Chapters 5 & 7: Congress How a Bill Becomes a Law

Origination Who can originate a bill? ANYONE Sponsorship Who can sponsor a bill? A MEMBER OF CONGRESS Introduction Who can introduce a bill in the House of Representatives and the Senate? HOUSE: Reading clerk of the House SENATE: Senator _____________________________________________________

Write down the steps taken during the introduction phase in the House of Representatives: Bill placed in hopper HR reading clerk reads bill and assigns number Bill referred to appropriate committee(s) Bill sent to GPO (Government Printing Office) Write down the steps taken during the introduction phase in the Senate: Senator introduces and reads bill Senate clerk assigns number Bill is referred to the appropriate committee(s) Bill is sent to the GPO

Committee Action Write down the ACTIONS taken while the bill is in COMMITTEE for both the House of Representatives and the Senate: Bill assigned to appropriate subcommittees Bill is pigeon-holed or worked on Information gathering: research Committees hold hearings Mark-up session Committee reports out

House Rules Committee Write down the functions of the House Rules Committee: 1) Schedule bill for floor debate (House has 4 calendars) 2) Apply rules/conditions for floor debate Under what conditions can a bill be sent to the floor of the House of Representatives? (Write down the three main types of rules that can be applied to a bill) OPEN RULES: Amendments can be made to any part of the bill CLOSED RULES: Amendments cannot be made to any part of the bill. Bill must be debated on its merits. RESTRICTIVE RULES: Certain portions of the bill can be amended

How does a bill move out of committee and to the Senate floor? UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT

Floor Action Write down the actions taken and conditions when a bill is being debated in the House of Representatives: STRICT TIME LIMITS ON DEBATE TIME Write down the steps taken and conditions when a bill is being debated in the Senate. Be sure to include those actions that can ONLY be done by the Senate: NO TIME LIMITS on debate FILIBUSTERS are possible RIDERS can be attached to bill

FILIBUSTERS can only be done in the Senate. What are the purposes of a filibuster and how can a filibuster be ended? To defeat the passage of the bill As a delaying tactic To hold up a confirmation

Conference Committee What is the function of the Conference Committee? To resolve any conflicts in the different versions of the HR and Senate bill What is the name given to the bill once it has gone through the conference committee? Enrollment or Enrolled Act Where does this new version of the bill travel to next? Back to the HR and the Senate to be voted on

Presidential Action Name and briefly describe the four options that the President has in consideration of the bill: SIGN BILL: Becomes law (President has 10 days to decide) VETO BILL: Must be returned to Congress with reasons for veto POCKET VETO: President can do this if Congress is going to adjourn before the 10 days are up DO NOTHING: Bill automatically becomes law after the 10 days has expired.