How a Bill becomes a Law TB 182-194 4.6
Key Terms Bill Rider Engrossed Pocket Veto Joint Resolution Concurrent Resolution Pigeonholed Filibuster Omnibus Measure Discharge Petition Cloture Resolution Quorum Veto
The First Steps Step 1 Most bills introduced in do not start with members of the Legislative Branch The most important bills are born in the Executive Branch The first step is the circulation of a letter informing about the creation of a bill The letter provides the reason why it should be a law and will ask for cosponsors
The First Steps Step 2 To make it official, the first edition of the bill is placed in the hopper which is located on the side of the podium of the House of Representatives
Types of Bills Proposed PUBLIC Measures applying to the nation as a whole like tax measures PRIVATE Measures that apply to certain persons or places rather than to the entire nation
What s a Resolution? Simple resolutions are used to express nonbinding positions They deal with the internal affair They do not require action from the other house.
What s a Resolution? JOINT RESOLUTION Similar to bills Have the force of law Usually deal with unusual or temporary issues CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Matters in which the House and Senate must both deal with Used to state a position on a issue Both houses must agree
The First Steps Step 3 Bills are given a number like H.R. 827 or S 4474 A short title and quick summary is provided The Bill is then placed into the Congressional Record Step 4
Congressional Record Step 5 Adjustments can be made up to five days Information that was not presented can be placed in the record This is considered the first reading The speaker then assigns the bill to one or multiple standing committees Step 6
Bill in Committee Step 7 The Speaker of the House has the power to place a bill into the committee he chooses The fate of the bill lies in the choice of committee and the political make-up of the committee Thousands of bill never make it out of committee
Congressional Committees
Pigeonholed Term referring to bill that dies in committee Most by request bill receive this fate A discharge petition can force a bill to be rescued and voted upon immediately (rarely works)
The Subcommittee The Committee chair will place the bill into one of the subcommittee Subcommittees will hold public hearings calling on experts from all sides of the argument Step 8
The Subcommittee Step 9 The subcommittee chairman reports back the full committee and may recommend one of the following: 1. Do Pass -Bill will be steered to the House floor 2. Refuse to report (Pigeonholed) 3. Report with amended form-adjustments are made 4. Unfavorable recommendation-full house has chance to consider the bill 5. Report a committee bill-almost completely rewritten bill
Place on the Calendar Step 10 1. Union Calendar: revenue, appropriations, etc. 2. House Calendar: All other public bills 3. Private Calendar: Private bills 4. Corrections Calendar: Bills taken out of order with unanimous consent 5. Discharge Calendar: Discharge bills from committee
Rules Committee The Rules Committee must decide on the rules of debate Time limit for overall discussion and individual debate is the most important topic Step 11
The Floor of the House Once on the flood the bill receives it s 2 nd reading When all members of the House are present it is referred to as the Committee of the Whole A quorum (218) is required to do business Step 13 Step 12
Debate Step 14 No member is permitted to hold the floor for more than an hour unless given unanimous consent The Majority/Minority Leaders determine how time will be split A vote is called for after debate
House Voting Step 15 1. Voice Vote 2. Standing Vote 3. Roll Call Vote
Final Steps The bill is printed out in the form that it was voted and approved on. It is given it s 3 rd and final reading in the House of Representatives The bill is then delivered to the Senate to repeat the process Step 16
Filibuster
Actual Filibuster
Presidential Actions The President has 4 choices when a bill arrives on his desk: 1. Sign it (It s now a law) 2. Veto-Will not sign, can be overridden by 2/3 vote 3. Not sign it and it becomes law in 10 days 4. Pocket Veto-not sign it and let the session run out
Other parts of the process Riders: provisions not likely to pass without the help They can permit the sweetening which is unrelated projects to ensure the passing of a Bill This is also known as pork barrel politics, or political pork
Other parts of the process The opposite of pork is a poison pill A Poison pill can force a Bill to be defeated, tabled, or set back to Committee If a Bill makes it through all of these steps, a vote is called. First by voice and then by a roll call because all decisions are public knowledge
Other parts of the process A lobbyist is a person that attempts to influence elected officials to propose, enact, or defeat legislation Lobbyists will spend millions of dollars to educate and influence officials Lobbyists are both good and bad. They are good because they are able to provide detailed information on a specific subject, but bad because of the influence they hold
What s a Lobbyist?
Interest Groups