1. Getting Legislation Passed:
How does a bill become a law?

2. Do Now! Schoolhouse Rock!
Jot down the steps based on the Schoolhouse Rock clip!
How accurate was your initial list?

4. Why are bills passed? Why do we need bills in the first place?
Why isn’t the Constitution sufficient to run the government alone?
Why are bills passed?
Bill: is a proposed law, drafted in precise legal language
Only members of the House or Senate can submit a bill
Members introduce some bills to favor certain groups (constituents) or individuals (well, this is what is supposed to happen!)
Most bills are quietly killed off early in the process

5. Expressed Powers Article I, Section 8 includes:
-> the list of congressional chores and responsibilities (expressed powers)
-> the necessary and proper clause or the “elastic clause” (implied powers)
In order for these tasks to be fulfilled, Congress must pass certain legislation to ensure that they meet their duties.
to lay and collect taxes
pay debts and borrow money
regulate commerce
coin money
establish post offices
protect patents and copyrights
establish lower courts
declare war
raise and support an Army and Navy

6. How do the Senate and House Differ?
100 members
6 year terms
Larger constituencies
Older membership
High media visibility
Approves/rejects treaties and presidential appointments
House
435 members
2 year terms
Smaller constituencies
Younger membership
Less media visibility
No power over treaties or presidential appointments

7. New York Senators
Chuck Schumer (D) has served in the Senate since 1999 and Kristen Gillibrand (D) has served in the Senate since 2009.

8. Senate vs. House
What are some of the major differences between the House and Senate when passing legislation?

9. Congressional Committees
Committees decide which bills and resolutions move forward to consideration by the House or Senate as a whole.
Committee chairmen have enormous influence over this process.
The House Rules Committee has the power to determine which bills will be brought to the floor of the House for consideration.
Gathers info
Compares & Evaluates alternatives
Identifies policy problems & solutions
Oversight (monitors executive branch)
Investigates

10. Standing vs. Select Committees
SELECT COMMITTEES are temporarily formed for specific purposes, often to study a particular issue. They usually do not draft legislation.
Sometimes long-standing select committees eventually become standing committees.
STANDING COMMITTEES do not change and continue from one Congress to the next. These committees are probably the most important type because they consider and shape the vast majority of proposed laws.
Standing committees also conduct investigations, such as the Senate Banking Commitee's investigation of President Bill Clinton's Whitewater investments.

11. Joint vs. Conference Committees
CONFERENCE COMMITTEES are specially created when the House and the Senate need to reconcile different versions of the same bill.
A conference committee is made up of members from the House and Senate committees that originally considered the bill.
JOINT COMMITTEES have similar purposes as select committees, but they are made up of members from both the House and the Senate.
They are set-up to conduct business between the houses and to help focus public attention on major issues.

12. Presidential Powers Article 1, Section 7
If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a Law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a Law.
Congress can override the veto by ⅔ vote in the House and the Senate.
Presidential Powers
After the Senate and House pass the bill, the President can take the following actions.
veto - total refusal to pass the bill
line-item veto - refusal to pass only a portion of the bill
pocket veto - see Article 1, Section 7

13. Evaluate this chart! Why has the number of presidential vetoes decreased in recent years?
Name at least 3 things!

14. Summary: Why have there been less vetoes?
Inability for the House and Senate to pass legislation due to gridlock between Democrats and Republicans
Political polarization blocking legislation from the President’s desk (Democrats were deemed obstructionists during Obama’s presidency)
Bills have gotten bigger so only parts are vetoed by the president by way of line item veto power
The White House and senior leadership in the House and Senate are proposing legislation and shaping bills