American Government- how a bill is passed
Terms
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- finding number of Congressman and cong. districts in state
- every 10 years a census is taken, total population/435= 550,000 people/ per Congressional district step 2 take population of Florida= 10mill/435= 25 representatives, if a state has 25.5 Congressman the House of Representatives would decide which states get the representative step 3 the state of Florida decides where districts- 550,000 voters- district- stay in district for 10 years Bill Nelson- Senator Martinez- Senator of entire state
- who can submit a bill?
- a congressman or senator a bill can be for anything December 2008- 110 Congress every Congress lasts 2 years
- Step1 Where does the Bill first go to?
- Bill goes to Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the house - gives bill a # - the lower the # the more important the bill - assigns bill to atleast one standing committee with jurisdiction over bill However, Pelosi can keep the bill if she wants to
- Standing Committee
- a majority of democrats in standing committee- democratic majority leader- Ranking member is Republican- if Democrats hold a majority of seats in house and as a result the standing committee has a democratic majority
- Where does the Bill go after Nancy Pelosi sends the bill to committee?
- chairman hands bill to the correct subcommittees and at least 4 subcomittees
- What happens when the bill goes to the appropriate subcommittee?
- Dale holds hearing. Dale decides who will speak at public hearings Congressmen can ask questions information on bill is made public 51% vote of the house members there. If killed, the bill is dead and can not go on A partly line vote means the majority party (democrats) will win all the time If the bill passes it goes back to the full committee
- What happens at full committee?
- debates bill- public it takes the recommendations of the subcommittee log rolling is when house members vote for each other's bill (scratch back) full committee can markup the bill- change anything they want also add a rider to bill- anything they want
- What is a rider/earmark?
- can be anything- unrelated to bill once attached to bill- you vote for bill- you vote for rider way of getting something passed that may not have passed on its own also called pork or pork barrel
- What is a poison pill rider?
- amendment is so bad- placed on bill to block bill democrat get an amendment to fund abortion placed on bill no republicans will vote for bill - it kills bill
- after full committee what happens?
- back to the committee if committee passes bill by 51 % it moves on if not then bill is killed it is dead will not rise again
- What happens after a bill is passed by the full committee?
- all bills that pass the standing committees go the rules committee this committee guards the gate to the house chamber
- What does the rules committee decide?
- when the bill is discussed on house floor open rule- amendments can be added on floor amount of time the bill will be debated ( usually no more than an hour) yes- be nice to these people for they can delay your bill
- What happens after the Rules Committee presides over the bill?
- called the committee of the whole they come in and have 20 minutes to vote- only informal discussion must pass by 51% only half done- has to go to senate
- Step 1: majority leader
- president of the senate- its technical leader is the vice president of the United States The majority leader of the senate is the real leader- he handles all the decisions about what goes on in the Senate
- What happens after the Committee of the Whole votes 51% for it?
- Senator Reid (Dem.) controls the Senate he assigns the bill a new number he sends bill off to at least 1 standing committee
- What does Chairman Kennedy do?
- usually in the second chamber there are no hearings. Bill will stay in full committee
- What does the Senate Committee?
- they can simply vote on the bill as it came to them from the house= 51% to pass or they can mock up the bill or they can add riders to the bill then they can pass it by 51% if it does not pass by 51% it is dead
- is there a rules committee in the senate?
- no
- Where does the bill go to after Senate Committee passes the bill?
- the majority leader, schedules the Senate floor debate if a Senator asks for consideration he usually receives it each senator is allowed to talk about the bill on the floor all 100 of senator can talk
- What is a filibuster?
- this is a technique only used in the Senate. it is a way for a small number of senators to get a bill killed when most of the senators want to pass the bill
- What is the purpose of filibuster?
- no other actions can take place on the Senate floor while you are talking the majority leader can call the senate in a 24-7 session ( you need 5-8 senators for this reason) if you are successful the majority leader will withdraw the bill from the floor and it will not pass
- What is a cloture vote?
- if 66% of the senators vote to end the filibuster then the filibuster is over this is called a cloture vote after the cloture vote the senate will then vote on the bill bill passes- filibuster is destroyed
- Where does it go after the bill is sent back to the majority leader and passes?
- if the senate passes the bill by 51% it moves on- to the President if it doesn't the bill is killed if the Senate has changed the bill by 1. marking it up 2. attaching a rider
- If the bill is changed on the Senate floor where does the bill go?
- the bill goes to a conference committee is an ad hoc committee- different member meet at different times the majority leader and the house speaker will determine who is on the committee their goal is to reconcile the bill if they can't- the bill is dead
- What happened when the bill is reconciled by conference committee what happens?
- it goes back to original house right to house floor closed rule/ passes with 51% the on to second chance directly to Senate floor closed closed rule/vote 51% then on to the president
- what can the pres do?
- 1. sign it within 10 days- becomes law 2. wait 10 days- do nothing and it becomes a law 3. veto bill (no)
- veto override
- goes back to original house straight to floor 2/3 vote yes- goes to Senate in the senate- same thing straight to the senate floor 2/3 vote eyes- bill is law even without the president signing it
- can the house of representatives have more than 435 people?
- no, a law was passed to keep the number the same, the states would get a proportional amount of representatives to the state population
- What happens on a presidential election year?
- 1 pres, 33 senators, and 435 representatives are voted into office
- What happens on a mid-term election?
- 33 senators, 435 representatives Martinez- replaced by 2010 Nelson- replaced in 2012
- Congressional districts
- don't have to follow county lines or boundaries
- gerrymandering
- Republicans favor republican- State legislatures set up the districts so that the composition of each congressional district favors the republican party
- duties of Congress
- 1. pass bills into laws- authorization 2. approve all federal spending- appropriation 3. watch over the federal government- oversight to make sure it does what it is supposed to do 4. to investigate national problems- investigation 5. senate- approve appointments, judges, and treaties Standing committee is one that meets all the time Congress is in session. The leading republic on all committees will be Republicans for the next two years