YOUR TASK: What are these different types of bills and resolutions? What are the similarities/differences between them? Write your own definition for each type of bill/resolution. Compare it with your partner s can you both agree on a definition?
Enquiry Question: How is legislation passed?
Learning Outcomes To describe the legislative process To explain the complexities of the legislative process and the factors that can affect it, including partisanship and bipartisanship To evaluate the extent to which the filibuster is still a useful legislative tool
Watch the video: School House Rock I m Just A Bill Watch the video: Crash Course How a Bill Becomes Law
Legislative Process YOUR TASK: Read the article Legislative Process Create a Draw My Life style summary page. Ensure that your summary answers the following questions: How does a bill become law? How do members of Congress develop and draft legislation? How does the congressional budget process work? Who can introduce legislation? What are the various different stages at which bills face votes as they move through Congress? What are the two steps of the budget process? Which committee has the power to initiate funding bills?
7 Stages of the Legislative Process
First Reading must pass both houses during a congress (2 years) Same in both houses, only a formality No debate No vote Speaker assigns legislature to appropriate committee
Committee Stage Committee stage-broken into sub-committees Many bills don t get out-pigeonholed Bills with lots of support get heard-from within house, congress, interest groups etc, Committee members are specialists Witnesses called and questioned Power of amendment-can pass, amend or reject Reported out i.e. Goes to floor if vote in favour Therefore bill can be thrown out at this stage. Slow process because of witness.
Timetabling Find time for consideration whole chamber House rules committee-2:1 in favour of majority Can set time limits & rules for level of debate Therefore control what pases v powerful
Second Reading Considered by whole chamber Further amendments made In senate-tradition- everyone who wants to speak can-therefore chance of filibuster 60 senators must vote for cloturemotion to stop debate allowing determined minorities to end a bill Simple majority pass If passed said to be congressed.
Third Reading Final debate. If big amendments made after 2 nd reading-substantial debate If minor amendments and large vote in favour, 3 rd reading brieffurther vote taken
Conference Committee (optional) If big difference between bill agreed by house & senate due to amendments a conference committee called-reps from both chambers represented. If bill not approved by end of congressional term, 2 years, must start all over again.
Presidential Action 4 options 10 days to act Signed into law Can veto bill However veto can be overridden by 2/3 majority Pocket veto, takes no action at end of congress, bill dies-cannot be overturned Leave bill on desk-become law after 10 working days
Learning Outcomes To describe the legislative process To explain the complexities of the legislative process and the factors that can affect it, including partisanship and bipartisanship To evaluate the extent to which the filibuster is still a useful legislative tool
Why is the legislative process difficult? Weak Parties & Weak Leaders Due to the separation of powers and federalism, parties tend to be weak, with many factions. Party leaders also have limited power over their own party, with ineffective patronage and whipping. As a result, parties do not act as a single unit in passing legislation, making it difficult to pass laws. The rise in partisanship can help the passage of legislation through Congress, but this is of little use if the presidency is controlled by a different party or the House and Senate have split control (as in 2010 14). Here partisanship can cause high levels of gridlock, where president, House and Senate fail to agree and legislation cannot be passed.
Why is the legislative process difficult? Increased partisanship The Republican Party was criticised for excessive partisanship during the Obama presidency, with some politicians seeming to oppose any policy supported by Obama. For example, the then-house Budget Committee Chair Tom Price refused to begin committee consideration of Obama s final $4-trillion-budget proposal. Voting between parties has become more divergent than at any other period since the Second World War. In addition, the political middle has disappeared, with declines in moderate conservatives and Blue Dog Democrats, who represent a crossover between the two parties.
http://www.mamartino.com/projects/rise_of_partisanship/
Why is the legislative process difficult? We don t like change There is certain degree of negativity that is part of the obstructionist's platform. Republicans, and some moderates of both parties, are not progressive. They want things to remain the same, even when it becomes out-dated. They look at new ideas with a preconceived idea that it will fail.
Why is the legislative process difficult? Controversial Bill? Forget it! This means that controversial bills will require some negotiations to get passed. Controversial legislation typically won't pass unless it's sponsored by the majority party, and even then weak links can be found to vote against the bill. The weak party discipline in the congressional system often means members of the party have little to gain from voting along party lines, and would rather follow their own personal opinions or those of their constituents.
Why is the legislative process difficult? Political Action-less Committees The legislative process bestows power on the committee system, allowing a committee to simply table a bill. Tabling a bill/piece of legislation means that it is set aside for later consideration. Whether or not it is "dead" depends upon how many people in the legislature want it considered later, how much other legislation is under consideration - and how much pressure they can bring to bear on the committee chair(s) to bring the tabled item up for active consideration. A Committee is a group of people who individually can do nothing, but as a group decide that nothing can be done. Fred Allen American Comedian, 1894-1956
Why is the legislative process difficult? Presidential Veto The presidential veto allows the president to return legislation to Congress unsigned. Congress can only override this veto with a 2/3 majority in both houses of Congress something that is difficult to achieve, especially if the bill is considered to be partisan or controversial.
Why is the legislative process difficult? Filibuster The filibuster allows the minority in the Senate to delay or defeat (potentially) any piece legislation. Sometimes the threat of a filibuster can force a small majority to negotiate further with the minority. Over my dead body.blah blah blah Never in a million years blah blah blah..
Why is the legislative process difficult? Majority Rules If a party has a majority in both houses of Congress, then in theory they will be able to pass most of their party platform legislation (providing there is nothing too controversial). How easy it is to pass legislation is (normally) proportionate to the size of the majority. But what about divided government? Year S H 1981-1983 R D 1983-1985 R D 1985-1987 R D 1987-1989 D D 1989-1991 D D 1991-1993 D D 1993 1995 D D 1995-1997 R R 1997-1999 R R 1999-2001 R R 2001-2003 D/R R 2003 2005 R R 2005 2007 R R 2007-2009 D D 2009 2011 D D 2011-2013 D R
Why is the legislative process difficult? If I lead will you follow? In both chambers, party leaders involve themselves in the legislative process on major legislation earlier and more deeply, using special procedures to aid the passage of legislation. In the House, special rules from the Rules Committee have become powerful tools for controlling floor consideration of bills and sometimes for shaping the outcomes of votes. Often party leaders from each chamber negotiate among themselves instead of creating conference committees. Party leaders also use omnibus legislation that addresses numerous and perhaps unrelated subjects, issues, and programs to create winning coalitions. NB: In the Senate, leaders have less leverage and individual senators have retained great opportunities for influence. As a result, it is often more difficult to pass legislation in the Senate.
Why is the legislative process difficult? What the President wants the President gets. Presidents are partners with Congress in the legislative process, but all presidents are also Congress' adversaries in the struggle to control legislative outcomes. Presidents have their own legislative agenda, based in part on their party's platform and their electoral coalition. The president's task is to persuade Congress that his agenda should also be Congress' agenda. Presidential success rates for influencing congressional votes vary widely among presidents and within a president's tenure in office. Presidents are usually most successful early in their tenures and when their party has a majority in one or both houses of Congress. Regardless, in almost any year, the president will lose on many issues.
Why is the legislative process difficult? Key Points 3% of bills are vetoed by presidents 4% of vetoes overridden-often for political reasons-in divided government mostly (except carter) Very few bills put forward become law- 4-5% Why? Weak party discipline-votes not predictable Committees can kill off /fundamentally change a bill Cloture motion requirement in senate means minorities can kill bills- Senate very powerful. Intention of FF- supposed to be difficultpros & cons CLOTURE MOTION (Closure/guillotine) The only procedure by which the Senate can vote to place a time limit on consideration of a bill or other matter, and thereby overcome a filibuster. Under the cloture rule the Senate may limit consideration of a pending matter to 30 additional hours, but only by vote of three-fifths of the full Senate, normally 60 votes.
Quote of the Day The house sits, not for serious discussion, but to sanction the conclusions of its committees as rapidly as possible. It legislates in its committee rooms, not by the determination of majorities, but by the specially commissioned minorities (the committees), so that it is not far from the truth to say that congress in session is congress on public exhibition, whilst congress in its committee rooms is congress at work. Woodrow Wilson 1885 future president WWI.
Strengths of legislative process Checks and balances prevent tyranny, forcing compromise between different interests. In this sense the United States creates a pluralist democracy in which power is shared. Quality policy comes from detailed consideration of bills and filters to remove undesirable aspects. This limits the danger of a bill being poorly thought-through. Individual and state rights are protected, as Senators can insert amendments or filibuster on the basis of their equal state power and interests. Weaknesses of legislative process Inefficiency/low output results from the excessive need to compromise. Congress cannot act quickly and often fails to agree on legislation to address key needs. High levels of partisanship mean parties are unwilling to compromise, leading to more gridlock. The Constitution requires compromise for laws to be passed. Poor-quality legislation can come from too much compromise. A bill may lack coherence due to many amendments and interests. Prevalent pork-barrelling can create financially wasteful policy not based on rational decisions.
Learning Outcomes To describe the legislative process To explain the complexities of the legislative process and the factors that can affect it, including partisanship and bipartisanship To evaluate the extent to which the filibuster is still a useful legislative tool
What is a filibuster? In the Senate, unlike the House, no time limits are set on the speeches made for or against a bill. It comes from the Spanish word filibustro, which used to describe a pirate. The words has come to mean anyone acting in an irregular manner. A filibuster takes place in the Senate when a member on the minority side tries to get a bill changed or killed by talking for so long that the majority group gets fed up and concedes. In the Senate, it is against the rules for a member of the majority to end a debate in order to vote. It is generally the case that no vote can take place if any Senator still wants to speak. Strom Thurmond, who talked non-stop for over 24 hours in 1957, held the record in Congress.
Watch the video clip: History of the Filibuster
What is a filibuster? To end a filibuster, Senators can invoke what is known as a cloture (a call for a vote), where three fifths (60) must vote, or in certain circumstances two thirds of those present. This can t happen, however, until two days after the cloture has been proposed and signed by 16 senators. Even after cloture, there are still 30 more hours allowed, during which time Senators can speak for no more than an hour. In the event, this procedure is used less than one might suppose. During the presidency of George W Bush the Democrats used the filibuster to such effect that the Republicans considered changing the rules to make the process more difficult to achieve. The Democrats lost their supermajority of 60 not long before the 2010 midterms and this made their position far more difficult.
An example of a filibuster in a State Senate Wendy Davis on Abortion Rights
Famous Filibusters
Learning Outcomes To describe the legislative process To explain the complexities of the legislative process and the factors that can affect it, including partisanship and bipartisanship To evaluate the extent to which the filibuster is still a useful legislative tool
Why do only a small percentage of bills introduced into Congress become laws? (15)
Why do only a small percentage of bills introduced into Congress become laws? The reasons only a small percentage of bills introduced into Congress become laws include: the Senate and House are equal in legislative power and neither can impose its will on the other the relationship between them is likely to be particularly strained if they are under the control of different parties Congressmen and senators are resistant to centralised leadership and their support for legislation will depend on their perception of its electoral benefit to themselves there are multiple blocking points in the legislative process in each house, as well as a conference committee at the end of the process the president has the power of veto which it is difficult for Congress to override
PLENARY: How can a filibuster be used to force a vote rather than stop one? Watch video clip 1 Watch video clip 2
Homework Application Task: Why do only a small percentage of bills introduced into Congress become laws? (15) Flipped Learning Preparation Task: Functions of Congress: Oversight (Pearson p353-355) Stretch & Challenge Task Article: Why the GOP might kill off the filibuster