Congress In Action

Congress In Action Chapter 12

Section I & II Congress Organizes & Committees In Congress

Opening Day • January 3 • House • Reestablishes order after every two year election • Reappoints the Speaker of the House • Majority party member • Sworn in first, then swears in House members • Rep. sit left/Dems. Sit right of the aisle • Other appointments made • Clerk, parliamentarian, chaplain, etc. • Members of committees appointed

…Continued • Senate • Continuous House • 1/3 of Senate up for election at a time • Swearing in of reelected or new members • Fill Senate organization vacancies

State of the Union Address • Occurs in weeks following term beginnings • Major political event • Pres. outlines/reports on, • Domestic issues • Foreign policy • Leg. recommendations • Ripples into a flood of executive legislation

Presiding Officers • Speaker of the House • Elected by constituency first (Representative) and then by majority party • Presides and keeps order • Keeps bill flow and committee process going • Follows VP in Pres. Line of Succession

…Continued • President of the Senate • VP holds this position • Not body member • Not necessarily a majority party member • President Pro Tem • Active in VP’s absence • Elected by Senators • Follows Speaker of the House in succession

Party Officers • Party Caucus • Closed meeting of party • Deals with party issues and organization • Floor Leadership • Legislative strategist • Majority/Minority Leadership • Whips • Leadership assistants • Liaison between rank-and-file and leadership • Truancy officers of the chambers

Committee Chairperson • Bulk of work done at committee level • Head of standing committee • Majority party member • Keeps bill flow going

Committee Assignments • Standing Committees • Used to keep similar bills together • House • 10-75 member committees/1-2 committees per member • Senate • 14-28 member committees/3-4 committees per member • Bill making process • Referred by Speaker or President of the Senate

…Continued • Committees vary by importance and interest • House-20, Senate-16 • Majority party holds most seats • Minority party still represented • Subcommittees • 150 • Used to look at specific interests

…Continued • Select Committees • Special committees • Approved by presiding officer • Investigatory power • Standing • Situational

Joint & Conference Committees • Joint • Made up of members of both houses • Economic • The Library • Printing • Taxation • Conference • Joint Body • Creates signable version of two house legislation • Both Houses must accept final document

Section III Highlights How a Bill Becomes a Law: The House

The First Steps • Bill • Proposed law form both Houses • Proposed by chamber members but most often from executive branch • Ideas born from private citizen ideas • Standing committees • Broken up into private and public bills • Bill’s placed in hopper for consideration

Types of Resolutions • Joint Resolution • When passed have the force of law • Deal with unusual items • Used to propose constitutional amendments • Concurrent Resolutions • House & Senate act together • Does not have force of all, simple Congressional opinion

…Continued • Resolutions • From one house or another • No force of law • Used to introduce change to procedures • Rider • Included on an unrelated bill/resolution • Not likely to pass on own merit • Hope it will “ride” through on a well supported bill

The Bill in Committee • Bills first step in bill process • Analysis, amends, kills bills • Most bills die or are never acted on • Discharge petition • Forces bill quickly through committee • Subcommittees do most of the work • Investigates, holds public hearings, has junkets, etc. to gather information

…Continued • Committee Actions • Report bill favorably • Refuse to report the bill • Report bill in amended form • Report the bill with unfavorable recommendation • Report a committee bill • When scheduling floor debate the House has 5 calendars

House Rules • Rules Committee can, • Limit floor debate • Work toward killing a bill • Allow bills certain privileges • Suspend rules • House may move off established procedures

The Bill on the Floor • Committee of the Whole • Helps speed up bill process • Includes all House members • Less strict rules • Quorum needed to do regular House work • Only 100 needed for C of the W • Limited debate time to 1 hour • Leadership helps divide debate time • House members may “move the previous question”

…Continued • Voting • Series of votes for one bill • Vote on amendments, motions, etc • Four voting measures • Voice voting • Standing voting • Teller voting • Roll-call voting

Section IV The Bill in the Senate

Introducing the Bill • Bill is first given a number • Less formalized process than in the House • One committee calendar to work with • Majority floor leader determines bill’s final floor presentation

Rules for Debate • Unrestricted floor debate in the Senate • Senators may freely speak on any matter • “Previous question” cannot be moved • “Two-speech” rule • No Senator may speak more than twice on a given question/issue • Helps limit amount of time on debate

Filibuster • “Talk a bill to death” • Stalling tactic in the Senate • Seeking to kill or change a bill • Senator Huey Long (D, Louisiana) • 15 hours, 1935 • Strom Thurmond (R, South Carolina) • 24 hours, 15 minutes, 1957 • Pushed against Civil Rights

…Continued • 200 measures killed due to filibuster • Sheer threat may lead a bill to be changed or killed • Rules • Must stand • May not sit, lean on a desk, or walk about • Must speak

The Cloture Rule • Created in response to a 3 week filibuster in 1917 • Bill dealing with German U-boat attacks • 12 Senators were opposed, killed the bill • President Wilson and the public were outraged • Limits debate through special procedure • Limits debate to 30 hours • Must be then voted on

Conference Committees • Temporary joint committee • Deals with similar legislation that has disagreements • “Knits” together the two pieces • Often makes their own changes • Both houses usually agree on final bill • Powerful committee members • Usually occurs before adjournments

The President Acts • Four executive options on a bill • The President may sign it • The President may VETO it • Congress may overturn this action (rarely) • Line item veto- targets specific point • Allows bill to become law without signing it • No executive action for 10 days (minus Sunday) • Pocket Veto • Congress adjourns 10 within submitting bill • President does not act, the bill dies

Congress In Action