1. Understanding Congress

2. Basics Congress is made up of… Congress meets in the Capitol Building
House of Representatives
Senate
Congress meets in the Capitol Building
Senate meets in north wing
House of Representatives meets in the south wing
Began in 1789
Congress is to make laws
A term is 2 years
A session is the time Congress is working, generally one year, before they adjourn

5. House of Representatives
Current number of representatives is 435
5 delegates attend the House but are not allowed to vote
District of Columbia
American Samoa
US Virgin Islands
Guam
Mariana Islands
1 resident commissioner from Puerto Rico
In order to be a representative, you must:
Be 25 or older
US citizen for 7 or more years
Be an inhabitant of your state

6. Senate Current number is 100
Each state gets two senators
No commissioners or delegates sit in Senate
In order to be a senator, one must…
Be 30 years or older
Be a US citizen for 9 or more years
Be an inhabitant of the state they represent

7. Leadership in the House
The leader of the House of Representatives is the Speaker of the House of Representatives
Majority Leadership
Majority Leader – Represents and speaks for the majority party on the House floor
Majority Whip – Assists leadership in managing party’s legislative plan
Conference Chairman – Heads organization of all party members
Policy Committee Chairman – Heads conference forum to develop policy

8. Leadership in the House
Minority Leadership
Minority Leader – Represents and speaks for minority party on the House floor
Minority Whip – Assists leadership in planning party policy
Assistant Leader – Works with caucuses and committees to ensure policy remains consistent
Caucus Chairman – Organizes all party members in House
Third parties and independent candidates generally join one of the major parties to gain support and be assigned to a committee

9. Leadership in the Senate
Vice President of the United States presides over the Senate
President pro tempore presides in absence of VP
Majority Leadership
Majority party leader – Plans party policy and speaks for party on the floor of the Senate
Majority Whip – Assists leadership in communicating party plans and policy
Conference Committee Chair – Helps organize party members and manage the placement of members on committees
Vice Chairman and Policy Committee Chair – Help Committee Chairman and ensure policies are followed on committees

10. Leadership in Senate Minority Leadership
Minority Leader – Plans party policy and speaks for party on Senate floor
Minority Whip – Assists in the communication of party policy
Conference Chair – Organizes party members in Senate
Policy Committee Chair – Helps ensure policies are followed and communicated on committees
As in the House, third parties and independents join major parties for position on committees

11. Utah in Congress House of Representatives Senate
District 1 – Robert Bishop
District 2 – Chris Stewart
District 3 – Jason Chaffetz – CURRENTLY VACANT
District 4 – Mia Love
Senate
Orrin Hatch
Mike Lee
Senators represent the entire state, not a district

13. Committees and Caucuses in Congress
Most of the work in Congress is done by committees
Standing – permanent committees focused on a specific area to pass laws
Select – temporary to target a specific need or problem
Joint – Made up of members of both houses to oversee a common need or compromise on differences in bills of similar substance
Subcommittees – Most standing committees have numerous subcommittees to further legislation on precise matters
A Congressman or Senator often serves on multiple committees
Each committee is headed by a chairman
House has 20 standing committees
Senate has 16 standing committees

14. Committees and Caucuses in Congress
Congressional Caucus
Private meeting, most often a party meeting
Sometimes called a coalition, study group, working group, or task force
Generally, smaller than a committee
No official power to declare policy
Job is to develop policy and take it back to the committee or subcommittee
Expanded growth in the last decade to tackle more issues
Example: Caucus on Youth Sports – target concussions, participation, and safety in youth sports

15. Making Laws Bill: A bill can be introduced in either house of Congress
What is a bill?
A formal report attempting to enact/create, amend, or repeal a law
Once a bill is passed, it is called a law, act, or statute
A bill can be introduced in either house of Congress
Bills dealing with revenue (how the government makes money, generally taxes) originate in the House, not Senate

16. And Now a Word From Our Sponsors…

17. The Process of a Bill Introduction of a Bill
House of Representatives: placed in the “hopper” or basket of the Clerk of the House
Senate: the presiding officer of the Senate recognizes the senator, who then formally presents the bill

18. The Process of a Bill Naming the Bill: Committee Action
All bills in the Senate begin with an S.1, then S.2, and so on
All bills in the House begin H.R. 1, H.R. 2, and so on
Committee Action
Bills are sent to a committee that deal with the subject matter of the bill
“Pigeonholing” – when a committee ignores a bill and never acts on a hearing or furthering vote
Bills can die by a majority vote
The committee can amend, rewrite the bill, or leave it as is

19. The Process of a Bill Committee Hearings:
If a bill is acted on, the committee will hold a hearing, just like a trial
People who deal with the bill will testify
The hearing will decide the next step:
If defeated in hearing or majority votes against it, the bill dies
If the committee passes it, it is sent for report and vote on the floor
The committee writes a report
Most of the time, if the committee says to pass the bill, it will pass

20. The Process of a Bill Floor Action: Voting
A clerk reads the entire bill
Debates may be heard
Amendments to the bill may be added
If too many amendments or objectionable amendments are added, a bill may die on the floor
Voting
If a bill passes the floor action, it will be voted on
House Voting:
Voice Vote: Aye (yes), Nay (no)
Standing Vote/Division Vote: Count the number who stand in favor of it, then the number who are against
Recorded Vote – Done electronically, easiest and most used way
Senate:
Voice Vote
Standing Vote
Roll-Call Vote: Names read in alphabetical order, each responds with voice vote

21. The Process of a Bill Congressional Vote
If a bill passes one house but not the other, the bill is sent back for revision
A conference committee will try to amend the parts of the bill causing the problems in voting
After amending, the bill is sent back for vote

22. The Process of a Bill President Has 3 choices:
Sign the bill and it becomes law
Do not sign bill
If Congress is in session for 10 more days, it will automatically become law
If Congress is out of session or less than 10 days until Congress adjourns, it will automatically be vetoed (pocket veto)
Veto –
Formal rejection of the bill by the President
President does NOT sign bill and it does NOT become a law
Bill is sent it back to the house of Congress it came from

23. The Process of a Bill If a bill is vetoed:
It returns to the house of Congress it came from
Congress may vote on the bill again or let it die
If Congress votes on it:
2/3 approval allows the bill to become law over a presidential veto

24. Types of Bills Public Bills: Private Bills:
a bill dealing with “general matters” and applying to the entire nation
Most of the bill introduced in Congress are public bills
Examples: lowering/raising of taxes, health insurance, gun control, civil rights, abortion, etc.
Private Bills:
a bill dealing with individual people or places
Most private bills are not publicized to the nation
Examples: individual claims against the government, immigration exemptions for a person or family

25. Types of Bills Simple Resolution: Joint Resolution:
Covers matters only affecting one house of Congress
Not sent to President for signature
Example: the House of Representatives passing a resolution about debate times on a bill
Joint Resolution:
Covers matters pertaining to both houses, an earlier law, or constitutional amendment
President signs – becomes law
Example: correcting the amount of money a bill to a group from an earlier bill (increase in Congressional salaries)

26. Types of Bills Concurrent Resolution: Rider
Covers matters pertaining to both houses
President does NOT sign
Example: Determining when Congress will adjourn for the session
Rider
A provision for a subject other than what the bill was intended for
Called “Christmas tree” legislation – like adding additional ornaments on a Christmas tree just because they are ornaments, not because they need to be on the tree
Used for gain (personal or constituent) or to squash the chances of a bill being passed

27. Bill Problems Less than 10% of bills become a law Why?
Process is long and complicated, wearing people out and losing motivation to pass a bill
One must bargain and compromise. A bill will almost never stay in its original form. Changes are going to happen.
People introduce bills that will never become a law in order to waste time and block other bills.

28. Bill Problems Line-Item Veto
Presidents have asked for a line-item veto
A Line-Item Veto would allow a President to say “no” to the parts of the bill that he/she disagrees with while the rest of the bill would be passed and made into law
This was granted in 1996 for spending and tax issues but reversed and declared unconstitutional in 1998 with the case Clinton v. City of New York
That means the line-item veto is not allowed

29. Bill Problems Rules Committee Calendars
Most powerful committee in Congress
Generally assign bills to committees
Recommend changes based on laws
The bias of those on the committee may send the bill to a committee that will kill the bill on purpose
Calendars
Each house of Congress places the bill on a calendar to be heard
If the bill misses the date on the calendar, it may not be read or have to wait until the end of the term to be dealt with

30. More Information For more information, please visit www.house.gov