Week 6- Constitutional: The Legislative Process

Directions: View the video below (rough transcript provided) and then take the 10-question quiz. There is no time limit and you may attempt the quiz up to two times. Your highest score will be recorded.

Talking Points

• In this week’s Weekly Constitutional, we’re going to talk about the legislative process. Actually, that’s a pretty complicated topic and would take way too long to fully explore, so let’s just shorten it to “How a bill becomes a law.”

• And even that’s pretty messy. Perhaps you’ve heard the quote about law-making and sausages. I think it goes, “Laws are like sausages. It’s better that you don’t see how they are made.” Ha ha.

• Fortunately, the process on paper is pretty simple. It’s just that, in real life, it’s messy and complicated. So let’s take the easy way out and talk about the on-paper version.

• First, someone or some people have to draft a bill. Anyone can draft a bill. You can. I can. Your crazy neighbor whose house you avoid on Halloween...he can too. But more likely, a lobbyist or a congressional staffer will do the research and writing.

• Second, the bill has to be officially introduced. Only a Member of Congress can do this. Sorry crazy neighbor. And, I should mention, if it’s a tax bill, only a member of the House of Representatives can introduce the bill. Ah, little fun fact: all revenue-generating bills must originate in the House, not the Senate.

• Once a bill is introduced, it gets a number, which is preceded by H.R. for House bills or S. for Senate bills. Then it is referred to a standing committee. So, for example, if it’s a bill to require that all current service men and women take ballet lessons, than it would be referred to the House or Senate Armed Services Committee.

• Once referred, the bill gets on the committee’s calendar for review by a subcommittee or the full committee. Now, you need to know that committees are where many bills go to die. And even for the ones that have a future, chances are that they will be extensively revised while in committee.

• The point is, committees are really important and the majority party has a lot of power over committees: their leadership, their membership, their agendas, you name it.

• Anyways, there are four parts to the committee life-cycle of a bill: action, mark up, ordering, and report publishing...and, just so you know, a bill can very easily die at any point in this life-cycle.

• So action is just what it sounds like: hearings and staff analysis that hopefully lead to mark up. If the committee chooses to send a bill to mark up, which usually happens in a subcommittee, the bill is then edited or amended, often extensively. But even after a full mark up, a subcommittee may decide not to recommend the bill to the full committee, at which point the bill dies.

• But assuming the full committee gets the bill, it may or may not conduct more analysis, hold more hearings, consider amendments, and vote its recommendation to the full chamber, be it the House or the Senate. This is called ordering. If the bill is ordered, it still has a chance of becoming a law. If not...it’s dead to me.

• Once a bill has been ordered, a public report is drafted by committee staff. The report describes the nature and purpose of the bill, and includes expert testimonies, the president’s position on the bill, dissenting opinions on the bill, and other comments from relevant cabinet agencies and executive branch units.

• Now it’s go time! The bill is sent to the chamber in which it originated where it is scheduled for floor debate and a vote. Still, even after coming this far, the bill might not get a date.

• But, if it does, and after all debate and any amendments have concluded, the members vote. If the bill is defeated, it is dead. If it is approved, it goes to the next chamber where it begins the whole process all over again, starting with the bill being referred to committee.

• At this point, anything can happen: the other chamber can accept the bill as is, change it, or never even consider it. The bill can go back to the originating chamber with few or no changes, OR it can go to a conference committee in which members from both chambers reconcile the major differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill.

• If and only if the two chambers approve exactly the same final version with identical language does the bill get sent to the president for consideration.

• If the president signs the bill, it becomes a law. If the president takes no action for ten days after receiving the bill, and Congress is still in session, the bill becomes law. If the president takes no action within 10 days and Congress adjourned, the bill dies in what is known as a “pocket veto.” Or, the president can veto the bill outright, in which case, it goes back to Congress. If Congress can get ⅔ of its members to vote for the law (no easy task), then the bill becomes law. If not, no law.

• And that, my friends, is how a bill becomes a law...or doesn’t. Good luck on your quiz!