The Realities of Passing Legislation

The Realities The mortality rate for bills is very high. There are more steps in the process that are designed to kill a bill than to allow it to pass through Congress. This is intentional so that we can avoid dangerous or bad laws. The founding fathers wanted ‘checks’ in the process to prevent tyrannical rule. No congressman wants to be on the losing side of a bill.

From the Outside Lobbyists – People who work outside the government who work to influence action. Work can be done by either influencing congressmen directly or indirectly. President – The president has the ability to influence the outcome of bills. When the president threatens a veto, that is normally good enough to kill a bill. Bureaucracy – Government agencies can fight against bills and prevent passage. You normally need the blessings of agencies to affect how they operate.

Vetogates A procedural process where a bill can be killed. Congressmen have the ability to kill bills without actually voting against them. Sometimes it is not necessarily a good thing politically to vote against a piece of legislation. There are several ways in each house where bills can be killed.

Vetogates In the House Speaker of the House They can hold up bills and keep them from reaching committees. The House Rules Committee They act as the ‘traffic cops’ for bills. Rules Committee is ultimately responsible for sending bills to specific committees. Committee choice can kill a bill. They can also act to prevent a bill from being heard on the floor.

Vetogates In the Senate The majority party can stall or kill legislation by preventing it from being heard on the floor Filibuster – The act of debating a bill for an infinite amount of time Filibusters can be stopped with a cloture vote, which requires 3/5ths vote (60 in the current Senate) The threat of a filibuster is generally good enough to stop legislation

Vetogates In either house Pigeonholing – The act of setting aside bills in committee with no intention of considering them Mark-Up – The changing of bills in committee, normally used to include legal language Committees can add or delete parts of the bill that make it unpassable

And now we write… Vetogates are a good thing Change his mind in a well constructed paragraph. He’s a conservative talk show host, the smarter you are the more that will play into how you try to convince him. Vetogates are a good thing