The United States government consists of three branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. These branches were created to be equal with overlapping powers and mutual control. The branches of government were designed to work well together and being equal would allow decisions to be made that are in the best interest of the people. Each branch is essential to the proper functioning of the federal government. In many ways, the legislative branch appears to have more power than the executive and judicial branches. The framers of the Constitution wanted the legislature to have more power, which is what the United States government has today. The framers also granted the legislature certain powers to give it more authority. The three main powers that allow the legislative branch to have this authority are the ability to appropriate funds, declare war, and create laws. The power to appropriate funds is crucial to the U.S. government because it enables the flow of funds allowing the government to operate. . Congress's ability to fund government functions covers everything from entitlements such as: Social Security, Medicaid, to the management of the nation's national parks, the Postal Service, and the work of all federal agencies and the army. Without the legislative branch's ability to raise revenue and appropriate funds, nothing would work. Congress's constitutional power to fund the government also gives Congress a weapon that the executive and judicial branches lack. For example, the president may wish to regulate a certain area such as offshore oil drilling. After the BP disaster in the Gulf, the president could have established very onerous regulations on...... middle of paper ......the powers of Congress which place primary importance on the executive and legislative branches are the ability to appropriate funds, declare war, and create laws. The ability to appropriate funds is vested in the Legislature because it is the branch that controls all federal projects and establishes the rules and regulations for how those projects are carried out. The ability to declare war is vested in the legislative branch because Congress is in charge of foreign affairs and national security; they can therefore declare war in the event of a violation of national security. The essential capacity of the legislative branch is to create laws. This power is so important because it allows the government to create order and exercise freedoms in society and within government. The legislature is the most powerful power and hopefully it will remain so in the future..