Semester 2 Week 1

 Credit: Kami Harris

The Legislative Process

The Founders felt there were certain basic restraints on lawmaking:

1. People cannot delegate to government the power to do anything which would be unlawful for them to do themselves.  (Legal Plunder?)
2. Legislative authority cannot be delegated to other men besides those who have been chosen by the people.
3. Any statute (law) is inherently (naturally) null and void if it violates the laws of nature and/or God.
4. The law must not be used to destroy equality and justice.  (What about slavery?)
5. All bills for the raising of revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives.  (There are elections for this office every two years which holds them accountable to the people.)

1. Designed to give the people the RIGHT to have the raising of their taxes under the direct supervision and responsibility of their own representatives.  (Only should be taxation with representation.)
2. Before the 17^th Amendment, this would allow the House to have leverage over the Senate because they control the money.  It would also allow the House complete independence.  The Senate is more likely to be corrupt because it is “not as close to the source of the money—the people” represents the states and should have less to do with money matters.

6. The Senate may propose or concur with amendments on revenue bills as legislation.
7. Every bill passed by the House and the Senate shall be presented to the President for review.

*There are more than 20,000 bills and resolutions that are introduced in Congress each session.  Only about 10% survive.

Originally, Congress was supposed to pass bills and spend money only for the GENERAL welfare of the whole country.  Gradually, the chains of the Constitution have eroded so that today where are numerous bills for PRIVATE welfare.  

How a Bill Becomes a Law

1. Bill are usually initiated as a result of suggestions from:

1. The Executive Branch
2. Individual members of Congress
3. Lobbying interest of a special interest group
4. Individuals (The way the founders intended.)

Each house of Congress has a legislative counsel to help write each bill in its proper form.  (The Library of Congress provides a legislative Reference Service.)  Some lawyers are trained in writing legislation.

2. A bill is introduced in the House by simply being put in the “hopper” (a large box on the end of the House clerk’s desk).  (I had a boy put on a name tag “Bill” and get on a giant hop ball and go through how a bill becomes a law.)

A bill is introduced in the Senate when a Senator is recognized by the chair and presents the title and main subject matter of the bill.

In both cases, the bill will be assigned a prefix and a number.

3. A bill is then assigned to a committee.  The legislative clerks of each house have the responsibility of assigning bills to their appropriate committees.
4. The life or death of a bill depends on what happens to it in the committee.  Most Congressman or Senators try to impress the committee chairman with the importance of the bill by having a large number of colleagues co-sponsor the bill.  If the chairman feels so inclined he will refer the bill to a sub-committee to call witnesses and hold a hearing.
5. The Hearing:  Both proponents and opponents are heard.  Experts are heard.  Others present their personal positions.  Much of this is done by professional lobbyists.

After a hearing, the committee meets in a closed executive session and suggests changes.  They can amend the bill.  They can also rewrite the bill.  It is then sent out as a committee bill.  If a majority of the committee is against the bill, they will vote to have it tables which means it is set aside and preferably forgotten.  They will sometimes report the bill out of committee even if they disagree with it if they feel the whole house should have an opportunity to debate it.  They give it an “unfavorable recommendation.”  If the House buries a bill for more than 30 days, it can be “blasted out” of committee by having a simple majority.  In the Senate a buried bill can be “blasted out” of a committee by a motion on the floor which is approved by a majority of those present.

6. Calendar:  When a bill comes out of committee it is then put on the calendar.  The House has three main calendars:  the Union Calendar for appropriation (a sum of money that has been set aside from a budget, especially a government budget, for a specific purpose) bills, the House Calendar for public bill (these apply to the whole nation), the Private Calendar for bill that affects individuals or groups of individuals.
7. Rules Committee:  Sets a priority for the bills placed on the calendar.  They may speed up the consideration of a bill or block it.  (Out of the thousands of bills that get placed on the calendar only about 100 will be considered important enough to bring on the floor debate.)  The Rules Committee then gives “privileged status” (immediate consideration) to only about 50.

1. At this point a congressman sponsoring a bill is left helpless unless he can

1. Obtain a “suspension rule” which requires 2/3 vote of the House.  If this is done it must be debated in its original form.  It cannot be amended.  This also can only be done on the 1^st and 3^rd Mondays that the Congress is in session.
2. Obtain “unanimous consent” which means moving the bill be considered immediately and no one objects.
3. Obtain a “discharge rule” which requires 218 signatures out of 435 members of the House.  This can only be done the 2^nd and 4th Monday Congress is in session.
4. Get on “Calendar Wednesday” when the chairman of the standing committees are allowed to bring to the floor any bills from the House calendar.  Often the House Majority Leader requests calendar Wed. be canceled and this motion is usually carried by unanimous consent or 2/3 majority.

• None of these four options is carried out successfully except on very rare occasions.
• The Rules committee can stipulate conditions under which a bill is considered.  It can limit debate or rule that the bill cannot be amended.

8. On the Floor:  The House can resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole and a temporary presiding officer can take the place of the Speaker.  The House is technically not in session and this allows for a much less formal discussion and only 100 members are required.

The committee considers the bill section by section and amendments can be proposed and voted on.  When this process is completed, the committee of the whole adjourns.  The House is called back into session and the work of the committee is given formal approval.

1. Limiting debate is another device used to expedite proceedings.  Each Representative is given a maximum of one hour unless by previous unanimous consent, permission is granted to speak longer.
2. When a member is recognized they must stay on topic or their time can be taken away.
3. At any time during a House debate a member may “move the previous question” which means he is calling for a vote.  If the majority approves, the speaker allows each side 20 minutes for debate and then a vote is taken.

9. Senate Hearing:

Debate is much less restricted because of the smaller numbers.  There is no time limits and a member can interrupt debate and “move the previous question”.

Because debate in the Senate is practically unlimited, a minority of the Senators who wish to defeat a bill may use the technique known as a “filibuster”

1. Demand for roll-call votes on trivial issues
2. Employing other time consuming points of order
3. Principal device:  Small group of Senators get control of the floor and talk in tandem for long periods of time

• The point is to force the Senate to compromise or discontinue considering the bill altogether.
• Examples:  1935:  Huey Long of Louisiana held the Senate for 15 hours.
• 1957:  Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina held the floor for 24 hours

TO THE OTHER HOUSE:

When a bill has been approved by either house, it must go to the other.  Frequently there are serious objections or differences and these must be ironed out in conference.  Only when an agreed upon draft has been signed by the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate does it go to the President.

*3 months is the shortest amount of time a bill has been passed.

Every Bill Must Go to the President for Approval (Exceptions are: amending the constitution and war powers can be suspended by joint resolution of the House and Senate)

The President

Can sign it

Can it ignore it and let it become law after 10 days

Veto it

If passed at the end of a legislative session when he has less than 10 days to review it, he can “pocket” it, and let it pass into oblivion—the “Pocket veto.”  (This is often done with social legislation where bills are passed to make the congressman look good to their constituents back home, but there are not enough funds or no way the bill will ever get passed.) 

Included with the lecture "How the Legislative Process Works Today" is a game and an outline for the students to take notes on. I briefly go over the three part of the federal government, they take notes, and then we play the game.

THE THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT
The three branches of our government
were established by our Constitution.

1.  THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

THE CAPITOL BUILDING

CONGRESS
Congress is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. 
Their job is to make the laws for our country.

 The Senate has 100 Members, two from each state.
Senators are elected for 6-year terms.
A senator must live in the state from which he is chosen.
A senator must be at least 30 years of age.
A senator must have been a citizen of the United States for at least 9 years

The House of Representatives is made up of  435 members.
A state that has a big population will have many  representatives. 
A state that has a small population will have only a few representatives.
Every state must have at least one representative.
Members are elected by the people for 2-year terms.
A representative must live in the state from which he is chosen.
A representative must be at least 25 years of age.
A representative must have been a citizen for at least 7 years.

2.  THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

The executive branch of Government makes sure that the laws of the United States are obeyed. The President of the United States is the head of the executive branch of government. This branch is very large so the President gets help from the Vice President, department heads (Cabinet members), and heads of other agencies. 

The President is the head of the executive branch.
He appoints people who are experts in certain areas to be his advisers—his cabinet.

The President lives in the White House.

 

3.  THE JUDICIAL BRANCH

The judicial branch of government is made up of the court system.
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land.
Courts decide arguments about the meaning of laws, how they are applied,
and whether they break the rules of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court

   The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States. 
The Supreme Court hears cases that have made their way through the court system, but of the more than 7,500 cases that are sent to the Supreme Court each year, only about 80 to 100 cases are actually accepted.  Once the Supreme Court makes a decision, 
it can only be changed by another Supreme Court decision
or by amending (changing) the Constitution. 
This is a very important power that can affect the lives of a lot of people. 
The Supreme Court is made up of nine Justices, or judges. 
One of these is the Chief Justice. 
They are appointed by the President and must be approved by the Senate. 
Justices have their jobs for life.

Link to the Game located in the files of the Facebook Group titled Game for Three Branches of Government.doc uploaded Jan 2, 2019 by Kami Harris

      

Weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation

http://apushcanvas.pbworks.com/w/page/96933735/weaknesses%20of%20the%20Articles?

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Weaknesses-of-the-Articles-of-Confederation-Coloring-Doodle-Notes-SS-7-CG-1-7-9810664