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1996-06-11
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Participating effectively in government processes depends partly
on our understanding of the structure and operation of the U.S.
system. Though we have probably learned the basics at one time
or another, an accessible civics refresher I found may be useful,
especially in a year where citizen activism--including that by
people with disabilities--is likely to make a considerable
difference in the future directions of government programs.
Jamal Mazrui
National Council on Disability
Email: 74444.1076@compuserve.com
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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE US GOVERNMENT
Table of Contents
* How a Bill Becomes a Law
* The Congress
* Congressional Leadership
* The President
* The Constitution
* Elections
* Campaign Finance
* The Budget
* Bibliography
(Compiled by Elise Senter, 1995)
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HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW:
_________________________________________________________________
Legislation is Introduced... Committee Action... Floor
Action... Conference Committee... The President... The Bill
Becomes a Law... Glossary of Terms
_________________________________________________________________
A. Legislation is Introduced
Any member can introduce a piece of legislation
House - Legislation is handed to the clerk of the House or placed in
the hopper.
Senate - Members must gain recognition of the presiding officer to
announce the introduction of a bill during the morning hour. If
any senator objects, the introduction of the\\\ bill is postponed
until the next day.
* The bill is assigned a number. (i.e. HR1 or S1)
* The bill is labeled with the sponsor's name.
* The bill is sent to the Government Printing Office and copies are
made.
* Senate bills can be jointly sponsored.
* Members can cosponsor the piece of Legislation.
_________________________________________________________________
B. Committee Action
The bill is referred to the appropriate committee by the Speaker of
the House or the presiding officer in the Senate. Most often the
actual referral decision is made by the House or Senate
parliamentarian. Bills may be referred to more than one committee and
it may be split so that parts are sent to different committees. The
Speaker of the House may set time limits on committees. Bills are
placed on the calendar of the committee to which they have been
assigned. Failure to act on a bill is equivalent to killing it. Bills
in the House can only be released from committee without a proper
committee vote by a discharge petition signed by a majority of the
House membership (218).
Committee Steps:
1. Comments about the bill's merit are requested by government
agencies.
2. Bill can be assigned to subcommittee by Chairman.
3. Hearings may be held.
4. Subcommittees report their findings to the full committee.
5. Finally there is a vote by the full committee - the bill is
"ordered to be reported."
6. A committee will hold a "mark-up" session during which it will
make revisions and addition. If substantial amendments are made,
the committee can order the introduction of a "clean bill" which
will include the proposed amendments. This new bill will have a
new number and will be sent to the floor while the old bill is
discarded. The chamber must approve, change or reject all
committee amendments before conducting a final passage vote.
7. After the bill is reported, the committee staff prepares a written
report explaining why they favor the bill and why they wish to see
their amendments, if any, adopted. Committee members who oppose a
bill sometimes write a dissenting opinion in the report. The
report is sent back to the whole chamber and is placed on the
calendar.
8. In the House, most bills go to the Rules committee before reaching
the floor. The committee adopts rules that will govern the
procedures under which the bill will be considered by the House. A
"closed rule" sets strict time limits on debate and forbids the
introduction of amendments. These rules can have a major impact on
whether the bill passes. The rules committee can be bypassed in
three ways 1.) members can move rules to be suspended (requires
2/3 vote) 2.) a discharge petition can be filed 3.) the House can
use a Calendar Wednesday procedure.
_________________________________________________________________
C. Floor Action
1. Legislation is placed on the Calendar
House: Bills are placed on one of four House Calendars. They are
usually placed on the calendars in the order of which they are
reported yet they don't usually come to floor in this order - some
bills never reach the floor at all. The Speaker of the House and the
Majority Leader decide what will reach the floor and when.
(Legislation can also be brought to the floor by a discharge
petition.)
Senate: Legislation is placed on the Legislative Calendar. There is
also an Executive calendar to deal with treaties and nominations.
Scheduling of legislation is the job of the Majority Leader. Bills can
be brought tothe floor whenever a majority of the Senate chooses.
2. Debate
House: Debate is limited by the rules formulated in the Rules
Committee. The Committee of the Whole debates and amends the bill
but cannot technically pass it. Debate is guided by the Sponsoring
Committee and time is divided equally between proponents and
opponents. The Committee decides how much time to allot to each
person. Amendments must be germane to the subject of a bill - no
riders are allowed. The bill is reported back to the House (to
itself) and is voted on. A quorum call is a vote to make sure that
there are enough members present (218) to have a final vote. If there
is not a quorum, the House will adjourn or will send the Sergeant at
Arms out to round up missing members.
Senate: debate is unlimited unless cloture is invoked. Members can
speak as long as they want and amendments need not be germane - riders
are often offered. Entire bills can therefore be offered as amendments
to other bills.
Unless cloture is invoked, Senators can use a filibuster to defeat
a measure by "talking it to death."
3. Vote - the bill is voted on. If passed, it is then sent to the
other chamber unless that chamber already has a similar measure under
consideration. If either chamber does not pass the bill then it dies.
If the House and Senate pass the same bill then it is sent to the
President. If the House and Senate pass different bills they are sent
to Conference Committee. Most major legislation goes to a Conference
Committee.
_________________________________________________________________
D. Conference Committee
1. Members from each house form a conference committee and meet to
work out the differences. The committee is usually made up of
senior members who are appointed by the presiding officers of the
committee that originally dealt with the bill. The representatives
from each house work to maintain their version of the bill.
2. If the Conference Committee reaches a compromise, it prepares a
written conference report which is submitted to each chamber.
3. The conference report must be approved by both the House and the
Senate.
_________________________________________________________________
E. The President
The bill is sent to the President for review.
1. A bill becomes law if signed by the President or if not signed
within 10 days and Congress is in session.
2. If Congress adjourns before the 10 days and the President has not
signed the bi