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Government Chapter 12. Making laws sounds easy…… rarely is it simple. Elections are every two years for the House and 1/3 of the Senate Elections are always held the 1 st Tuesday in November With each election, there is the possibility of control being transferred to a new majority.
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Making laws sounds easy…… rarely is it simple • Elections are every two years for the House and 1/3 of the Senate • Elections are always held the 1st Tuesday in November • With each election, there is the possibility of control being transferred to a new majority
Choose Congressional Leaders Four meetings in the first two weeks of a new congress are held to select new leaders.
Organizing a new Congress Elect congressional leadership: 1. Speaker 2. Majority and minority leaders 3. Majority and minority whips Formation of Party Committees 1. Research broad policy questions 2.Consider strategies 3. Determine party position 4. Nominate members to serve on the standing committee
Committee Assignments Usually made to represent the percentage of each party in Congress NOT ALWAYS, since the majority leader has the final say The number of committees a Congressperson sits on can vary from 1-5
Committees Some are more powerful and sought after such as: Appropriations + Budget+ Commerce+ Rules* Ways & Means* Finance # + Both chambers have these committees # Only in Senate *Only in the House
Who gets what committee seat? • Seniority • Party Loyalist- You will be expected to vote a certain way in exchange for the appointment.
Want to be a Congressional Page? Must be: • a High School junior • Nominated by a Congressional nominee • Appointed by the House or Senate leadership
What happens the first day of a new Congress? A bunch of simple ceremonies- • The simple majority is established • House votes for majority leader • Oath of office is administered • Swearing in of all members by the Speaker of the House Same thing happens in the Senate except the Vice President does not get sworn in
Who gets to be the committee chair of ranking member? Usually the person with the most consecutive years of service Since 1970’s: Party Loyalty Political skills trustworthy
Where do bills come from? • Independent citizens • Interest groups • Departments and agencies in the Executive branch A bill must be introduced by a member of the Congress; that person becomes the primary sponsor for the bill
Distribution of proposed legislature 1st Bill is referred to a committee 2nd Committee chair decides what to do with the bill a) most referred to committee b) committee chair decides what to do with the bill 1. ignore it 2. hold hearings All of this gives the chairperson of the committee a lot of power
Phase I Hold hearings- usually holds legislative hearings Purpose- listen to testimony and gather information Subcommittees can kill the bill or drag it out until the bill dies
Phase II Mark up- determines final language of the bill * 1/3 of committee must be there for the vote Chair begins: title and opening changes are made after the debate
Phase III Report 1. Do they send the bill to the full committee. (usually it does if it has made it through the mark up phase) 2. Standing committee • Amend • Accept • Hold hearings 3. Does the bill go to the full House or Senate for a vote (if yes: a report is written explaining and recommending the bill) 4. House or Senate agrees or disagrees with recommendation
Powers of House Rules Committee This committee acts as a traffic cop • Which bill goes in what order • Set debate rules Open Rules- often allows amendments Closed Rules- limits floor debate and amendments to the bill (sponsors want this)
Now what? Rules committee works with the Speaker Speaker sets the guideline for how and when the bill is debated
Debate & Vote The Majority Party Controls the Debate • Which bills, and who gets to speak • Power to Recognize- only members who have been called on may speak This puts lots of power in the Leaders hands; helps to keep members cooperative so they will get called on
Legislative Process • General Debate • Debate and voting on the bill • Final passage votes Debate is limited to about 1-2 minutes per person in any one hour period
How About The Senate? • Hold unlimited debates • Senate leader has very little control over the agenda • Decisions on the schedule is worked out between the two party leaders
Filibusters Delay tactic; designed to block passage of the bill Record filibuster- 24 hours and 18 minutes held by S. Thurmond of S.C. How to stop a filibuster: Cloture Rule (3/5 of Senate or 60 votes can stop it) Hold- lets others know there will be a filibuster
Riders and Christmas BillsAdded on to a bill House All amendments must be related to the original bill Senate Amendments do not have to be related to the original bill. Result- Senate can make the bill impossible to vote for or against
Voting on the Bill • Voice vote- chamber as a whole say “aye” or “nay” • Standing vote- chamber stand and a count is taken • Roll-call- Each vote is recorded one at a time as names are read aloud A person can vote “present” which means they were there for the vote, but abstained from voting
Who pressures members to vote one way or another? • Constitutes • Member’s personal convictions • Interest groups (tobacco lobby) • Party Leaders (members are expected to vote with party, often accomplished through horse trading) • Colleagues ( pressure applied usually by trading votes-known as “logrolling)
Final Step….finally! • Both houses must vote on the exact same bill. • Compromise, often reached in a joint committee meeting. • The Bill that comes out of the joint committee must be backed by both parties majority leaders Now bill can only be voted on strictly as written No further changes can be made. • If the bill is passed, it goes to the President
President’s role 10 days to: • sign • Veto • No action Signed- the bill is now a law Veto- bill goes back to the 1st chamber where bill is allowed to die or is overridden by a 2/3 of the members
