The House of Representatives

Who is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives? Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH)

Who is the #2 officer in the House of Representatives? There is not one. If the Speaker must be gone, then the Majority Leader steps in for a few days.

Who are the other leaders of the House of Representatives? House Majority Leader Eric CantorEric Cantor (R-VA) –Right hand person to the Speaker –Help push through bills –Often ‘bugs’ other members in committee to get a move on Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)Kevin McCarthy –watchdog to see how people are planning on voting –Persuade people to do as the party wishes –Have no power over scheduling bills, debates, etc.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD)Steny Hoyer Who are the other leaders of the House of Representatives?

Bills All laws start out as bills Drop all proposed bills into the hopper (10 to 20% ever go to the House for a vote) It is then sent to committee for review If it survives that stage, it is then put on the appropriate calendar Next stop: The Rules Committee

Rules Committee One of the most powerful committees Decide the how and when a bill will be considered – control flow of traffic Can move a bill up on the Calendar Can also place a time limit on debate Frank Chopp (D-WA) House: Rules Committee

Voting Need a quorum 218 members To debate and amend, only needs 100 – called the Committee of the Whole

The Senate

Who is the presiding officer of the Senate? The Vice President of the U.S. who has the title of “President of the Senate.” Joe Biden Can cast a vote in case of a tie When VP not there (most of the time) the president pro tempore (“for the time being”) takes over He/she is from the majority party and is elected

Who is #2 in the Senate? President Pro-Tempore Daniel InouyeDaniel Inouye (D-HI)

Who are the other leaders in the Senate? Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) Harry Reid (D-NV) Make sure people are attending meetings for his party and getting support on important bills Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL)

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Develops criticisms for majority party’s bills Minority Whip Jon KylJon Kyl (R-AZ) Who are the other leaders in the Senate?

Scheduling Bills Anyone can introduce a bill Does not have Rules Committee because smaller; leaders guide bills to committee and for debate Bills go to floor based on unanimous consent of those present Unlimited debate; use filibuster to try to kill a bill they oppose After first three hours, they can talk nonsense How to stop it? 3/5s (60 members) vote for cloture= 1 hour limit per senator for debate

In both the Senate and the House of Representatives, there are other leaders. The most important are the committee chairpersons.

Committees This is where all the work is done Each Congressman is a member (or chair) of several committees Some committees are more powerful/exciting than others; selection to a committee based on tenure, politics, and constituency needs Allows members to become specialists Committees

Powerhouse Committees House Rules Ways and Means (taxation, tariffs and other revenue raising legislation) Appropriations (where the money goes, how much) Senate Foreign Relations Finance (like the Ways and Means, but also deals with Social Security) Appropriations

Committee Chairman Make the important decisions: when they will meet, which bills to consider, and for how long Decide on witnesses to be called/allowed Manage floor debates on bills from their committees

What Committees are There? bin/committee_list.cgi?site=ctchttp:// bin/committee_list.cgi?site=ctc

How a Bill Becomes Law

Bills… Bill – a proposed law (only 5%-6% become law) Initiated by legislative branch, executive branch, special interest groups, or private citizens Must be introduced by a member of Congress

Committees Standing Committee – sift through bills and separate those worthy of consideration (most get pigeonholed, die) Subcommittee – group that researches a bill (public hearings, junkets) Most bills that don’t become law die in committee Discharge Petition – Forces a bill back to the floor for consideration (218 votes needed)

Debating in the House Rules Committee must grant a “rule” for a bill to make it to the floor 1 hour speaking limit No rambling

Debating in the Senate No time limit Filibuster – exessively speaking to prevent action on a bill –H. Long (1935) – 15 hours, reading the phone book –G. Taylor (1947) – 8 hours, talking about his children –S. Thurmond (1957) – 24 hours 18 minutes 2 speech rule – cannot speak more than 2 times Cloture Rule – ends a filibuster with a 3/5 vote, limits debate to 30 additional hours

Presidential Actions Sign it (becomes law) Veto it (send it back to original chamber) –(Can overturn a veto with a 2/3 vote) Not sign it (becomes law after 10 days) Pocket veto (not signing it when there are less than 10 days to go in the session kills the bill)

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In your notes….. Explain the difference between a tax bill, an appropriations bill, and an authorization bill.