How Congress Works
A Bill v. A Law
Bill - a proposed
new law
introduced within
a legislature that
has not yet been
passed, enacted
or adopted
A Bill v. A Law
Law - a bill or act
passed by a
legislative body
Types of Bills
• public bill – proposed legislative bill that
deals with matters of general concern and
application
• private bill – a proposed legislative bill that
deals with specific private, personal, or
local matters rather than general affairs
• appropriation bill – legislative motion
authorizing the government to spend money
Types of Resolutions
resolution - a measure expressing
opinions on policies or issues
• simple resolution – measure dealing with “house-keeping”
or procedural matters that only affect one house
• joint resolution – measure when approved by both houses
and the president carries the force of law
• concurrent resolution – legislative motion that must be
approved by both houses, but does not have the force of
law
Legislator
Committee
Member
Representative
Partisan
Politician
A Congressman’s Balancing Act
How should I
vote? My
constituents
first or my
country???
Floor vote
on the
Energy
Bill!
Navigating the Legislative
Obstacle Course
Step 1: An Idea for a Bill
Sources:
Step 2: Writing & Introduction of Bill
Senate:
• Bill formerly
read aloud on
floor
• Bill then given
to clerk
• Referred to
committee by
Steering
Committee
House:
• Bill dropped in hopper
• Referred to committee
by the Speaker
Sen. Smith introduces bill on the Senate floor
~ Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Step 3: Committee Action
• On average, 4,000 to 5,000 bills are
submitted to Congress each year
• Every bill is assigned a number and is sent to the
appropriate standing committee
• New bills typically go directly to a subcommittee,
which can hold hearings on the bill
• Experts testify, other evidence is considered
• Bills are “marked-up” (revised and rewritten)
• Subcommittees send bills to full committee for
final revisions and a recommendation
Step 3: Committee Action II
• Bills receiving a favorable committee report are
reported out for consideration by the whole
House (placed on a calendar) or Senate.
– Most bills die in committee (pigeonholed)
– If a majority of the House wishes to consider a bill,
they can force it out of committee with a discharge
petition (requires a majority vote of all House
members
• committee members serve as “floor
managers” of the bill
HOUSE CALENDARS
• Union Calendar
– Required for any bill involving revenue or appropriations ($$$$$$$)
– This will be a Committee of the Whole and can include non-money bills
• House Calendar
– Bills that do not involve raising or spending money
• Private Calendar
– Dealing with a particular individual or corporation
• Corrections Calendar
– Federal rules or court decisions, 60% vote required to pass
• Calendar of motions to discharge committees
– An attempt to force a bill out of committee when the committee is blocking
Step 4: Floor Action - Senate
• Party leaders schedule
bills for floor debate on
the calendar
• Unlimited debate
• Filibuster - member(s)
keep talking to block
debate on a bill
• Cloture vote by 3/5 of
Senators (60) can end
filibuster
• Floor vote: Roll Call,
Standing, Voice
Senator Strum Thurman still holds the record for the longest
filibuster - 24 hrs 18 min. on the 1957 Civil Rights Act
Step 4: Floor Action - House
• Rules Committee schedules bills on calendar &
decides whether amendments may be added
• Limited debate
• Floor vote:
Recorded,
Standing,
Voice
Step 5: Approved Bill
Crosses Over to Other House
• Approved bill
must pass each
chamber by a
simple majority
Step 6: Conference Committee
• Members from each chamber meet to
reconcile differences in the two bills
Senate-House Conference Committee works out details of the
2003 Healthy Forest Restoration Act
Step 7: Both Chambers Vote on Final
Version of the Bill
Step 8: President Considers Bill
President can:
1. sign the bill
into law (~2.5%)
2. veto bill
3. pocket veto
Note: Congress can override veto with 2/3 vote in each house;
only 4% of vetos have been overriden
Sausage Making
• Presidents and Congress: Partners and
Protagonists
– Presidents attempt to persuade Congress that
what they want is what Congress wants.
– Presidents have many resources to influence
Congress.
Sausage Making
• Party, Constituency, and Ideology
– Party Influence – Party leaders cannot force
party members to vote a particular way, but
many do vote along party lines.
– Polarized Politics – Differences between
Democrats and Republicans in Congress have
grown considerably since 1980.
Sausage Making
• Party, Constituency, and Ideology
– Constituency Opinion – On the controversial
issues, members are wise to vote based their
constituency opinion.
– Member Ideology – The dominant determinant
of member’s vote on most issues is their
ideology.
Sausage Making
• Lobbyists and Interest Groups
– 35,000 registered lobbyists represent 12,000
organizations seeking to influence Congress.
– The bigger the issue, the more lobbyists will be
working on it.
– Lobbyists try to influence legislators’ votes.
– Congress can ignore, reject, and regulate the
lobbyists.
Sausage Making
• “Pork” – aka “pork-barrel legislation” – bills to
benefit constituents in hope of gaining their votes
• Logrolling – Congress members promise to
support each other’s proposals through an
exchange of votes and persuasion
• Christmas-tree bill –bill with many riders (pork)
– in Senate, no limit exists on amendments, so
Senators try to attach riders that will benefit
their home state
TERM LIMITS DEBATE
No current limit on how many terms
members of Congress can serve
1. Some argue this has weakened popular
control of Congress, reps might be
unresponsive to their constituents
2. Some argue most experienced reps have
the expertise to bring home more benefits
(pork, riders, etc.)
Critical Thinking:
Fact: About 5,000 bills are introduced in Congress
every year, but only about 150 are signed into law.
1. Explain why so few bills become law.
2. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
3. Should the legislative process in Congress be
reformed? If yes, what changes would you
recommend? If not, why not?
Title: Imagine there’s no Congress
Date: 6/06/07
Artist: Joe Heller, Green Bay Press-Gazette
Source: http://www.politicalcartoons.com/
Artist: RJ Matson
Date: 6/14/07
Source:
http://themoderatevoice.co
m/category/politics/politic
al-cartoons/
Source: http://bigpicture.typepad.com/
Date: 5/6/06