Congress Gets Organized!
 The
First Day in the House
 All members are sworn in
 House elects the Speaker
Member of the majority party
– selected in private meetings
before session
Congress Gets Organized!

The First Day in the House
 Members are put into committees
Majority party gets a majority in
every committee
Seniority Rule
Congress Gets Organized!
 First
Day in the Senate
 1/3 of the members are sworn
 Vacant committee seats are
filled
House Leadership
 Speaker
of the
House
 John Boehner
R-OH)
 Presides over
House
session
House Leadership

Speaker of the
House
 Refers bills to
relevant
committee
 Appoints
members of
the Rules
committee
House Leadership
 House
Majority
Leader
 Eric Cantor
(R-VA)
 Helps
Speaker to
plan party
strategy
House Leadership
 House
Whip
Majority
Kevin
McCarthy (RCA)
 Right hand
man of Maj.
Leader

House Leadership
 Link
between
leadership and
“rank and file”
 Check who plans
to vote and how
 Persuade
“defectors” to vote
with the party
House Leadership

House Minority
Leader
 Nancy Pelosi (DCA)
 Plans minority
party strategy to
take power back
 Expected to
become Speaker
if they win
House Leadership
 House
Minority
Whip
 Steny Hoyer
(D-MD)
 Strategy &
advice
Senate Leadership
 President
of
the Senate
 = Vice
President of
the U.S.
 Joe Biden
Senate Leadership
 Presides
over
the Senate
 Powerless and
thankless job
 V.P. has better
things to do
 Can only vote
to break a tie
Senate Leadership
 President
ProTempore of the
Senate
 Patrick Leahy
(D-VT)
 Presides in
place of the VP
Senate Leadership

President ProTempore of the
Senate
 Longest serving
member of the
majority party
 Also doesn’t want
to do it, passes
the job off on
junior members
Senate Leadership
 Senate
Majority
Leader
 Harry Reid
(D-NV)
Senate Leadership
 Senate
Majority
Leader
 Harry Reid
(D-NV)
 Plans party
strategy
Senate Leadership
 Places
bills on
the calendar for
voting
 May speak first
on any bill
Senate Leadership
 Senate
Majority
Whip
 Richard “Dick”
Durbin (D-IL)
 Organizes
votes, advise
Maj. Leader
Senate Leadership
 Senate
Minority
Leader
 Mitch
McConnell
(R-KY)
Senate Leadership

Senate Minority
Whip
 John Cornyn
 (R-TX)
 Strategy, advice
organize votes,
order of business
Committees
 Committee
– expert groups of
Congressmen who decide what
bills will go to the whole house for
a vote
 Most work in Congress is done in
committees
Types of Committees
 Standing
Committee – permanent
committees that remain from
session to session
 Examples: Foreign Relations,
Armed Services, Agriculture,
Judiciary
Types of Committees
 Select
or Special Committees –
Temporary committee to
investigate wrongdoing or
research a special matter
 Examples: Senate Watergate
Committee, Select Committee
on Aging
Types of Committees
 Joint
Committees – have
members of both the House and
Senate
 Conference Committees –
compromise different versions
of bills between House and
Senate
Types of Bills and Resolutions
What is the deal
with types of bills
and resolutions?
Bill – Addition or
change to public
law
Types of Bills and Resolutions
What is the deal
with types of bills
and resolutions?
Resolution –
possibly legally
binding, but not
always
How a Bill Becomes a Law
 For
a brief overview, let’s watch a
short documentary on the process
How a Bill Becomes a Law
 Step
1 – The House
 Bill is introduced
Can only be introduced by a
member of the House
Bill is read to the entire
chamber
How a Bill Becomes a Law
 Step
2 – The House
 Referred to a standing
committee
Speaker of the House chooses
the committee
Full committee decides
whether to consider it, or
“pidgeonhole” it
How a Bill Becomes a Law

Step 3 – The House
 Referred to subcommittee
Chairman of the committee
decides which subcommittee
Subcommittee does the vast
majority of research and work on
the bill
90% of bills die in steps 2 and 3
How a Bill Becomes a Law

Step 4 – The House
 Committee/Subcommittee Hearings
Government officials, experts invited
to speak in favor or against bills
Congressmen may take “junkets,” or
trips to locations for further research
Meanwhile, they “markup,” or make
changes to the bill
How a Bill Becomes a Law

Step 5 – The House Oh, no!!
 Sent back to full committee
Committee can either
Send the bill to step 6 with a
“do pass” recommendation
Or refuse to report the bill,
thus killing it
How a Bill Becomes a Law
 *If
the rest of Congress disagrees
with a committee’s decision to kill a
bill, there is one option*
 Discharge Petition – majority of the
House votes to pull a dead bill out
of committee
How a Bill Becomes a Law

Step 6 – The HouseOh, no!!
 Referred to Rules Committee
Places bill on the calendar
Sets the rules for time limits and
number of amendments allowed
If they refuse to put rules on it…
How a Bill Becomes a Law
 Step
7 – The House
 Whole House Debates
Debate is meaningless these
days – no one even shows up,
except those scheduled to
speak
How a Bill Becomes a Law
 Step
8 – The House
 Whole House Votes
Majority vote passes, sends
bill to the Senate
How a Bill Becomes a Law
 Step
9 – The Senate
 Introduced in the Senate
 Step 10 – The Senate
 Referred to a standing
committee
Senate Majority Leader
chooses which committee
How a Bill Becomes a Law
 Step
11-12 – The Senate
 Same as House – referred to
subcommittee, back to
committee, then out to floor for
debate
How a Bill Becomes a Law

Step 13 – The Senate
 Whole Senate Debates
No Rules Committee, so no limits
on time or amendments
Filibuster – talking at length to
stall action on a bill, can only
be ended by cloture (60 votes)
Riders – amendments that
have nothing to do with a bill
This leads to…
2002-2004 Taxpayers Paid For…
$167,000 for Horn Fly Research (AL)
 $1 million for Mormon Cricket
suppression (UT)
 $2 million for the “First Tee” program,
teaching inner-city kids to play golf
 $270,000 for potato storage (WI)
 $270,000 to combat “Goth Culture”
(MO)

Pork Barrel Spending
 How
congressmen “bring home
the bacon”
 Shows constituents that their
congressman gets “things” for
their district or state
 Helps congressman win
reelection!
How a Bill Becomes a Law
Step 14 – The Senate
 Senate votes
 Step 15 – Conference Committee
 Members of both houses’
subcommittees that worked on the
bill compromise
 Both houses then vote again on the
compromise bill

How a Bill Becomes a Law
 Step
16 – The President
 President has 4 options:
Sign the bill, make it law
Veto the bill, explain why
Goes back to Congress, who
can override with 2/3 vote
in both houses
How a Bill Becomes a Law
Wait
10 days and let it
become law without his
signature
Pocket Veto - If Congress
ends its session before 10
days are up, bill dies without a
veto