Presentation is loading. Please wait.

Presentation is loading. Please wait.

Chapter 5 Section 4 (pgs ) How a Bill Becomes a Law

Similar presentations


Presentation on theme: "Chapter 5 Section 4 (pgs ) How a Bill Becomes a Law"— Presentation transcript:

1 Chapter 5 Section 4 (pgs.148-152) How a Bill Becomes a Law
Essential Question: What steps must a bill go through to become a law?

2 How a Bill Begins (pgs.148-149)
Bill: a proposed law Passing a bill is purposefully a long and difficult process to ensure all laws are well thought out and organized Congress Considers Legislation (pg.148) Congress considers thousands of bills each year Both houses of Congress must approve the bill before it becomes a law, or act Act: a law An appropriation bill is the only type of bill that must start in a certain house, the House of Representatives Appropriation Bill: a bill approving the spending of extra public money

3 Sources of Legislation (pgs.148-149)
Ideas for bills can come from anywhere Several groups of Americans often propose bills: U.S. citizens, organized groups, congressional committees, members of Congress, and the president The larger or more powerful the group proposing the bill, the more likely Congress is to consider the bill Some bills are specifically proposed on behalf of special interest groups: farmers, labor unions, corporations, senior citizens, college students, republicans, democrats, etc. Congress members often become experts for certain special interest groups The president is widely consider the most single influential person for a bill and often proposes bills in their State of the Union address amongst other occasions What groups of individuals might come up with ideas for bills?

4 The House and the Senate Consider the Bill (pgs.149-151)
Any Congress member can introduce a bill/ propose an act or law Once bills are proposed, they’re given a code of letters and numbers The letters represent in which house it was first proposed HR for House of Representatives SB for The Senate The numbers represent its place amongst all other bills in that session of Congress All bills are posted in the Congressional Record. Congress’ publication of daily proceedings

5 The Bill is Sent to Committee (pgs.149-150)
All bills are first sent to a standing/ permanent congressional committee for consideration Different committees are organized to study different subjects of bills Committees can refer the bill to a subcommittee within their committee If or once a committee wants to consider a bill they’ll conduct a hearing on the bill At the hearings, witnesses for and against the bill testify to give the committee members information they use to determine if they will pass the bills without changes, makes amendments to the bill then pass it, or reject/ kill the bill Some bills are purposefully set aside and never returned to “kill it”

6 The House Acts on the Bill (pg.150)
If a House committee proposes a bill it is officially reported out of committee and placed on the House calendar The House calendar is a schedule listing the order bills have been reported out The House doesn’t have to, nor does it, follow the order of the calendar for debating bills amongst all its members The Speaker of the House determines when or if bills will be debated The House Rules Committee determines how much time a bill will be debated The debate time is split evenly between proponents and opponents for the bill House members may propose relevant amendments to bills A quorom, or majority of House members are needed to vote on bills Bills proposed and approved by the House are sent to the Senate for consideration

7 The Senate Acts on the Bill (pg.150)
Like the House, the bill goes through the same steps in a committee before it can proceed to the steps on the Senate floor to become a law However, usually the time a bill is debated in the Senate is not limited like in the House Some senators use this to their advantage to kill a bill, talking the bill to death, by a filibuster Filibuster: a method of delaying action on a bill in the Senate by making long speeches Filibusters can only be limited by a 3/5ths of a vote from all senators. The procedure for ending a Senate debate is called a cloture Cloture: a limit on the debate of a bill in the Senate

8 The Final Bill is Sent to the President (pg. 150)
Before a bill is sent to the president it must be approve by both houses (Congress) Each house usually pass different versions of the same bill A conference committee containing a equal amount of senators and representatives work together to create a compromising, yet identical version of the bill A proposed conference committee bill is sent back to each house for approval Describe the process that a bill through in Congress

9 The President Acts on the Bill (pg.152)
All final versions of a bill, a version agreed upon by both houses, are submitted to the president for approval The President can do one of three things for all bills proposed: 1. Sign it –The bill becomes a law 2. Veto it –The president refuses to sign it and sends it back to Congress with their explanation why 3. Pocket Veto it – The president holds onto the bill for 10 days without signing it. After 10 days the bill becomes a law if Congress is in session. The bill doesn’t become a law if Congress has adjourned. Congress has the check and balance power of overriding a president’s veto by 2/3rds vote in both houses The President is referred to as the Chief Legislature because he’s so influential in the lawmaking process Why is it important for the president to have final approval over congressional legislation?


Download ppt "Chapter 5 Section 4 (pgs ) How a Bill Becomes a Law"

Similar presentations


Ads by Google