1. [ 4.6 ] Congress at Work—Making Laws

2. Congress at Work—Making Laws
Learning Objectives
Key Terms
Identify 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.
Describe the role of conference committees in the legislative process.
Evaluate the actions the President can take after both houses have passed a bill.
bill
Joint resolutions
Concurrent resolutions
Resolutions,
rider
pigeonholed.
discharge petition
quorum,
engrossed,
filibuster
Huey Long
Strom Thurmond
cloture
George Norris
veto
pocket veto.
Omnibus measures
These numbers may surprise you: From 6,000 to 9,000 bills and resolutions are introduced in the House and Senate during each session of Congress. Fewer than ten percent become law. Where do all those measures come from? Why are so few of them passed? How, by process, does Congress make law?

3. The First Steps
A bill is a proposed law presented to the House or Senate for consideration.
A bill or resolution usually deals with a single matter, but sometimes a rider dealing with an unrelated matter is included.Earmarks
The clerk of the House numbers each bill, gives it a short title, and enters it into the House Journal and the Congressional Record for the day. With these actions the bill has received its first reading.

4. Earmarks

5. Navigating the Legislative Obstacle Course Meet Bill

6. A Bill v. A Law
Bill - a proposed new law introduced within a legislature that has not yet been passed, enacted or adopted

7. A Bill v. A Law
Law - a bill or act passed by a legislative body

8. Types of Bills
public bill – proposed legislative bill that deals with matters of general concern and application: Ex – Immigration law
private bill – a proposed legislative bill that deals with specific private, personal, or local matters rather than general affairs
Ex: In 2012, Nigerian Victor Chukwueke became the first person in two years to be the beneficiary of a private bill: he was in the United States on an expired visa, and the bill, sponsored by Senator Carl Levin,[4] made possible a path to permanent residency, something the University of Toledo in Ohio required for Chukwueke to be admitted to its medical school.
appropriation bill – legislative motion authorizing the government to spend money..Which Committee?

9. resolution - a measure expressing opinions on policies or issues
Types of Resolutions
resolution - a measure expressing opinions on policies or issues
Boy Scouts Resolution
simple resolution – measure dealing with “house-keeping” or procedural matters that only affect one house
joint resolution – measure when approved by both houses and the president carries the force of law
concurrent resolution – legislative motion that must be approved by both houses, but does not have the force of law

10. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Boys Camp Bill
Describe Mr. Smiths Bill, i.e:
- purpose
- public or private
- which standing committee did it have to go through?

11. Step 1: An Idea for a Bill Sources: Member(s) of Congress
Private Citizen
Interest Group
Federal Agency
White House
Governor(s)
Mayor(s)

12. The First Steps
A union representative delivers a petition in favor of immigration reform to the office of House Committee on Foreign Affairs chairman Ed Royce, hoping to influence his vote.

13. Step 2: Writing & Introduction of Bill
Senate:
Bill formally introduced
Bill given to clerk
Referred to committee by Steering Committee
House:
Bill dropped in hopper
Referred to committee by the Speaker
Sen. Smith introduces bill on the Senate floor
~ Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

14. The Bill in Committee
The Constitution makes no mention of standing committees. These bodies do play an absolutely essential role in the lawmaking process, however—and in both houses of Congress. Indeed, their place is so pivotal that they are sometimes called “little legislatures.”

15. Gathering Information
The Bill in Committee
Discharge Petitions
Most bills die in committee, pigeonholed, or put away, never to be acted upon.
If a committee pigeonholes a bill that a majority of the House wishes to consider, it can be brought out of committee via a discharge petition.
Gathering Information
Most committees do their work through several subcommittees— divisions of existing committees formed to address specific issues.
Committees and subcommittees often hold public hearings or make a junket (trip) to gather information relating to a measure.

16. Step 3: Committee Action
House & Senate committees conduct public hearings
Experts testify
Markup of bills
Committee vote: report favorably, unfavorably, or table bill
House Armed Services Committee

17. Step 3: Committee Action
What does it mean to “pigeonhole” a bill?
Discharge petition?
What is a sub-committee?
House Armed Services Committee

18. Step 3: Committee Actions

19. Step 4: Floor Action - House
Before it 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 will be taken up on the floor.
Rules Committee schedules bills on calendar & decides whether amendments may be added
Limited debate: Committee of the Whole???
Floor vote
1. The Calendar of the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union
2. The House Calendar
3. The Calendar of the Committee of the Whole House
4. The Consent Calendar
5. The Discharge Calendar

20. The Bill on the House Floor
If a bill finally reaches the floor, it receives its second reading in the House. Many bills the House passes are minor ones, with little or no opposition. Most of these less important measures are called from the Corrections Calendar, get their second reading by title only, and are quickly disposed of.

21. The Bill on the Floor Committee of the Whole Debate
The Committee of the Whole includes all members of the House, however, they sit as one large committee and not as the House itself.
When the Committee of the Whole resolves itself, the Speaker steps down and another member presides. General debate follows.
Debate
Severe limits are placed on floor debate due to the House’s large size.
Majority and minority floor leaders generally decide in advance how they will split the time to be spent on a bill.

22. Once a bill has been approved at second reading, it is engrossed, or printed in its final form. It is then read for a third time and a final vote is taken.

23. Step 5: Approved Bill Crosses Over to Other House
Approved bill must pass each chamber by a simple majority

24. The Bill on the Senate Floor
The House and the Senate really are two quite different places. Overall, however, the basic steps in the lawmaking process are much the same in the two chambers. Still, there are a few critical differences in their processes.

25. The Bill in the Senate: Introducing a Bill Rules for Debate
Bills are introduced by senators, who are formally recognized for that purpose.
Proceedings are much less formal in the Senate compared to the House.
Rules for Debate
The major differences between House and Senate rules regard debate over measures.
As a general matter, senators may speak on the floor for as long as they wish.
This freedom of debate allows for the fullest possible discussion of matters on the floor.

26. Filibuster and Cloture
A filibuster is an attempt to “talk a bill to death.”
A senator may exercise his or her right of holding the floor as long as necessary, and in essence talk until a measure is dropped.
The Cloture Rule
Rule XXII in the Standing Rules of the Senate deals with cloture, or limiting debate
If at least 60 senators vote for cloture, no more than another 30 hours may be spent on debate, forcing a vote on a bill.

28. The Bill on the Senate Floor
In a filibuster, a senator speaks at length until a cloture vote passes or until the senator runs out of energy. Analyze Charts How does the filibuster protect the rights of the minority?

29. Step 6: Conference Committee
Members from each chamber meet to reconcile differences in the two bills
Senate-House Conference Committee works out details of the 2003 Healthy Forest Restoration Act

30. House-Senate Conference Committees
As you have seen, a bill must survive any number of challenges in order to become a law. Most don’t. A measure can be killed, or simply buried, in a subcommittee, in the full committee, in the House Rules Committee, or in any of the parallel committees in the Senate. The remainder must make it through votes on the floor in both houses.
Any measure enacted by Congress must have been passed by both houses in identical form.
If one of the houses will not accept the other’s version of a bill, a conference committee is formed to iron out the differences.
Once a conference committee completes work on a bill, it is returned to both houses for final approval. It must be accepted or rejected without amendment.

31. Review
What does it mean to “pigeonhole” a bill? Which party’s bills are most likely to be pigeonholed during this session of congress?
After a bill passes in committee it must go through another committee before it can go for a floor vote. What is that final committee, and what does it assign to the bill?
What type of joint committee resolves minor differences between House and Senate Bills?

32. Step 7: Both Chambers Vote on Final Version of the Bill

33. Step 8: President Considers Bill
President can:
sign the bill into law
veto bill
Do nothing…becomes law after 10 days…unless…
…pocket veto
Note: Congress can override veto with 2/3 vote in each house; only 4% of vetos have been overriden

34. Unorthodox Lawmaking and Emergency Legislation
The steps outlined by the Constitution explain the process used throughout most of our nation’s history for a bill to become law. However, a number of adjustments in recent decades have continued to transform the lawmaking process. For example, it is increasingly common for each chamber to pass generic bills, knowing that the true details of the legislation will be ironed-out in joint conference committee. Another approach to reconciling differences, often called “ping-ponging,' is for each chamber to make amendments back and forth to one another until disagreements are resolved. On occasion, particularly at the end of the legislative session, when there is a push to tie up loose ends, bills can “ping-pong” back and forth between the House and Senate on an hourly basis. Omnibus measures, where one bill contains numerous issues and topics, have also become much more common.
WWTFS?

35. Unorthodox Lawmaking and Emergency Legislation
Despite frequent 'ping-ponging', Congress may have difficulty reaching consensus on a bill. Analyze Political Cartoons What does the cartoon tell you about passing the Farm Bill?

36. Quiz: The First Steps
In which one of these situations is Congress most likely to propose a joint resolution instead of a public bill?
A. appropriating funds for a new national park
B. raising taxes to expand Medicare services
C. amending the Constitution to guarantee equal rights for women
D. expressing support for World Malaria Day

37. Quiz: The Bill in Committee
If the chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means opposes a bill to increase the federal tax on gasoline, what can this representative do to stall the bill when it comes before the committee?
A. refer it to the Select Revenue Measures subcommittee
B. refuse to report the bill
C. report a committee bill
D. hold a public hearing on the bill

38. Quiz: Scheduling Floor Debate
Which is the best calendar for a bill to place a new statue of President Abraham Lincoln in front of the U.S. National Archives?
A. the union calendar
B. the discharge calendar
C. the corrections calendar
D. the private calendar

39. Quiz: The Bill on the House Floor
What kind of session should the House call to consider a bill to fund construction of a new dam, which the President has threatened to veto? What kind of vote should be taken?
A. a Committee of the Whole; a quorum call
B. a full session; an up or down vote
C. a Committee of the Whole; a voice vote
D. a full session; a record vote

40. Quiz: The Bill on the Senate Floor
Which of these statements BEST explains the reason a senator who opposes a President's nominee for the Supreme Court would start a filibuster?
A. The filibuster will require quorum calls and other measures to block a vote.
B. A vote for cloture will be required before a vote on confirmation, delaying a decision.
C. The filibuster will ensure that members of the minority party air their opposition to the nominee.
D. The filibuster will prevent the President from addressing the Senate about the nominee.

41. Quiz: House-Senate Conference Committees
The House and the Senate each pass a different version of a bill to fund a new visitor center at a national park. What action is a conference committee likely to take?
A. create a compromise bill and resubmit it to the House and the Senate
B. send the bill back for modifications to the standing committee in each chamber that first handled the measure
C. vote that the next session of Congress reconsider the bill
D. pigeonhole the bill by taking no action on it

42. Quiz: The President Acts on a Bill
Why did the Supreme Court rule against the Line Item Veto Act of 1996?
A. The President has no constitutional authority to sign bills regarding federal spending.
B. The President's veto power does not apply to appropriations bills.
C. It was unconstitutional for Congress to send an appropriations bill to the President.
D. The Court decided it was unconstitutional for the President to veto individual parts of a bill.

43. Quiz: Unorthodox Lawmaking and Emergency Legislation
Why might the House and Senate ping-pong a bill instead of sending it to a conference committee?
A. A conference committee is more likely to turn the bill into an omnibus measure than ping-pong.
B. Ping-pong is a faster way to resolve differences than a conference committee.
C. The bill is more likely to reach a final vote in ping-pong than in a conference committee.
D. The majority party in each chamber has more leverage in ping-pong than in a conference committee.