Congress at Work Chapter 7

Section 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law Objectives Explain how federal legislation is proposed, reviewed, and enacted Define the key terms

I. Types of Bills & Resolutions What is the difference between a bill and a resolution? A. Bills 1. Private - individual people/places 2. Public - apply to entire nations Ex: taxes, nat'l health care, gun control, civil rights, abortion

B. Resolutions 1. Simple - internal matters of one house of Congress 2. Joint resolution - when both houses agree on something (correct an error; appropriate $); can be signed by president to give it force of law 3. Concurrent resolution - used for matters that involve both houses; no need for president's signature

C. Riders - provisions added to a bill that have nothing to do with the bill Why would a congressman/senator do this? "Christmas tree" bill - ornaments

D. Why do so few bills become laws? 1. Process is long & complicated (100+ steps) 2. Sponsors (someone who proposes a bill) must be willing to compromise 3. Sponsors don't want it to pass Why? a. Want to go on record as supporting an issue b. Getting media attention c. Satisfy interest groups d. Call attention to a need e. Avoid criticism at reelection time

II. Introducing a Bill Process has become more complex over time A. How bills are introduced 1. Proposal - ideas for a new law 2. Introduction - only by a member of Congress In the House - drop it in the hopper In Senate - senator must formally introduce it

Numbers reset at beginning of each new session 3. Bills printed, given a number, & distributed Senate - S.1, S.2, etc House - H.R. 1, H.R. 2, etc Numbers reset at beginning of each new session

B. Committee Action Pigeonhole it Kill it Committee hearing Recommend for adoption Make changes Rewrite it Hearings - listen to expert testimony House & Senate usually agree on committee decisions.

D. Reporting a bill - sending a bill to House or Senate for vote - includes a written report about committee's findings & any changes made

III. Floor Action A. Debating & Amending bills - amendments can only be added during debate - can be used to slow down or kill the bill

Standing/division vote B. Voting on a bill 1. Must have a quorum/majority 2. Types of votes House Voice votes Standing/division vote Recorded vote Senate Voice vote Standing vote Roll-call vote

IV. Final Steps A. Conference Committee Action - if both houses don't agree on a bill, it goes to a joint committee; joint committee comes to compromise an sends the bill (conference report) for vote

B. Presidential Action Sign it Keep it for 10 days Veto it Law Line-item vet Congress in session Congress not in session Becomes law Pocket veto

C. Congressional Action - override a veto with a 2/3 majority in both houses of Congress

Section 2: Taxing and Spending bills

I. Making Decision about Taxes A. The House's Power 1. House has EXCLUSIVE rights to start all revenue(taxes) bills (Article 1, Sec. 7) WHY? 2. House Ways and Means Committee a. Decides to go along with tax cuts or increases requested by Pres. b. Sets tax rules & regulations

B. The Senate's Role in Tax Legislation 1. Cannot propose tax legislation BUT can add amendments to a House Bill 2. Senate Committee on Finance - responsible for dealing with tax matters

II. Appropriating Money Congress’ two powers over government spending 1. passing tax laws 2. appropriating money – approval for gov’t spending

A. How? 2-step process: authorization bill & appropriations bill 1. authorization bill – sets up a federal program and specifies how much $ can go to the program 2. appropriations bill – program then requests $ from Congress; Congress passes a bill allowing the treasury to give that amount to the program

B. Appropriation Committees - department agencies and program directors have to request the desired funds every year - heavily influenced by special interest groups C. Uncontrolled Expenditures - about 70% of federal budget is already committed by previous legislation - entitlements: required spending that continues yearly w/o need for hearings to approve spending: Social Security

Section 3: Influencing Congress Who and what do you think influences members of congress?

1. Voters: Constituents - voters expect representatives to vote to benefit their district - voting records used by both candidates during election time - candidates use polls, questionnaires, & town hall mtgs. to learn what constituents want

2. Political parties - party leaders sometimes pressure members to vote for the party’s position - those in a party usually have similar beliefs

3. The President - he/she could convince voters to support his/her positions on an issue and put pressure on their reps. - refuse to sign bills that reps. want unless the reps. do what he wants

4. Interest Groups - lobbyists: representatives of interest groups who try to influence members of Congress - lobbying: their efforts to persuade Congress Provide info to Congress Face-to-face mtgs. Influence voters to pressure Congress

5. Political Action Committees (PAC) - political fund-raising organizations established by corporations, labor unions, & special interest groups - raise $ & give the $ to lawmakers who support their positions ** Candidates do not control PAC’s

Section 4: Helping Constituents

I. Handling Problems Casework: helping constituents w/problems A. Many different Requests Soldier & veteran needs Issue w/gov’t agencies How much involvement do voters want in their lives?

B. Who handles casework? - staff members: caseworkers C. Purpose of Casework 1. reelection purposes 2. check & balance of executive branch – How well are federal agencies running? 3. liaison b/t average citizen & huge bureaucracy

II. Helping the District or State A House of Representative member represents a district w/in a state. A senator represents the entire state. How? By bringing $ and projects (that create jobs) back to districts & states

A. Public Works Legislation Appropriation bills for projects Pork-barrel legislation: funding pet projects through the national treasury; only benefit is to a specific district; usually receive criticism Log rolling – law makers making agreements to support each others’ bills

B. Grants & Contracts - projects funded by the federal budget