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Types of BillsTypes of Bills
• Private bills
• Public bills 30%
• Resolutions
• Joint resolutions
• Concurrent resolutions
• Riders
Private BillsPrivate Bills
Deal with individual people or places.Often deal with immigration or naturalization issues.
Public BillsPublic Bills
• General matters
• Apply to the entire nation
• About 30% of all bills
Simple ResolutionsSimple Resolutions
• Affects only the one house of Congress that passed it.
• Used to change procedural rules, etc.
• Do not need President’s signature
Joint ResolutionsJoint 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
Concurrent ResolutionsConcurrent 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
Few Bills Become LawsFew Bills Become LawsOnly about 5% of bills become lawsWhy???
– 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
Writing A Bill
Who writes a bill???• Congressman
• Staff
• Interest groups
Introducing A Bill
House of Representatives
• 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
Group work
• Fill out worksheet dealing with video we saw yesterday.
• Follow the instructions on the sheet of paper I hand out.
• Turn in worksheet by end of class to me!
• Bill is assigned to subcommittee
• Hearings
• “Pigeonholing” to kill bills
• Make changes in bill
• Rewrite the bill
• Recommend that the bill be adopted
Committee ActionsCommittee Actions
Reporting the BillReporting the Bill
“Reporting a bill” means to send it to the full House of Representatives or Senate with a report of the committee’s actions.
Debate on the FloorDebate on the Floor
• Usually most of “debate” has occurred in the committees
• Things are added:– Amendments– Riders– Earmarks
RidersRiders
Attached to a bill
but
have nothing to do with
the bill
but
benefit the entire nation.
Example:
The new healthcare bill had a rider that changed the system for providing federal loans to college students.
RidersRiders
EarmarksEarmarks• 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.
RidersRiders
Final Steps for BillsFinal Steps for Bills
• Voting
• Conference Committees
• Voting again
Final StepFinal Step
• Bill is “registered”
• Given a number
Then the bill is finally sent to the President.
Presidential ActionsPresidential Actions
• May sign bill
• May let it sit for 10 days– If Congress is in session, it becomes law
without signature– If Congress is not in session, it dies (Pocket
Veto)
• Veto
Overriding a VetoOverriding a Veto
• Requires 2/3 vote in both houses
of Congress to override
• Very difficult to override vetoes
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