1. How A Bill Becomes A Law

2. Types of Bills Private bills Public bills 30% Resolutions
Joint resolutions
Concurrent resolutions
Riders

3. Private Bills Deal with individual people or places.
Often deal with immigration or naturalization issues.

4. Public Bills General matters Apply to the entire nation
About 30% of all bills

5. Resolutions Affect only the house of Congress that passed it.
Used to change procedural rules, etc.
Do not need President’s signature

6. Joint Resolutions Passed by both houses of Congress
Used to correct errors in laws or appropriate money for a special purpose
Propose Constitutional Amendments
Do not require President’s signature

7. Concurrent Resolutions
Deal with matters of concern to both houses of Congress (but a law is not needed)
Date of adjournment
Express Congress’ opinion about an issue
Do not need President’s signature

8. Few Bills Become Laws 5% Only about 5% of bills become laws Why???
Process is complicated
Unless bill has strong support, it will die
Politics kill many bills
Interest groups may oppose the bill
Some bills are just for “show”
To appease some supporter
To bring attention to an issue 5%

10. Writing A Bill
Who writes a bill???
Congressman
Staff
Interest groups

11. Introducing A Bill House of Representatives Senate
Drop the bill into a hopper
An “HR” number gets assigned
Bill is assigned to standing committees
Senate
Senator must actually read the bill to the Senate
An “S” number gets assigned
Bill is assigned to standing committees

12. See page 376 in textbook

14. Committee Actions Bill is assigned to subcommittee Hearings
“Pigeonholing” to kill bills
Make changes in bill
Rewrite the bill
Recommend that the bill be adopted

16. Reporting the Bill Report
“Reporting a bill” means to send it to the full House of Representatives or Senate with a report of the committee’s actions.
Report

17. Debate on the Floor
Usually most of “debate” has occurred in the committees
Things are added:
Amendments
Riders
Earmarks

18. benefit the entire nation.
Riders
Attached to a bill
but
have nothing to do with
the bill
benefit the entire nation.

19. Riders
Earmarks
A form of rider that appropriates money that benefits only a single district or state.
Examples:
Money for a new park.
Money for a bridge.
Money for a library.

21. Earmarks

22. Final Steps for Bills
Voting
Conference Committees
Voting again

23. Final Step
Bill is “registered”
Given a number

24. Then the bill is finally sent to the President.

25. Presidential Actions May sign bill May let it sit for 10 days Veto
If Congress is in session, it becomes law without signature
If Congress is not in session, it dies (Pocket Veto)
Veto

26. Overriding a Veto 2/3 Requires 2/3 vote in both houses
of Congress to override
Very difficult to override vetoes
2/3