1. The Legislative Branch Chapter 4 Section 6 Congress at Work – Making Laws

2. The Legislative Branch Objectives: * Explain the first steps in the introduction of a bill to the House. * Describe what happens to a bill once it is referred to a committee. * Explain how House leaders schedule debate on a bill. * Explain what happens to a bill on the House floor, and identify the final step in the passage of a bill in the House. * Describe how a bill is introduced in the Senate. * Compare the Senate’s rules for debate with those in the House.

3. The Legislative Branch The First Steps A bill is a proposed law presented to the House of Representatives or Senate for consideration. Most of the bills introduced in either house do not originate with members themselves. Many of the important bills are born somewhere in the executive branch. Business, labor, agriculture, other special interest groups or even private citizens often draft measures because they think there should be a law.

4. The Legislative Branch Bills for raising revenue must originate in the House of Representatives. Thousands of resolutions and measures are introduced each year. Public Bills are measures applying to the nation as a whole – i.e. tax measures. Joint Resolutions are similar to bills and when passed have the force of law. – i.e. presidential inauguration ceremonies. Concurrent Resolutions deal with matters in which the House of Senate must act jointly i.e. foreign affairs. – When passed, they do not have the force of laws and do not require a President’s signature.

5. The Legislative Branch Resolutions are often called “simple resolutions” – They usually deal with matters concerning either house alone and are taken up only by that body. – Sometimes a rider –a provision is attached to a resolution and usually deals with an unrelated matter.

6. The Legislative Branch Introduction and First Reading – Clerk of the House numbers each bill as it is introduced. (H.R. 3410) – It means that 3,410 other measures have been introduced this session. – Bills originating in the Senate are Letter “S”. – The Clerk gives each bill a short title and a brief summary of its principal contents. – The bill is entered into the House Journal. – The minutes of this bill are in the House Journal as it travels down the road to becoming a law, if it becomes a law.

7. The Legislative Branch – The bill receives its first reading and it is printed immediately after introduction and distributed to all members of the House. – Each bill that passes through the House is given three readings along the legislative route. – After the first reading, the Speaker refers it to a committee for study.

8. The Legislative Branch

9. T The Bill in Committee Standing Committees play an essential role in the lawmaking process. These committees are sieves – they sift through all of the many bills referred to them. They reject most of the bills that they receive to study. The fate of most bills is decided in committee. Most of the bills introduced in each session of Congress are pigeonholed – they are buried and die in committee.

10. The Legislative Branch Discharge Petition enables members to force a bill that has remained in committee 30 days onto the floor for consideration. Subcommittees are the ones who really do the actual work of studying the bill and trying to figure out if this bill deserves to heard on the floor of the House. When a subcommittee has completed its work on a bill, the measure goes to the full committee. – At the chairman’s direction, that body may do one of several things. It may Report the bill favorably with a “do pass” recommendation. Refuse to report the bill – that is pigeonhole it. Report the bill in amended form. Report the bill with an unfavorable recommendation. Report a committee bill. The panel produces a substantially rewritten measure as a substitute for one or several of the bills referred to it.

11. The Legislative Branch Scheduling Floor Debate Before a bill goes to the floor for consideration, a bill reported by a standing committee is placed on one of several calendars in the House. A calendar is a schedule of the order in which bills are taken up on the floor. The Calendar of the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, is for all bills having to do with revenues, appropriations, or government property. The House Calendar is for all bills from the Union or House Calendar taken out of order by unanimous consent of the House of Representatives. The Discharge Calendar is for minor bills that have no opposition.

12. Each of the calendars have a regular schedule to be considered on the floor of the House. Bills from the Corrections Calendar are supposed to be considered on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. Measures relating to the District of Columbia can be taken up on the second and fourth Mondays of the month. Private Bills are on the first and third Tuesdays of the month.,

13. The Legislative Branch “Calendar Wednesdays” the various committee chairmen may each call up one bill to be considered. All bills must be granted a rule before it can be heard on the floor and debated. A rule means that the Rules Committee has approved that step and set a time for its appearance on the floor. If a bill does not get a rule, it is basically dead in the water.

14. The Legislative Branch The Bill on the House Floor If a bill reaches the floor, it receives its second reading in the House. The important bills are then moved to the Committee of the Whole, meaning the whole floor of the House can debate it and talk about that bill. The House must have a quorum – a majority of the members present at that time (218).

15. The Legislative Branch When the floor goes into the Committee of the Whole, the speaker steps down because the House is no longer in session. Another member presides over the House at this time. When all the work is done in this committee, the House goes back into session. Floor Debate now takes place with limits placed on the time each member can speak and how many members from each party may speak.

16. The Legislative Branch When debate is done, the bill is now voted on. – The bill may receive many votes, if amendments are introduced to this bill. – Each amendment must be voted on and those that pass are pit into that bill. – The whole bill is then voted on to see if it passes the House. After it passes the House, it receives its third reading and final reading. The Speaker of the House signs the bill that has passed the House.

17. The Legislative Branch The Bill on the Senate Floor The Senate is quite different from the House. The bill is numbered and read twice and then it is referred to a committee. When the bill is studied and then brought back to the floor with approval of the majority leader. Debate time is unlimited in the Senate. As a general matter, a Senator may speak on the floor as long as he or she pleases. There is no rule that a person has to speak on the measure.

18. The Legislative Branch A Senator can speak on any topic they want to Senate can with unanimous consent limit the floor debate time. There is a “Two Speech Rule” – No Senator may speak on a matter more than twice.

19. The Legislative Branch The Filibuster – is an attempt to “talk the bill to death”. – It is a standing tactic by which minority of Senators seek to delay or prevent the Senate from taking action on this matter. – Huey Long (D-LA) talked for 15 hours one time – reading from the Washington DC telephone book, giving recipes from his mother, and etc. – Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) has the record of 24 hours and 18 minutes. Trying to stop the Civil Rights Act from being voted on.

20. The Legislative Branch The Cloture Rule – limiting debate. – A vote to invoke this rule has to occur. – 60 Senators have to vote to enforce this rule.

21. The Legislative Branch House and Senate Conference Committee Any bill that becomes law has to pass both houses of Congress and be signed by the president. The bill has to be passed in the same form through both houses. Any changes by either house will require the Conference Committee to look at the bill and come up with a joint bill that both houses will support. Both houses have to pass the new version of the bill.

22. The Legislative Branch The President Acts on a Bill The President is required by the Constitution to sign all bills that become law. (Or sort of) 1) The President may sign the bill into law 2) The President may VETO (refuse to sign) the bill.

23. The Legislative Branch 3) The President may allow a bill to become law if the does nothing to it for 10 days. 4) The President use a pocket veto – if Congress adjourns its session within 10 days of the President receiving the bill, the measure dies. Congress can override a president’s veto with 2/3 majority vote in both houses.