Congress In Action Unit III Section 3 Section

Congress In Action Unit III, Section 3

Section I & II Congress Organizes & Committees In Congress

Opening Day January 3 � House � › Reestablishes order after every two year election › Reappoints the Speaker of the House �Majority party member �Sworn in first, then swears in House members › Rep. sit left/Dems. Sit right of the aisle › Other appointments made › Clerk, parliamentarian, chaplain, etc. › Members of committees appointed

…Continued � Senate › Continuous House � 1/3 of Senate up for election at a time › Swearing in of reelected or new members › Fill Senate organization vacancies

State of the Union Address � Occurs in weeks following term beginnings � Major political event � Pres. outlines/reports on, › Domestic issues › Foreign policy › Leg. recommendations � Ripples into a flood of executive legislation

Presiding Officers � Speaker of the House › Elected by constituency first (Representative) and then by majority party › Presides and keeps order › Keeps bill flow and committee process going › Follows VP in Pres. Line of Succession

…Continued � President of the Senate › VP holds this position › Not body member › Not necessarily a majority party member � President Pro Tem › Active in VP’s absence › Elected by Senators › Follows Speaker of the House in succession

Party Officers � Party Caucus › Closed meeting of party › Deals with party issues and organization � Floor Leadership › Legislative strategist › Majority/Minority Leadership › Whips �Leadership assistants �Liaison between rank-and-file and leadership �Truancy officers of the chambers

Committee Chairperson � Bulk of work done at committee level � Head of standing committee � Majority party member � Keeps bill flow going

Committee Assignments � Standing Committees › Used to keep similar bills together › House � 10 -75 member committees/1 -2 committees per member › Senate � 14 -28 member committees/3 -4 committees per member › Bill making process �Referred by Speaker or President of the Senate

…Continued � Committees vary by importance and interest � House-20, Senate-16 � Majority party holds most seats › Minority party still represented � Subcommittees › 150 › Used to look at specific interests

…Continued � Select Committees › Special committees › Approved by presiding officer › Investigatory power �Standing �Situational

Joint & Conference Committees � Joint › Made up of members of both houses �Economic �The Library �Printing �Taxation � Conference › Joint Body › Creates signable version of two house legislation �Both Houses must accept final document

Section III Highlights How a Bill Becomes a Law: The House

The First Steps � Bill › Proposed law form in both Houses › Proposed by chamber members but most often from executive branch › Ideas born from private citizen ideas › Standing committees › Broken up into private and public bills › Bill’s placed in hopper for consideration

Types of Resolutions � Joint Resolution › When passed have the force of law › Deal with unusual items › Used to propose constitutional amendments � Concurrent Resolutions › House & Senate act together › Does not have force of all, simple Congressional opinion

…Continued � Resolutions › From one house or another › No force of law › Used to introduce change to procedures � Rider › Included on an unrelated bill/resolution › Not likely to pass on own merit › Hope it will “ride” through on a well supported bill

The Bill in Committee � Bills first step in bill process � Analysis, amends, kills bills › Most bills die or are never acted on � Discharge petition › Forces bill quickly through committee � Subcommittees do most of the work › Investigates, holds public hearings, has junkets, etc. to gather information

…Continued � Committee Actions › Report bill favorably › Refuse to report the bill › Report bill in amended form › Report the bill with unfavorable recommendation › Report a committee bill › When scheduling floor debate the House has 5 calendars

House Rules � Rules › › Committee can, Limit floor debate Work toward killing a bill Allow bills certain privileges Suspend rules �House may move off established procedures

The Bill on the Floor � Committee of the Whole › Helps speed up bill process › Includes all House members › Less strict rules › Quorum needed to do regular House work �Only 100 needed for C of the W � Limited debate time to 1 hour � Leadership helps divide debate time � House members may “move the previous question”

…Continued � Voting › Series of votes for one bill › Vote on amendments, motions, etc � Four › › voting measures Voice voting Standing voting Teller voting Roll-call voting

Section IV The Bill in the Senate

Introducing the Bill � Bill is first given a number � Less formalized process than in the House � One committee calendar to work with � Majority floor leader determines bill’s final floor presentation

Rules for Debate � Unrestricted floor debate in the Senate � Senators may freely speak on any matter � “Previous question” cannot be moved � “Two-speech” rule › No Senator may speak more than twice on a given question/issue › Helps limit amount of time on debate

Filibuster � “Talk a bill to death” � Stalling tactic in the Senate › Seeking to kill or change a bill � Senator Huey Long (D, Louisiana) › 15 hours, 1935 � Strom Thurmond (R, South Carolina) › 24 hours, 15 minutes, 1957 › Pushed against Civil Rights

…Continued � 200 measures killed due to filibuster � Sheer threat may lead a bill to be changed or killed � Rules › Must stand › May not sit, lean on a desk, or walk about › Must speak

The Cloture Rule � Created in response to a 3 week filibuster in 1917 › Bill dealing with German U-boat attacks › 12 Senators were opposed, killed the bill › President Wilson and the public were outraged � Limits debate through special procedure › Limits debate to 30 hours › Must be then voted on

Final Steps

Conference Committees � Temporary joint committee � Deals with similar legislation that has disagreements � “Knits” together the two pieces › Often makes their own changes � Both houses usually agree on final bill › Powerful committee members › Usually occurs before adjournments

The President Acts � Four executive options on a bill › The President may sign it › The President may VETO it �Congress may overturn this action (rarely) �Line item veto- targets specific point › Allows bill to become law without signing it �No executive action for 10 days (minus Sunday) › Pocket Veto �Congress adjourns 10 within submitting bill �President does not act, the bill dies