1. Chapter 12 Congress and the Passage of Bills

2. Committees in Congress
3 types
Select committee- group set up for some special purpose for a limited amount of time
Joint committee- composed of both members of Congress (House of Reps. And Senate)
Conference Committee- may be formed to create compromised version of a bill

3. Bills (how they pass through Congress)
Either house may introduce a bill. Must be from a member of the Senate or House of Representatives
Less than 10% of bills dropped in the hopper or box hanging on the edge of clerk’s desk become law

4. Bills Bills are proposed laws sent to either house.
Joint resolution is not the same as a bill, but it may be used to correct a mistake in the bill already passed
Concurrent resolutions deal with matters in which the house and Senate work together.

5. Riders
Sometimes bills with a single subject will not pass on their own so they will have a rider attached to them.
A rider is a law that will not likely pass on its own so it is attached to an important bill so that it is certain to pass

6. Bills Most bills never make it out of committee.
If the bill is sent out from the committee to be put up for consideration it requires a discharge petition
A quorum is the least number of members who must be present to conduct business

7. Filibusters
This is basically a tactic used to talk a bill to death. It is a stalling tactic that involves taking all of the Senate’s time so that they have to drop the bill or change it in some manner
In 1935 Senator Huey Long spoke for over 15 hours to try and create a filibuster

8. Cloture and Vetoes Cloture is a rule that can end a filibuster
Cloture can limit a debate but special procedures must be followed to obtain a cloture
Veto is a Presidential refusal to sign a bill
Pocket veto- when the President basically lets time run out on a bill so it is dropped ( He usually has so many days to sign a bill)

9. Homework
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If you are loud you will do section review!!!!