how a bill becomes a law
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Lecture for Washington D.C. study tourTRANSCRIPT
How a Bill Becomes a LawHACE 4900 WASHINGTON D.C. SUMMER TOUR
School House Rock, Rocks!
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Take one of these out!!Plan on writing a great deal today…………..write legibly!
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The Process through the House of Representatives1. Somebody thinks of a good, well thought
out idea for a piece of legislation…Anyone can help to write legislation. Only a member of Congress can actually propose legislation in Congress.
Do #1: Write this on your piece of paper HA
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The Process through the House of Representatives
2. Get co-sponsors…Bills can have many cosponsors or just a few but they can be an important way to signal support
On your paper, list who/groups would help you sponsor your idea.
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The Process through the House of Representatives
3. Drop the bill in the Hopper.
The hopper is a box on the clerk’s desk into which all proposed legislation must go.
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Two other types of hoppers…
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The Process through the House of Representatives
4. Bill assigned a number and sent to the government printing office.
Examples: HR 1 or S 42
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The Process through the House of Representatives
5. Speaker refers the bill to the appropriate committee(s).
Sometimes a bill can be referred to several committees because it does not fit in just one area. H
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House Committee Room• To which committee
would your issue be assigned?
• Put your response on your paper.
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Home Work….
• You are to find out to which committee/committees your representative belongs.
• Word process this on a piece of paper with your name and class ID# and bring to class on Tuesday…
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The Process through the House of Representatives
6. Bill assigned to a subcommittee.
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The Process through the House of Representatives
7. Hearings may be held.
Frequently hearings are held to gain expert opinions on a topic.
On your paper: Who might you want to ask to speak to the committee as an expert on your issue?
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The Process through the House of Representatives
8. Subcommittee reports its findings to the full committee.
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The Process through the House of Representatives
9. The full committee holds a mark-up session and makes amendments and changes to the bill.
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The Process through the House of Representatives
10. Committee staff writes report on why the committee favors the bill.The Office of the Clerk writes the report.
http://clerk.house.gov/about/duties.html
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The Process through the House of Representatives
11. Those dissenting may write a dissenting opinion on why the bill should not have been passed out of committee.
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The Process through the House of Representatives
12.The bill goes to the Rules Committee to decide on time limits for the debate.
http://www.rules.house.gov/
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The Process through the House of Representatives
13. Bill gets placed on the House calendar by the Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader.
On your paper….who is the current Speaker of the House? H
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The Process through the House of Representatives
14. Bill debated on the House floor.
Many times few Congressmen are present unless it is a controversial bill.
On your paper: Will your issue/bill be controversial? Yes, or no? Why?
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•HRES 1247 EH
• (1) supports the goals and ideals of ‘‘American Eagle Day’’; and
• (2) encourages—• (A) educational entities, organizations, businesses,
conservation groups, and government agencies with a shared interest in conserving endangered species to collaborate on education information for use in schools; and
• (B) the people of the United States to observe American Eagle Day with appropriate ceremonies and other activities.
• Attest:• Clerk.
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The Process through the House of Representatives
15. Only “germane” amendments may be added to the bill.
Germane: Not the same as relevant… a germane amendment cannot change the nature of the bill. H
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Which of these changes to this girl’s hair style was germane and which was not?
Pink hair color Pink headband
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The Process through the House of Representatives
16. Quorum call to make sure there are enough members present to vote.
Can be a way to stall for time if you don’t have enough members present to vote.
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A quorum
• is the minimum number of members of a deliberating body necessary to conduct the business of that group. Ordinarily, this is a majority of the people expected to be there.
• On paper….how many people would be necessary to have a quorum in the Senate? H
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Quorum Busting
• A prominent example of quorum-busting occurred in 2003, when the Texas House of Representatives voting on a redistricting bill that would have favored the Republicans in the state. The Democrats, certain of defeat chose not to be present in the House that day, but instead took a plane to Oklahoma preventing the bill from passing due to a lack of a quorum. If there is no quorum present a call of the house could be ordered, which would cause absent members to be arrested and brought to the floor of the body. This was the reason that the Killer D’s fled to Oklahoma, which is outside of the jurisdiction of Texas law. The Killer D's effectively killed the legislation by staying in Oklahoma long enough to let the legislation expire.
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The Process through the House of Representatives
17. Vote on the bill!
How do members know when it is time to vote?• Blackberries• Clocks
How do they vote?• Use clicker cards the size of a credit card.• Slide it though the yes or no slot.• Projected on the screen.
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What happens in the Senate?
The Process through the Senate
1. Member must be recognized by the presiding officer and introduce a bill during the “morning hour”.
Morning hour is the first two hours of the day’s session
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The Process through the Senate
2. If another member objects then the introduction of the bill is postponed until the next day.
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A day by any other name…
• Calendar “day” is an actual 24 hour day.• Legislative “day” is from one legislative
adjournment to another adjournment. • This could be weeks long.• Recesses are NOT adjournments.
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The Process through the Senate
3. The bill is assigned a number.
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The Process through the Senate
4. Bill can be jointly sponsored by other Senators.
On your paper….what advantages are there to jointly sponsoring bills?
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The Process through the Senate
5. The presiding officer refers the bill to the appropriate committee(s).
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Senate Committee Room
• On your paper…..Which committee would your issue be submitted to?
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The Process through the Senate
6. Bill may be assigned to a subcommittee.
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The Process through the Senate
7. Hearings may be held.
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The Process through the Senate
8. Subcommittee reports its findings to the full committee.
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The Process through the Senate
9. Committee holds a “mark-up” session and makes amendments and changes to the bill.
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The Process through the Senate
10. Committee staff writes report on why committee favors bill.
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The Process through the Senate
11. Bill is places on the Legislative Calendar by the Majority Leader.
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The Process through the Senate
12.Debate is unlimited
On your paper…..How is this particular component of the Senate process different from the House process?
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filibuster -
• Informal term for any attempt to block or delay Senate action on a bill or other matter by debating it at length, by offering numerous procedural motions, or by any other delaying or obstructive actions.
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The Process through the Senate
13.Amendments do not have to be germane.
Remind me again….what is germane?
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The Process through the Senate
14.Bill is voted on.
Record of voting: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=107&session=1&vote=00237
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Conference Committee
1. Members from each house form a conference committee. To work out the differences between the House and Senate bills.
Only about 10% of bills go through conference committee
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Conference Committee
2. If they reach a compromise they prepare a written report to be submitted to both the House and Senate.
No new amendments can be added at this point.
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The President
• Can Veto or Sign the BillIf he signs…. It becomes law!
If he vetoes…. It goes back to Congress and it takes a 2/3 majority of both houses to override.
Historical Vetoes
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Differences Between the House and the Senate
• Introduction of the Bill• Debate allowed• Amendments allowed
House Majority Rule
Senate Individual Rights HA
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What happens AFTER a bill becomes a law?
The Continuous Cycle of Public Policy
Types of Policies
• Regulatory: Rules and standards that control economic, social and political activities• FAA, EPA, HUD, FCC • Reasons for Regulation: Natural
Monopoly, Externalities, Protecting the Uninformed H
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Types of Policies
• Social: Programs designed to help those thought to be in need of government assistance• HUD, Social Security, etc.
• Fiscal Policy: Taxing and Spending
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Regulatory Agencies
• Must have legislative authority to operate• Varying Scope of Authority• Organizational Structure
• Department Regulatory Agency• FDA is within Health and Human
Services Department• Independent Regulatory Commission
• CPSC, Federal Reserve, FCC, SEC
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Time to Execute the Law:The Policy Process
Enactment
Outcome
Deliberation
Implementation
Output
Agenda Setting
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Implementation
• How do we enforce a law?• What does the law say?• What is feasible?• What is fair?• What can we afford to do?
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Your issue…..on your paper
• What would your law say?• Would it be feasible?
• Meaning would it have a chance at being successful.
• Would it be fair?• What can we afford to do?
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Implementation
• The translation of legislation into a set of government programs or regulations
• Legislation goes to the appropriate agency for its implementation
• Vague language allows agency discretion
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Policy Outputs
• The provision of services to citizens or regulation of their conduct.
• Examples• TANF checks• Car Emissions Standards• HUD Code Homes
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Policy Outcomes
• Effect of policy outputs on individuals and businesses.
• Examples:• Minimum Wage Laws• Fair Tax Plan
Agenda-Setting Deliberation New Policies Enacted
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Your issue again….on paper
• What would be the effect of policy outputs on individuals and businesses?
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Congressional Oversight
• Review and Monitoring of Federal Agencies
• Hold hearings• Typically done through the Committee
system• For Example: Committee on Agriculture
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What happens when oversight is lax?
• Securities and Exchange Commission…..agency admitted that it had credible allegations of wrongdoing at Bernie Madoff’s investment firm starting in the 1990s and continuing for years and years that were never investigated properly.
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