How a Bill Becomes a Law

1. How a Bill Becomes a Law Goals: To understand the process of introducing and formulating legislation

2. Introducing a Bill • Bills usually generate from private citizens, the President, interest groups, etc. • Two types of bills: private and public • Public bills apply to the entire nation • Private bills apply onto to certain persons or places • Tax law would be public, but awarding a Medal of Honor would be private • Resolutions may change rules or procedure, or just wish someone a happy birthday • Concurrent resolutions affect both houses and are voted on by both memberships

3. Introducing a Bill (Cont.) • Joint resolutions require approval by the President and have force of law • Often address temporary matters or situations that need immediate attention • House Bills and Resolutions are dropped into the hopper – a box near the clerk’s desk • To introduce bills in the Senate, the sponsor is recognized on the floor and then simply announces it or hands it to a clerk in the front of the Senate • In both houses, a bill is assigned a title and number and then it’s off to a legislative committee

4. Bills in Committee • Most bills (90%) die in committee and most of those are set aside, forgotten or never discussed • On rare occasions, a discharge petition must be signed by the majority of the House to force the bill to the floor after being in committee at least 30 days • If a committee decides to act on a bill, hearings are set up in which people interested present their points of view to the committee members • After hearings, committees meet to go through the bill section by section to make changes • If the bill survives the committee’s approval after the changes, it will be accompanied by a written report to all members

5. The House Rules Committee • The House Rules Committee limits debate on the House floor, but also issues a rule before the bill can even reach the floor • When a rule is granted, time limits on debate and the process of offering amendments are also set forth • 435 members can debate for a long time, which is why there are restrictions on debate in the House • House Rules Committee is an extremely powerful committee

6. Floor Action and Debate • Many members of Congress aren’t present during debate, believing they can make better use of their time than listening to debate • To create a quorum, the House becomes one large committee itself, the Committee of the Whole • Only 100 Representatives need to be present to begin the work of Committee of the Whole • When the work is done, the Committee of a Whole dissolves itself and the House goes to regular session to approve or reject the Committee’s action • In the House, no representative may speak for more than one hour without unanimous consent and the Speaker has the power to make someone give up the floor at any time • In a request to “move the previous question”, a vote must be taken within 40 minutes of the motion

7. Floor Action and Debate (Cont.) • To stall or kill a bill on the floor, one might request to add as many objectionable amendments to a bill that other members decide not to support it • In the Senate, it comes straight from committee to the full Senate • Senators can usually speak on any subject they wish with unlimited time • A filibuster can allow Senators to talk a bill to death • They can either talk for a long time, yield the floor to one another, or simply ask for the roll call to be read repeatedly • A filibuster can be stopped (now) by a cloture if 60 Senators vote for the motion to cut off debate

8. “Christmas Tree” Bills • A “Christmas Tree” bill is a bill in the Senate that has amendments added to it, but they don’t have to be germane • Nongermane amendments are called riders, and they only exist in the Senate • When a bill is presented for a vote, a quorum must be present • Majority vote of those present wins • Four options available to Congress members are: • To pass the bill as written and send it to the other house for consideration • To table or kill the bill • To send the bill back to committee • To offer amendments

9. President’s Actions • A bill that passes both houses go to the President • The President signs the majority of bills from Congress, and even if he does not act within ten days of receiving it, the bill becomes law without a signature • The President reserves the right to veto the bill, but tension can create gridlock because the two branches can’t agree • Signals are sent back and forth between Congress and the President if a veto is likely • Congress tends to pass a large number of bills late in a session, and if it is closer than 10 days away, the President can choose to not act upon it and kill the bill, which is a pocket veto • Vetoes are seldom overridden; it’s happened only in a small number of the vetoes

10. Voting Influences • Constituent’s views – Some members of Congress are heavily influenced by their constituents’ wishes and make it a priority to follow them • Party membership – About 75% of the time, members of Congress vote on party lines • Personal views – Some members of Congress feel that their own judgment is what should count most