United States Government Chapter 7: Congress at Work

Section 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law

Section 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law Types of Bills Two types: Private Individual people or places Ex. Claims against government or person’s immigration problem (Black Farmers) Public General matters and apply to the entire nation Controversial because the touch many people Ex. tax cuts, health care, civil rights

Section 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law Types of Resolutions Make policy on unusual or temporary matters Three kinds Simple: matters affecting only 1 house of Congress and is passed by that house alone Joint: passed in same form by both houses force of law when signed by president Constitutional amendment are joint resolutions Concurrent: actions of both houses, but law not needed Ex. adjourning Congress

Section 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law Rider Attached to a bill likely to pass Provision on a subject other than the one covered in the bill Can cause a president to veto a bill A bill with a lot of riders is called a “Christmas Tree” bill

Section 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law Earmarks aka Pork Barrel Projects Way that members of Congress specify that some part of a funding bill will go toward a certain purpose Pet projects that appeal to constituents

Section 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law Why so few bills become law Fewer than 10% become laws Bill creation long and complicated There can be more than 100 steps Lots of room for opponents to kill it Sponsors must be willing to compromise Introduced as a symbolic gesture Show support for a policy, attract media attention, satisfy a group of supporters

Section 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law Introduced Ideas from citizens, interest groups, executive branch Drafted by legislators, their staffs, lawyers for Senate/House committee, interest groups House: drops bill in hopper near clerk’s desk Senate: formal presentation after recognition A bill is given a Title and number (H.R. 1), printed, and distributed. This is called the 1st reading.

Section 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law Committee Action Bills sent to committee that deals with their subject Chairs send bill to sub-committee They have several options: Reject (ignore or “die” or “pigeonhole”) Kill (majority vote) Rewrite Amend Recommend for adoption as is

Section 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law Committee Hearing When decision to act is made, they hold a hearing Listen to testimony from experts on the bill’s subject Gather information Can be used to influence public opinion for or against bill Focus public attention on issue Outside groups influence bill

Section 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law Committee Hearings Use of internet Interactive hearings using expert witnesses Broadcast hearings, give chance for email questions Report status of bill on individual web pages Make info available in second language

Section 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law Markup Session After hearings Go section by section through bill Decide on what changes, if any, to make Majority vote of committee required to change

Section 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law Reporting a bill After changes committee votes to kill or report bill Send to House or Senate for action Sent with a committee report to explain actions, describe bill, list major changes and give opinions Recommendations: pass or unfavorable (why?)

Section 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law Floor Action Debate/Amend Amendments added to bill (unless closed) 2nd reading Types of Amendments Major changes Correct typographical errors Slow bill’s progress Kill bill

Section 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law Floor Action Voting on bill Quorum: majority of members present 3rd reading Vote Voice “aye” or “no” Standing or division to count “ayes” or “nos” Roll call: alphabetical order Electronic (1973) – save time counting 435 votes

Section 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law Final steps Bill must pass both houses in identical forms Conference committee Conference report must be accepted by a majority and a majority of both houses must approve

Section 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law Final steps Presidential action Sign to become law Keep bill for 10 days without signing, if Congress in session it becomes law Veto Pocket veto (last 10 days of session)

Section 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law Congressional override of veto 2/3 vote in each house = law Line Item Veto Reject specific lines of a bill while accepting the rest This was ruled unconstitutional in Clinton v. City of New York

Section 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law Registering Law Bill becomes law and registered with National Archives and Records Service Labeled private or public Numbered (Ex. PL105-187) http://www.archives.gov/ Tracking Legislation on the Internet THOMAS http://thomas.loc.gov/ Congressional Quarterly www.cq.com Roll Call http://www.rollcall.com/

Section 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law

Section 2: Taxing and Spending Bills

Section 2: Taxing and Spending Bills Making Decisions About Taxes Most of government revenue is from taxes Revenue-income from taxes Taxes-money that people and businesses pay to support the government

Section 2: Taxing and Spending Bills House of Representatives and Revenue Bills Has exclusive power to start all revenue bills Almost all work on tax law occurs in the Ways and Means Committee Decides whether to go along with presidential requests for tax cuts or increases Makes rules for who will pay how much tax e.g. - Influences tax deductions for parents or benefits for businesses

Section 2: Taxing and Spending Bills House of Representatives and Revenue Bills Tax bill used to be debated under closed rule Forbids amendments to bill from the floor Only members of Ways and Means had direct hand in writing bill 1973: amendments from floor allowed

Section 2: Taxing and Spending Bills Senate and Revenue Bills All tax bills must start in the House No closed rule Amendments allowed Perception of more special interest influence Committee on Finance deals with tax matters

Section 2: Taxing and Spending Bills Appropriating Money Appropriation-approval of government spending belongs to Congress Congress must pass laws to appropriate money Approve spending before departments and agencies of executive branch can spend money

Section 2: Taxing and Spending Bills How Congress Appropriates Money Two-step procedure Authorization Bill: sets up federal program and specifies how much money can be appropriated Ex. bill to build recreational facility in inner cities; limit of $30 million can be spent per year; administered by Dept. of Housing and Urban Affairs (HUD) Appropriation Bill: when request is made to receive money that was authorized to run federal program Ex. HUD requests money that has been authorized for rec facilities

Section 2: Taxing and Spending Bills How Congress Appropriates Money Each year president presents budget to Congress Congressional Budget Office Appropriations committee creates own appropriations bills May only partially award grant of money Ex. Only $15 million award for rec facilities. HUD will have to ask for more money next year

Section 2: Taxing and Spending Bills

Section 2: Taxing and Spending Bills The Appropriations Committee House and Senate have committees 12 subcommittees Department heads and program directors answer questions about their budgets in hearings Explain why they need money Return yearly to request money Federal program familiarity Relationships and favor to certain agencies Special-interest influence

Section 2: Taxing and Spending Bills Uncontrollable Expenditures Appropriations committees do not have voice in all current spending Earlier laws dictate certain spending Ex. Medicare, Social Security Entitlements: social programs that entitle individuals to a certain program or monetary benefit

Section 3: Influencing Congress

Section 3: Influencing Congress Influences on Lawmakers Temperament: risk taker or safe The nature of the issue – Does it matter at home? Congressional staffers – they control the information hat gets to the member, control his/her calendar Constituents and their opinions Party Opinion Presidential Agenda Special Interest Groups

Section 3: Influencing Congress Influences of Voters What Voters Expect Lawmakers are heavily influenced by the needs and opinions of their constituents Needs of the district vs. needs of the nation Voters say they want their elected officials to listen to their votes, but few bother to find out how they actually voted. The way a member votes on issues will be brought back up during an election, allowing voters to judge their record (good or bad)

Section 3: Influencing Congress Influences of Voters Legislators know what the ‘folks back home” want by: making trips back to their district Dozens of visits per year, asking questions reading letters sent by constituents Emails are easy, but personal letters get the most attention reading reports written by staff members in the district offices keeping up with local media Surveys and Polls They use media polls or make their own Key Supporters The people who donate, volunteer, and are guaranteed supporters

Section 3: Influencing Congress Influences of Parties Party Voting Members of Congress generally support their party’s position on major issues. They may disagree if their constituents feel differently. This is above 80% of votes now House members tend to be more loyal to the party platform than Senators.

Section 3: Influencing Congress Influences of Parties Importance of Parties This makes sense because legislators join one party or another based on the core beliefs of the party; the parties tend to attract people who hold the same general ideas about issues. On some issues, the leadership will allow members to “vote their conscience”, but will push them to tow the party line in other instances. This is the whip’s job.

Section 3: Influencing Congress Other Influences Influence of the President All presidents try and influence Congress, but some do more than others The president can use his “bully pulpit” to influence the media and public opinion in order to influence Congress The president can give or withhold political favors in order to persuade lawmakers to support the laws they want to see passed.

Section 3: Influencing Congress Other Influences Influence of Interest Groups Lobbyists are a critical part of the legislative process They influence, or lobby, lawmakers on behalf of their employers Interest groups and their lobbyists represent groups such as labor unions (AFL-CIO) business groups (chambers of commerce) education groups (National Council for the Social Studies, NEA) environmental groups (PETA, Greenpeace) minority groups (Arab-American League, NAACP, NOW)

Section 3: Influencing Congress Other Influences Influence of Political Action Committees (PAC) Interest groups raise money through their members’ donations as well as contributions from Political Action Committees (PACs), which are fundraising groups. PACs must make the name of donors public and there is an individual limit to how much can be donated. After the 2010 Citizen’s United vs. FEC, Super PACs were created. These can accept unlimited contributions and can spend unlimited amounts of money and their donors are secret They are not allowed to give money or coordinate with a candidate or politician directly.

Section 3: Influencing Congress

Section 4: Helping Constituents

Section 4: Helping Constituents Handling Problems Many different requests House and Senate members focus on dealing with their constituents’ problems with government. This is called casework. This includes things like: Handling requests from members of the armed forces who live in the district Setting up meetings between business people and federal officials regulating them Helping individuals file complaints and get corrections from federal agencies Helping constituents find jobs in the government Helping get more government services People want small government until they want government help.

Section 4: Helping Constituents Handling Problems Who Handles Casework? Caseworkers on Congresspersons’ staffs assist them with constituents’ requests for help. They only get the member involved when they hit a roadblock Purpose of Casework Casework is very important because it: helps the legislator get reelected Draws attention to problems that need congressional attention Helps the average citizen deal with problems they have with the government.

Section 4: Helping Constituents Helping the District or State Public Works Legislation Legislators want to bring federal projects and money to their districts and states (AKA pork barrel legislation) This includes things like post offices, dams, military bases, harbors and river improvements, federally funded highways, veteran’s hospitals, pollution-treatment centers, and mass-transit projects. These projects bring funds and jobs and help win votes for the House or Senate member. The “scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” method is very common in both houses. This is called logrolling.

Section 4: Helping Constituents

Section 4: Helping Constituents Helping the District or State Winning Grants and Contracts Federal grants and contracts make a huge difference in the amount of money coming in to a state. Lawmakers fight to ensure their district gets their fair share. E.G. Oak Ridge National Labs has Lamar Alexander, Bob Corker, and Rep. Fleischman fight to get it contracts for government projects.

Section 4: Helping Constituents Helping the District or State Behind the Scenes Congress cannot control Executive Dept. contracts and grants like they can Congressional spending Lawmakers use their relationship with officials to encourage favorable hearings and negotiations They encourage and help constituents lobby officials in charge of programs. They hire and train staff to assist constituents in writing grant proposals.