Warm UP What are the jobs of the three branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial)?

Three Ring Goverment

Congress How a Bill becomes a Law

Idea: Let the Chickens Go! A member of Congress must sponsor (support) a piece of legislation President can initiate an idea, but must be sponsored by a Congress person

Types of legislation: Bill: proposed law Resolutions: Concurrent Res: not a law, procedural issues w/in HR & S Joint Res: process used for a bill/constitutional amendment

In the HR: all revenue/tax bills must start here! Hopper: bills are placed in this box It’s given a number, such as HR 135 First Reading: read title, sponsor’s name, and #

Then it’s sent to a Standing Cmte Speaker refers bill to appropriate committee Most often the committee will not consider the bill – the bill “dies” in committee Pigeonholed: the bill is forgotten about No one cares about freeing the chickens 

Discharge Petition Used to get “pigeonholed” bills out of a committee Need a majority of HR members to sign the petition – 218 If successful – sends bill directly to the floor of the HR

In the Committees If the chairman of the cmte likes a certain bill, it will be sent to subcommittee Hearings – a way to gather information from interested parties, such as interest groups, private citizens, etc If it passes through subcmte, it is then sent to the full cmte

Full Committee Bill will go through a “mark-up” session – members can make changes to bill Vote If it passes – this is known as reporting (or releasing) the bill

Rules Committee Most bills in the HR must go here, it grants a rule to each bill: Closed Rule: sets strict time limits for the amount of debate on the floor Open Rule: allows germane amendments to bill

Floor Action Calendar: each bill is given a date on the calendar according to what the Speaker & Majority Leader want

Debate on the Floor Committee of the Whole: 100/435 members can debate and amend the bill BUT cannot pass it Amendment must be germane – related to – the subject of the bill

Vote! Quorum – must have the majority (218) members present to vote If it passes, it then moves to the S

Summary (write questions) A bill to increase taxes on cigarettes goes into the . Next, it receives its first . Then, it is sent to the appropriate standing . Here, no one is interested in this bill. It is therefore .

5. To get the bill out of the committee, the sponsor of the bill begins a . 6. In order for this to work they need signatures. 7. It works! It is then sent to Cmte to be put onto the calendar. 8. From there it is sent to the of the HR for a debate and a vote. It passes and goes on to the Senate.

Warm Up Discuss a movie in which the hero struggles against all odds and finally seems to have won the day only to be faced with another major challenge. Remember all warm ups must be 3-5 sentences or bullets unless otherwise stated!

Senate Same basic procedures happen in the S Senator introduces the bill in the S

Committee It then goes to committee and subcommittee Can be tabled or pigeonholed If reported out from the committee, it goes to the floor of the S

On the S Floor Can add riders – amendments that are non-germane Christmas Tree Bill – a bill w/so many riders hanging off of it, it looks like a tree w/ornaments

Debate In the S, debate is nearly unlimited! Filibuster: talk to a bill to death A way to stall a vote Used by the minority party Threat of a filibuster often kills a bill

Cloture Rule Ends a filibuster with 60 votes Currently in the Senate: 44 Democrats 54 Republicans

Conference Committee If the Senate passes the bill w/amendments that were not seen in the HR, it must go to a conference cmte Conference cmte: consists of members of the S & HR who meet to find compromise between what was passed in the two houses Both houses must re-vote on the bill

President (checks & balances) Veto – reject the bill Returns to Congress w/ veto message Sign – becomes a law

Other Options Law w/o signing - if Congress is in session for 10 days it automatically becomes law (if not vetoed) Pocket Veto – if Congress is out of session for 10 days, automatically vetoed & can’t be overridden

No longer an option….. Line Item Veto: Declared unconstitutional, briefly gave pres. The power to delete sections of an appropriations bill – governors often have this power

Final Thoughts: Congress can override a veto w/ 2/3 majority vote Any bill not passed in one term of Congress is automatically dead

Question: Give 1 advantage and 1 disadvantage for it being so difficult to pass a law.

Summary Following that bill!!!