Transcript Making Law - Sacred Heart Academy

Chapter 12
Sections 3 & 4
Bills, Bills, Bills…
• Bill: idea for a new law
or change in an old law.
– Public bills: apply to the
whole country
– Private bills: local
matters and individual
people
• Rider: addition,
possibly unrelated,
usually wouldn’t pass on
its own
Resolutions
• Resolution: usually
deals with a matter in
one house, not a law
• Joint resolution: both
houses, has the force
of law
• Concurrent resolution:
both houses act
together, not as strong
as a law
Introduction and First Reading
• Clerk of the House gives
each bill a number and a
short title
• Recorded in the House
Journal and the
Congressional Record
• Read, printed, and
distributed to members
– In the Senate, a bill is read
twice
• The bill goes to committee
Stuck in Committee
• Standing committees
decide which bills are
important enough for
floor consideration
• Committees and
subcommittees hold
hearings and debates
Still Stuck in Committee
• Recommend passing the
bill
• Pigeonhole the bill
– Can be resurrected if the
majority of the House
signs a discharge petition
• Change or amend the
bill
• Make unfavorable
comments (rare)
• Offer an entirely new
replacement bill
Scheduling Debate
• Bills are put on one of 5
House calendars
– House Rules Committee
sets a day for discussion
– In certain emergency
cases, bills can jump to
the head of the line, or be
discussed immediately
• In the Senate, the floor
leaders schedule debate
On the Floor
• Read for a second time
• Minor bills are often
passed quickly
• Some bills are
considered by the
Committee of the
Whole
– Read, debate, and vote
on sections of the bill
– Does not require a
quorum (majority)
Debate in the House
• One hour limit
• Members can demand
a vote to stop debate
• New amendments may
require new votes
• Members can vote to
table the bill
Debate in the Senate
• Senators may speak as
long as they like on
any topic
• They may only give
two speeches on the
same topic in a
legislative day
• Bills that most
senators agree on
receive little floor time
Filibuster
• Filibuster is permitted
in the Senate, but not
in the House
• The record for a
filibuster by a single
senator is held by
former Sen. Strom
Thurmond (SC): 24
hours, 18 minutes
Cloture
• 1917: Cloture Rule
• If 3/5 of the Senate agrees,
a specific measure may
only be debated for 30
hours
• The 110th Congress (20072009) holds the record for
the most cloture votes: 112
• The 111th Congress (20092011) holds the record for
the most times cloture has
been invoked: 63
Voting
• Since 1973, the House
has voted on computers
– Members vote “Yea,”
“Nay,” or “Present”
• If the bill receives
enough votes, it is
printed, read and voted
on again
• If it passes, it is sent to
the other house of
Congress
Conference Committees
• If the House and the
Senate pass different
versions of a bill, the
measure is sent to a
conference committee
• The committee settles
the differences between
the versions
• Both houses vote again
• The final bill is sent to
the President
On to the Oval Office!
• Sign the bill into law
• Veto
– Congress can pass a
bill over the
President’s veto with
a 2/3 majority in both
Houses (only 110
times in history)
Tricky Ones
• If the President does not
sign the bill within 10 days,
it automatically becomes a
law
• Pocket veto
– If Congress adjourns within
the 10 days and the President
doesn’t sign the bill, it dies
• Line item veto
– Passed 1996, allowed the
President to reject single
items
– Declared unconstitutional in
1998, Clinton v. New York