Essential Question Section 1 How a Bill Becomes

Essential Question Section 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law Section 2: Taxing and Spending Bills Section 3: Influencing Congress Section 4: Helping Constituents Chapter Summary

What types of actions can members of Congress take to represent voters’ interests, and what rules govern congressional activities?

Content Vocabulary • private bill • veto • public bill • pocket veto • simple resolution • rider • hearing

Academic Vocabulary • labor • interactive • challenge

Reading Strategy As you read, create a flowchart to analyze the major stages by which a bill becomes a law.

What single factor is most responsible for so few bills becoming law? A. The bill’s sponsors are not willing to compromise. B. The process is long and complicated. C. Many bills are submitted as symbolic gestures. A. A B. B C. C

Types of Bills and Resolutions • Two types of bills are introduced in Congress: – Private bills deal with individual people or places. – Public bills deal with general matters and apply to the entire nation. • A simple resolution covers matters affecting only one house of Congress and is passed by that house alone. • A joint resolution is one passed in the same form by both houses.

Types of Bills and Resolutions (cont. ) • Earmarks are a way that members of Congress can specify that some part of a funding bill will go towards a certain purpose. • A rider is a provision on a subject other than the one covered in the bill. – Lawmakers attach riders to bills that are likely to pass.

Types of Bills and Resolutions (cont. ) • Fewer than 10 percent of all bills introduced in Congress become laws for several reasons: – Creating law is a long complicated process involving as many as 100 steps. – A bill’s sponsors must be willing to bargain and compromise with others. – Members introduce many bills knowing they have no chance of becoming law. Number of Bills That Become Law

Which type of bill deals with general matters and apply to the entire nation? A. a private bill B. a public bill C. a rider D. an earmark A. B. C. D. A B C D

Introducing a Bill • To introduce a bill in the House, a member drops the bill into the hopper, a box near the clerk’s desk. • To introduce a bill in the Senate, the presiding officer must first recognize the senator, who then formally presents the bill. How a Bill Becomes a Law

Introducing a Bill (cont. ) • When a committee decides to act on a bill, it holds hearings in which the committee listens to testimony from experts on the bill’s subject, government officials, and interest groups that are concerned with the bill. • After hearings are over, the committee meets in a markup session to decide what changes, if any, to make to the bill. How a Bill Becomes a Law

Introducing a Bill (cont. ) • When all changes have been made, the committee votes to either kill the bill or report it—to send it to the House or Senate for action. How a Bill Becomes a Law

When a committee decides to act on a bill, it holds hearings in which the committee listens to testimony from A. members of the Senate. B. the president. C. the public. D. experts on the bill’s subject. A. B. C. D. A B C D

Floor Action • Because the pros and cons of a bill were argued in committee hearings, only a few lawmakers usually take part in a floor debate. • A vote follows the debate. House and Senate members can vote in one of three ways: – voice vote: together members call out “Aye” or “No”, – a standing vote, or division vote: the “Ayes” stand to be counted, and the “Nos” stand to be counted, and

Floor Action (cont. ) – roll-call vote: each member says “Aye” or “No” as names are called in alphabetical order. • The House uses a fourth method, the recorded vote, where votes are recorded electronically and displayed on panels.

The three types of votes that can be taken on the House or Senate floor include a voice vote, a standing vote, and a(n) A. straw vote. B. electronic panel. C. roll-call vote. D. ballot vote. A. B. C. D. A B C D

Final Steps in Passing Bills • To become a law, a bill must pass both houses of Congress in identical form. • If one house will not accept the version passed by the other house, a conference committee must work out the differences the two chambers have. • After both houses have approved an identical bill, it is sent to the president.

Final Steps in Passing Bills (cont. ) • A presidential veto returns the bill to the house where it originated, along with an explanation of why the president vetoed it. • The president can also kill a bill by pocket veto, meaning the president refuses to act on a bill passed during the last ten days of the session, effectively killing it. • Congress can override a president’s veto with a two-thirds vote in both houses.

Final Steps in Passing Bills (cont. ) • A line-item veto allows a leader to reject specific lines or items in a bill while accepting the rest of the bill. • After a bill becomes law, it is registered with the National Archives and Records Service. • To find out about all legislation Congress is considering, one can go to an online information resource called THOMAS, after Thomas Jefferson.

To become a law, a bill must pass both houses of Congress A. within two weeks. B. before the end of session. C. in identical form. D. with earmarks. A. B. C. D. A B C D

Content Vocabulary • tax • closed rule • appropriation • authorization bill • entitlement

Academic Vocabulary • revenue • consequence • facility

Reading Strategy Create a graphic organizer to show the role of Congress in making and passing tax laws.

Who has the greatest influence on tax law? A. the House Ways and Means Committee B. the Senate Committee on Finance A. A B. B

Making Decisions About Taxes • The national government gets most of its revenues from taxes—money that people and businesses pay to support the government. • Most important work on tax laws occurs in the House of Ways and Means Committee. Comparing Governments

Making Decisions About Taxes (cont. ) • For many years, the committee’s tax bills were debated on the House floor under a closed rule which forbids members from offering any amendments to a bill from the floor. • In the Senate, the Committee on Finance has primary responsibility for tax matters. Comparing Governments

Almost all important work on tax laws occurs in A. the Senate. B. the Special Committee on Tax Law. C. the House Ways and Means Committee. D. the Senate Ways and Means Committee. A. B. C. D. A B C D

Appropriating Money • The power of appropriation, or approval of government spending, belongs to Congress. • Congress follows a two-step procedure in appropriating money—an authorization bill and an appropriations bill. – An authorization bill sets up a federal program and specifies how much money can be appropriated for it. – An appropriations bill is necessary to receive the money that was authorized.

Appropriating Money (cont. ) • Both House and Senate appropriations committees have 12 subcommittees covering the same policy areas. • Uncontrollables are expenditures the government is legally committed to. – Some uncontrollables are known as entitlements because they are social programs that entitle individuals to a certain program or monetary benefit.

Some expenditures to which the government is legally committed are called A. distributions. B. entitlements. C. taxes. D. dividends. A. B. C. D. A B C D

Content Vocabulary • lobbyist • lobbying

Academic Vocabulary • aware • contribute • unaffected

Reading Strategy As you read, fill in a chart like the one below to list the different influences on lawmakers in Congress.

Should lawmakers vote based on what their constituents want or based on what the lawmaker believes is right? A. what their constituents want B. what they believe is right A. A B. B

Influences on Lawmakers • There are several factors that influence how a lawmaker votes: – temperament—some may be willing to take risks while others “play it safe” – the nature of the issue – congressional staffers

How might congressional staffers influence decisions made by lawmakers? A. they provide research B. they vote on issues when lawmakers are unavailable C. they represent lawmakers at their request A. A B. B C. C

The Influence of Voters • Lawmakers’ decisions (and political careers) are influenced by voters in several ways, including: – voter expectations based on lawmakers’ voting records, – visiting the districts of their constituents to gauge their opinions, – messages from voters to find out what issues concern them most, and

The Influence of Voters (cont. ) – the opinions of their key supporters, including those who work in their campaigns and contribute money.

How can voters influence decisions made by lawmakers? A. voter expresses expectation B. constituents in lawmakers district voice their opinion C. e-mails and letters expressing key concerns D. A, B, and C A. B. C. D. A B C D

The Influence of Parties • Both major political parties—Republicans and Democrats—take stands on major issues and come out for or against certain legislation. • Both Democrats and Republicans tend to vote with their parties. • Very few issues are unaffected by party identity.

How might a lawmaker’s party influence their votes? A. party members often have different political views B. requirement of party membership C. pressure from party leaders D. pressure from specialinterest groups A. B. C. D. A B C D

Other Influences on Congress • The president can influence Congress in several ways: – by influencing public opinion through speeches and television appearances, and – by supporting legislative goals of individual members of Congress.

Other Influences on Congress (cont. ) • Lobbyists try to convince members of Congress to support policies favored by the groups they represent. • Lobbying is their effort to persuade officials to support their point of view. • Political Action Committees are political fundraising organizations established by corporations, labor unions, and other specialinterest groups.

Those who try to convince members of Congress to support policies favored by the special-interest groups they represent are called A. PACs. B. lobbyists. C. party leaders. D. congressional aides. A. B. C. D. A B C D

Content Vocabulary • casework • pork-barrel legislation • logrolling

Academic Vocabulary • involve • source • assign

Reading Strategy As you read, complete the cause-and-effect chart to detail the purposes of casework.

Which, if any, of these practices do you find unfair in the creation of law? A. pork-barrel legislation B. logrolling C. both D. neither A. B. C. D. A B C D

Handling Problems • Helping constituents with problems is called casework. • Lawmakers respond to thousands of requests from voters for help in dealing with executive agencies. • All lawmakers have staff members called caseworkers to handle constituent problems.

Handling Problems (cont. ) • Casework serves three important purposes: – It helps lawmakers get reelected. – It is one way in which Congress monitors the performance of the executive branch. – Casework provides a way for the average citizen to cope with the huge national government.

All lawmakers have staff members called ______ to handle constituent problems. A. caseworkers B. agents C. representatives D. constituents A. B. C. D. A B C D

Helping the District or State • Members try to bring federal projects to their districts and states in three ways: – through pork-barrel legislation, – winning federal grants and contracts, and – by working to keep existing federal projects. • When Congress passes laws to appropriate money for local federal projects, is often called pork-barrel legislation.

Helping the District or State (cont. ) • When two or more lawmakers agree to support each other’s bills, it is called logrolling. • Lawmakers do not vote on grants and contracts as they do on pork-barrel legislation; however, they do try to influence decisions.

When Congress passes laws to appropriate money for local federal projects, it is often called A. logrolling B. pork-barrel legislation C. public works legislation D. casework A. B. C. D. A B C D

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