American Government and Organization PS Monday, 22 September

Committee System Standing Committee (exist from one Congress to the next) Fixed jurisdiction and stable membership =specialization Bills are assigned to committees on the basis of subject matter Committee’s jurisdiction usually parallel those of the major departments or agencies in the executive branch. Each committee is unique Each committee’s hierarchy is based on seniority

Types of Committees Link to House website House websiteHouse website

The Legislative Process A bill is introduced by a member (only a member). Although bills are introduced only by members, anyone may draft them. Executive agencies and lobby groups often prepare bills for introduction to friendly legislators. The Speaker assigns the bill to a committee (In the House). In the Senate, the majority leader assigns the bill to the appropriate standing committee Committee jurisdictions are largely fixed; All bills dealing with a given substantive area are automatically sent to that committee

Assignment to Committee After a bill is introduced, it is assigned a number and referred to a committee. Once a bill has been referred to a committee, the most common thing that happens next is NOTHING. Most bills die of neglect. If a committee decides on further action, the bill may be taken up directly by the full committee, but more commonly it is referred to the appropriate subcommittee.

Committees In committee, the bill goes to a subcommittee (here the real work begins) The subcommittee decides whether to consider the bill If so, hearings are held. In a hearing, typically members of the executive branch and members of interest groups are invited to testify, though individuals can also testify

The Purpose of Hearings Members of Congress (MCs) learn factual information about legislation; research is presented, experts testify research is presented, experts testify MCs learn political information about bills What interest groups support or oppose it? What interest groups support or oppose it? How strong are the pro and con sides? How strong are the pro and con sides? What compromises are possible? What compromises are possible? The arguments may be well known rehashes, the real information is who is on what side, etc. The arguments may be well known rehashes, the real information is who is on what side, etc.

The Purpose of Hearings Congress listens Often a fair hearing is sufficient Lobbyists can show their bosses that they tried Hearings outside of Washington may be for the sole purpose of campaigning Let the locals and journalists see their congressman Hearings don’t have to be for legislation; they can be oversight of the bureaucracy They can be to gather information for possible future legislation They can be to get attention to an idea that has not yet won majority support

Reporting a Bill If the subcommittee decides to act on a bill, it marks it up – drafts it line by line – and reports it to the full committee. The full committee then accepts, rejects, or amends the bill (usually in deference to the subcommittee). If accepted, it is reported out of committee. The written report that accompanies it is the most important source of information on legislation for members of Congress not on the committee as well as other people interested in the legislation. These reports summarize the bill’s purposes, major provisions, and changes from existing law.

Scheduling In the Senate, when a committee votes out a bill, it goes directly onto the calendar, which specifies when the bill will be heard on the floor In the House, the bill goes directly to the Rules Committee

Rules Committee Control over procedure is control over policy. If you control the parliamentary procedure, you can often influence the outcome It gets a "rule" for debate in the House floor these rules specify how much time can be spent debating the bill and how many amendments can be added to the bill, amendments to what sections, in what order, ect.. This is a very political process What amendments, how long is debate, the order of motions, amendments, etc. Rules rarely stampedes large blocs of members (more subtle twists are more common). In the bad old days when Rules was independent of party leadership (pre-1961), the Rules Comm. regularly killed bills by refusing to grant them rules (esp. Civil Rights) Rules is now an arm of the leadership

Voting on Legislation Scheduling House calendar--all major public measures House calendar--all major public measures Consent calendar (noncontroversial bills) Consent calendar (noncontroversial bills) Private calendar (immigration requests or claims against the gov) Private calendar (immigration requests or claims against the gov) Rules for Debate If there is an open rule, opponents may try to load down a bill with so many objectionable amendments that it will sink of its own weight. If there is an open rule, opponents may try to load down a bill with so many objectionable amendments that it will sink of its own weight. The rules committee may also give the bill a "non-germane" open rule, meaning that irrelevant amendments can be added to the bill, which would practically kill the bill The rules committee may also give the bill a "non-germane" open rule, meaning that irrelevant amendments can be added to the bill, which would practically kill the bill the reverse strategy is to propose "sweetner" amendments that attract members' support the reverse strategy is to propose "sweetner" amendments that attract members' support Debate and Vote upon on the floor, with amendments, ect.

Scheduling Debate (Senate) The Senate does not have a Rules Committee. Thus, the leaders of both parties routinely negotiate unanimous consent agreements (UCA’s) to arrange for the orderly consideration of legislation. UCA’s are similar to rules in that they limit time for debate, determine which amendments are allowable, and provide waivers of Senate rules. In the absence of a UCA, anything goes.

Process in the Senate Compared to the larger House which needs and adheres to well-defined rules, the Senate operates more informally In the Senate, filibusters (extended debates) are common, which members can effectively engage in to kill a bill Filibusters can be stopped by cloture which requires 60 votes (3/5ths called an extraordinary majority)

Conference Committee If passed it goes to the other house it may start over. More often, parallel bills have been working through The parallel bills go to conference committee. This is an ad-hoc committee which is solely created to resolve the differences concerning a specific bill Equal numbers of each; in proportion to party. They debate and may vote out a compromise bill If passed, the bill goes to both houses for a vote

The President He may sign it or veto it Holding it for 10 days while congress is in session is the same as signing Holding it for 10 days during which congress adjourns is a "pocket veto", which cannot be overridden to override a veto, 2/3's of both houses is required

The Process Reviewed