State constitutions can be very detailed and specific. One reason is that they are more readily amended than the U.S. Constitution. In most states, approval by a majority of voters in a statewide election is all that is required to change the state constitution. Another reason is that states, in contrast to the federal government, are largely free to exercise any power not prohibited to them. In order to effectively restrict state government powers, the restrictions must be spelled out in the state's constitution.

Ferguson:  It’s not something that is a core function of local government to try to influence federal policy. Local government’s primary responsibility is the health, safety and welfare of the public.

Narrator:  Local governments in America are responsible for the basic services that impact citizens’ lives every day. And although many local policy initiatives can influence federal policy, the vast majority of elected officials in America serve at the local level. There are more than 500,000 elected officials in the United States. Of these, fewer than 8,500 are at the national and state level. The rest are local government officials — city council members, school board members, mayors, sheriffs and an array of other individuals who serve in various capacities. Local citizens who want to see something changed in their community often run for elected office. 

Ferguson:  There’s many other ways to participate. We have citizen advisory commissions for just about every issue you could think of in Arlington County. So if you’re interested in an issue like transportation, you could apply for membership on the transportation commission and be appointed by the elected leaders to advise them on those policy issues. You can be involved through the chamber of commerce, and the chamber of commerce then meets with the elected leaders to give the business perspective.

Narrator:  Cities, towns and villages also have their own governments. The term used to describe these local governments is municipality. They range in size from small towns with fewer than 100 residents to large metropolises such as New York City.  Municipal governments provide for public safety, maintain streets and parks, and remove trash. Many cities also own or regulate public utilities such as water, electric power and telecommunications lines. Cities and towns are governed by elected officials, usually including a mayor, who is the head of the local government, and a city council who makes decisions and sets policy.

Ferguson:  The most important things are making sure that we have a properly funded police and fire department, that you have an education system that works — education is one of the primary responsibilities and having a strong school system draws people to your locality.

Narrator:  So how do the many layers of government interact with each other? The federal government works with the states on many programs that are created and funded at the national level, and implemented by state and local governments. Influence flows in both directions. And depending on the issue, that influence can be very significant. Environmental issues, for example, have grown in importance for many citizens. Local demand for action on issues like climate change has led much of the discussion on environmental policies we see today.

Ferguson:  You don’t read about us, you don’t see us in the paper, but if you look at web sites like the International Cities for local Environmental Initiatives (www.iclei.org) you will see the localities all across the United States that are saying to the federal government you must do something about global warming, you must put a price on carbon.

Narrator:  Local action on environmental issues, especially climate change, is one example where cities and towns are influencing the national debate. Joan Kelsch is an environmental planner with the county of Arlington, Virginia.

Joan Kelsch:  It was interesting in the last year or year-and-a-half since Arlington started our climate program, we’ve had a couple interactions with folks in Congress. They’ve asked us to come to show that local governments  are working on these issues, and I provided testimony in Congress again on what we’re doing mostly on green buildings to try to push this forward at the local level.

Narrator:  Joan plans, organizes and manages the programs that directly affect citizens’ lives in Arlington. Many of the projects that Joan and thousands of others like her across America start in cities and small towns often provide the inspiration for federal programs. The experience of Arlington with citizen involvement in environmental planning is a powerful example of how citizen participation can change a community.

Kelsch:  Our climate change program rolled out at the beginning of 2007 and it had two basic components to get government operations under control. Try to reduce energy use in our buildings, to reduce fuel usage in our vehicle fleet, to improve our recycling programs in our own publicly-owned facilities, so that’s one component. And the other was for the community, both residents as well as businesses to get them to do more energy efficient, water efficient, recycling…

On the climate side, we didn’t really know what we were getting into when we started this. We thought it would kind of be a niche project and sort of fun and as soon as we started it the floodgates opened and we had more people interested in this than we could deal with. People would line up at the doors to get their free light bulb for example. That kind of rapid response to the things that we hadn’t anticipated — that kind of thing happens all the time for us.

Ferguson:  Once we said we are going to have an initiative to reduce our own emissions here in Arlington County and set examples, the ideas starting flooding in from our public and we got a tremendous response from people saying this is something we want to do our part with.

Narrator:  Effective local governments reach out to all community participants. In Arlington, the environmental planning office partners with local businesses to educate citizens on sustainable building technologies through workshops and demonstrations. The government programs are designed on purpose to take advantage of the information that citizens can provide.

Kelsch:  People call us with questions all the time. The county board has an appointed environmental commission and its 12 or 13 environmentally-minded citizens who meet once a month — and I staff that group — and they provide specific advice to the county board on environmental issues in the county.

Narrator:  For some, it may be difficult to imagine how local citizens can make a difference on the larger issues that a country faces.  In America, energy and environmental issues are among the top concerns of everyday people. Local governments like Arlington, each express their own views.

Ferguson:  We are hopeful in both the state and local areas of government that the federal government will come up with a policy, either a cap-and-trade or a carbon tax, which would create a financial incentive to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that’s released in the air.

Narrator:  With so many voices in the political process, it’s difficult to predict what shape legislation will take on any issue. But as the policy debates continue in the nation’s capital on energy, climate change and other issues, the business of local government continues to impact everyday lives across America.

Kelsch:  You know, we’re local government; things happen here that we are in people’s backyards all the time and they don’t hesitate to call us and tell us what they think.

Narrator:  This podcast is produced by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs. Links to other Internet sites or opinions expressed should not be considered an endorsement of other content and views.

(end transcript)