How a Bill Becomes a Law
* Writing a Bill
- in the
“ideal” world, Congresspersons write their bills or at least know what is in
them
- in the
real world:
->
private citizens write bills
->
lobbyists (people working for business or interest groups) write huge and
complex bills which
Congresspersons sponsor
->
Congressional staffers read and review bills, suggesting to the Congressperson
who employs
them how to vote
=>
note: staffers, especially ones who have worked “on the Hill” for a long time,
become quite
powerful
->
Congresspersons are often too busy raising money, attending committees, and
getting on
television to know everything that is going on in their own bills, much
less all of the bills that
come
up
House Process for Passing Bills
* First reading
- bill is
numbered
- read in
short summary
- full
text entered into congressional record
- The
Speaker of the House refers the bill to its appropriate committee
* The Bill in Committee
- most
bills die in committee
->
committee puts them off for later or refuses to consider them
-> a
bill can be revived by a “Discharge Petition”, but rarely
-
committees have subcommittees for further distribution of labor
- since so
much complex stuff is going on, committees are necessary to get every issue
complete
consideration
- as bills
are considered, hearings sometimes are held
->
people for and against the bill testify
->
sometimes, committee members travel to fact-find on a bill
=>
can be an excuse for a vacation at public expense
- once
committees and subs have considered a bill, five possible outcomes occur:
1.
report bill out favorably - “do pass”
=>
committee chairman then steers bill through floor debate
2.
refuse to report bill - “pigeonhole it”
=>
bill is never considered for passage by full body
3.
report bill in amended form
=>
changed or combined together, 2nd generation bills make it
=>
committee chairman then steers bill through floor debate
4.
report bill out unfavorably
=>
an issue big enough for full body vote, but which committee hopes will fail
5.
report out a committee bill
=>
committee writes an entirely new bill to go to body
=>
often a substitution or conglomeration of bills referred to the committee
=>
committee chairman then steers bill through floor debate
* Calendars, Rules Committee, and “Parliamentary
Procedures”
- once a bill
is out of committee, it is placed on a calendar
-
depending on which calendar and how many bills in line, a bill might eventually
come up for
consideration
- the
Rules Committee has to allow bills onto the calendars
-> if
the Rules Committee does not allow a bill on the calendar, the bill is “killed”
=>
this is a “parliamentary procedure” trick
->
Rules Committee also sets time limits on the debate that each bill receives
->
Rules Committee may also limit amendments or limit the scope of amendments,
thus limiting
debate
- some
bills, important bills, may come up at any time
- on some
days, calendar rules may be suspended with approval of two-thirds of members
* Bills “on the Floor”
- once a
bill finally makes it out of committee and onto a calendar, and its date comes
up, it
receives its second reading on the floor
- House
can meet as the “Committee of the Whole”
-> a
mega-committee for quick consideration of bills
->
requires a quorum of only 100 rather than full 218
- debate
on bills is limited by necessity
->
435 members cannot all speak all they like on each bill
->
most basic law is a one-hour limit (unlike Senate)
->
Speaker can force a Rep. who is off-topic to “give up the floor”
-
amendments to bills are voted on as they are offered
->
bill foes may offer “poison-pill” amendments to make it un-passable
- a bill
may also be “tabled” (set aside) by vote
* Voting
- there
are four main types of votes
1. voice
vote - answer in chorus, Speaker decides result
2.
standing vote - anyone who doubts a voice vote can demand a vote based on
counting those
standing for and then those standing against
3. teller
vote - an archaic form of recorded voting, member by member
4.
roll-call vote - computerized voting (Yea, Nay, or Present)
=>
present is an abstention
+> shows disapproval without being against
- a passed
bill is signed by the Speaker and sent to Senate
Senate Process for Passing Bills - Differences Only
* Senate is less strict and formal in its rules
- has only
one calendar
- Majority
Leader can call bills at their discretion
* Senate debate rules
- no time
limitation, speakers may gone on forever
- debate
only ends when all members agree
- Filibuster
!!!!!
-> a
stalling tactic based on continuous debate
=>
Strom Thurmond spoke 24 hours 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957
-> threat
of a filibuster can kill a bill
->
CLOTURE RULE can close of a debate, thus ending a filibuster
=>
60 Senators must approve it
=>
a rarely used tactic
=>
in practice then, a majority of 60 is required on a severely controversial bill
Conference Committees and Presidential Signatures
* Conference Committees
- a bill
must be passed in identical form by both House and Senate
- Senate
and House follow own paths, so bills don’t start identical
->
Often, one house simple makes minor amendments to another’s bill and the
amended bill is
then finalized-passed in the original house
- when
Senate and House disagree, a Conference Committee is formed
-> key
members of both houses meet in conference to iron out differences
->
Conference Committee bills must then be accepted by both houses without
amendment, if not,
they die
* The President’s role
- a bill
approved (identically) by both houses is sent to the President
- the
President’s options
1. sign
it - it becomes a law
2.
allow it to pass without signing - it becomes law after 10 days (not counting
Sundays) if he just
sits on it
3. veto
it - president officially refuses to sign the bill and sends it back with a
list of his objections
=>
a 2/3 vote in both houses can override a veto
+> this is very rare
4.
pocket veto - if Congress adjourns within 10 days of sending the bill to
President, and
President sits on it without signing, the bill dies
=>
this can happen when Congress passes bills near the end of their session