Making Law Chapter 12 Sections 3 & 4

How a Bill Becomes a Law H.R. 1 introduced in the House H.R. 1 goes to committee for study House Rules Committee sets conditions for floor consideration If passed, H.R. 1 goes to the Senate Floor Action S. 1 introduced in the Senate S. 1 goes to committee for study If passed, S. 1 goes to conference committee Conference Committee resolves differences between H.R. 1 and S. 1 House and Senate vote on final version of the bill If passed, it goes to the President The President signs, vetoes, or allows the bill to become law without signing If vetoed, the bill returns to Congress Congress may override the President’s veto

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 (2007-2009) holds the record for the most cloture votes: 112 The 111th Congress (2009-2011) 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