Today’s Agenda!

Study Web’s “Separation of Powers”

Balance of Power• Guided Worksheet

How a bill becomes a law• Guided Notes

Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees. And both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people.

- Henry Clay

The Balance of Government

The Executive Branch makes ________ with other countries.

Carries out ___________.

____________ bills he does not like.

__________ the budget.

The Legislative Branch ____________ treaties and the budget.

Makes ___________.

Overrides President's _______ with a ______ vote.

Can ________ President for misconduct.

EXECUTIVE LEGISLATIVE

Treaties

Laws

Vetoes

Proposes or Creates

Ratifies

Laws

Veto 2/3

Impeach

The Balance of Government

JUDICIAL LEGISLATIVE

The Judicial Branch interprets _________.

Can prove laws to be against the ___________.

The Legislative Branch __________ presidential appointments for the

Supreme Court.

Can _________ judges for misconduct.

Laws

Unconstitutional

Confirms

Impeach

The Balance of Government

EXECUTIVE JUDICIAL

________ judges

for a ________ term.Can prove laws to be _____________.

Nominates or Appoints

LifeUnconstitutional

How a Bill becomes a Law

Before a Bill can become a law, it must first be approved by the U.S. House of Representatives, the Senate, and the President

***Use your Guided Notes Handout***

The Bill Begins

The bill begins as someone’s idea. That person writes a letter to his or her representative in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Representative researches the idea and writes the bill.

Members of Congress or the Executive Branch can draft (write ordraw up) bills.

Pathway # 1

Pathway # 2

The Bill is Proposed

The Representative is excited about the bill and decides to sponsor the bill. He or she talks to other Representatives about the bill and hopes to get their support for it.

The Bill is Introduced

The next time that the House of Representatives meets, the bill is introduced by placing it in the Hopper. The clerk assigns it a number, which begins withH. R. The bill is read and sent to committee to either debate the bill or amend the bill. For example, H.R. 4872 (Health Care Reform Bill)

The Bill is Voted On

The Bill is Referred to the Senate

Representatives vote on the bill using an electronic voting system. The Representative either vote yes, no or present (if they don’t want to vote on the bill). If a majority of the Representatives vote yes, the bill is certified by the clerk and sent to the Senate.

The bill is sent to the U.S. Senate and goes through many of the same steps. Senators vote on the bill by voice. Those who support the bill say “yea” (yes) and those who oppose the bill say “nay” (no). If a majority say “yea”, the bill is just one step away from becoming law – the next step is the bill is sent to the President.

The Bill is Sent to the President

The President has Three Choices

The President can sign the bill into law

The President can refuse to sign or veto the bill

The President can do nothing, or pocket veto the bill

To be or not to be…a Law

After the bill is signed by the President, the bill is law and the ideas in the law are carried out by the Government and the new rules are enforced by the people of the United States.

If the President Vetoes the bill, he sends the bill and his reasons for vetoing the bill back to the House of Representatives. The House and Senate can vote again on the bill. If 2/3 of Representatives and Senators support the bill, the veto is overridden and the bill becomes law.

If the President does nothing (pocket veto), what happens to the bill depends on whether Congress is in session. If Congress is in session, after ten days the bill becomes. If Congress is not in session, the bill does not become law.

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Tonight’s Homework

Think about your own life (here at school or at home)….if you could change one law, what would that be? Now, think about that idea and about what we learned today – how would you go about making that change happen?

Write a one-paragraph summary that explains the idea or law that you would like to see changed and how you attempt to convince other’s to join you.