Congress at Work. 1,000 of bills go to Congress every session, only about 100 are made into...
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Chapter 7 Congress at Work
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Transcript of Congress at Work. 1,000 of bills go to Congress every session, only about 100 are made into...
Chapter 7Congress at Work
1,000 of bills go to Congress every session, only about 100 are made into laws. ..why do you think that is?
How are bills killed?1. Most die in committees2. No votes3. Vetoed by the President
1. Private Bills- deal with individual ppl or places. Recently only 100 of 12,000 were private. Claims against a problem or immigration.
2. Public Bills-deal with general matters and apply to the entire nation.
◦ Ex) tax cuts, national health insurance, gun control
2 types of bills
To make a policy on an unusual matter1. Simple resolution- covers matters affecting only
one house of Congress.2. Joint resolution- covers matter affecting both
houses.◦ EX) to clarify something in a bill already voted on, or
correct something. Also can be if they want to amend the const. but does not require the presidents siganture
3. Concurrent resolutions-needs both houses but a law not needed.
◦ EX) express congess’ opinoin on something.◦ http://www.gpoaccess.gov/bills/glossary.html
3 types of Resolutions
HOW DOES A BILL BECOME A LAW?!?!?!
Idea can come from a citizen, interest group or executive branch.
½ are from the exec branch Bill are drafted by LA’s and lawyers but only
a member of congress can introduce a bill.
Who can introduce a bill? CAN I?!
Step 1- Introducing
As soon as the bill is introduced, it is given a title and # and then printed and distributed to lawmakers.EX) H.R. 1 AND S.1
House◦ Congressman drops
the bill into the hopper, a box near the clerk’s desk.
Senate◦ Presiding officer
must first recognize the senator, who then formally presents the bill
Step 2-Committee Action Once a bill is sent to a committee they can
either let it “die” by not touching it, or kill it by a majority vote.
If they decide to take it on they can keep it in their committee or send it to a sub-committee.
Why do you think other senators and congressman accept what the committee says about a bill?
Step 3- Committee Hearings Committee members hear testimony from
experts on the bill. ◦ Ex) Jewel about homelessness
Committee chairs are very influential and can use this time to sway the public to like or dislike the bill.
Committee’s have begun to use skype to hear witness statements and the public is able to view any hearing online or on t.v.
Step 4-Markup Session If they like the bill they will have a mark-up
session to go through each line and decide to keep it, toss it or change it. A majority opinion for all of these is essential.
Step 5- Reporting a bill When the committee is done “marking it
up” they will vote on weather to report the bill.
In their report they list:◦ The bill◦ Their mark-ups◦ Gives their opinion on the bill
Reporting it means they send it to the House and Senate to vote on.
Do they report a bill if they vote no on it?
Step 6- Debating and Amending Bills Introduced and read again by clerk. Usually only a few lawmakers will debate it
since it has been highly debated already during ___________?
Amendments can be big changes or just typographical changes
Lawmakers can amend the bill with majority vote of members present.
****If a lawmaker wants to kill a bill it can load it up with amendments and that takes a while so it will “die”.
Step 7-Voting on the Bill Need a quorum to vote on a bill. (majority have to
be there) Bill is read for the 3rd reading and then a vote is
taken. Majority is needed to pass it. 3 ways of voting:
1. Voice Vote -“aye” or “no” @ same time (yikes)2. Standing vote, or division vote- stand up for “aye” stand
up for “no”3. Roll call vote-each member says “aye” or “no” when
their name is called in alphabetical order. House of Rep’s use a 4th method called the recorded vote
where they record on a computer and its shown. Saves time in calling out 435 names. What year do you think they came up with this?
Step 8-Conference Committee Action To make a bill a law, it must pass the exact
same way in both houses. so, if the verbiage differs they…
Send a member from the committee it was brought up in to a conference committee to iron out the details.
Once they agree on all the changes, they write a report and vote on it, it must pass a majority vote to be written.
Step 9- Presidential Action on Bills “Every Bill which shall have passed the House
of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it becomes a Law, be presented to the President of the United States”
Article 1, Sections 7 of the Consitutution
If the President signs the bill, it becomes law! If it sits on desk for 10 days and session ends,
it dies OR if it sits on his desk for 10 days and
congress is still in session is becomes a law! Usually the President signs it Why?
Ways to veto Presidential Veto- sends it back and explains
why he vetoed it. Pocket Veto- sits on his desk for 10 days Congressional Override to veto- 2/3
members of congress to override a Presidential veto. (rarely happens)
Line-item veto-takes out certain lines while keeping the rest of the bill. Ex)spending and tax items.
Step 10-Registering Laws
1. Registered with the National Archives and Records Service
2. Labeled as a public or private law and assigned a #.
1. EX) Public Law 187 under the 105th Congress is registered as PL105-187.
3. Law is added to the U.S. Code of current federal laws
