American Government Final Question

A. Explain how a bill becomes law from start to finish. (Be sure to list each step in the process)

(A)The first steps to lawmaking is introducing and drafting the bill. While drafting a proposed bill can be undertaken by committees, interest groups, congressional staff, the president and other agencies; only congress members from house or senate can officially introduce legislation. Once a bill is received by legislators the house or senate leaders officially submit bill to clerk for referral to appropriate committee for deliberation. The deliberation process the committees refer the bill to sub-committees who hold hearings where they listen expert testimony regarding bill and then make amends on proposed bill. The bill is then referred to the full committee who accepts recommendations of sub committees or hold separate hearings to make more amends the bills. The proposed bill is then subject to committee markup session where the bill is rewritten to include the recommendations that committees have discussed during hearings. Next the bill is goes back to the house speaker or senate president for floor action or debate. However the house and senate operate under different rules during the legislative process that influence how a bill is a passed. In the house a proposed bill is subjected to another phase of deliberation called the rules committee before it reaches the floor. In house debate on the bill is contingent upon the rules given by bills sponsor, and by bills leading opponent, or the ranking minority member which processed bill.The rules committee may proceed under a closed rule a provision which prohibits introducing new amendments and thereby severely limits debate, or it can proceed under an open rule which permits debates proposing new amendments. Supporters of the bill favor closed rule because it allows for a bill to go through the rules committee without being amended which can increase the chances of bill being passed, while opponents favor an open rule. The rules committee while crucial has created partisan conflict, and the house recently bypassed this step, and have sent bills directly to the floor for action which has greatly reduced the rules committees importance. In any case the house speaker exerts control over floor and sets limits on debate; where as in the Senate the leader does not have control over floor debate. Once a bill reaches senate floor a senator can speak for as long as he or she wishes. After a bill has been debated and amended by the House and Senate the bill goes on the floor for vote. However a bill does not reach the floor for vote unless the leaders feel it will pass with certainty. It takes 2/3 of vote to pass the bill. After a bill passes through both committee and through both houses of congress it must be considered by the conference committee who makes final changes to the bill. After the House and Senate committee's version of bill is approved by congress the bill is then sent to the presidents' desk for action. The president may sign the bill into legislation or kill the bill by vetoing it, or may choose not to act on bill and let it die (Pocket Veto). The senate or the House may counter this by overriding presidential veto with a 2/3 vote. (H) Lobby groups play a major role in influencing the legislative process, and actively work to get congress members to support their interests. They also influence legislation by providing congress members with information to aid in the policy making process through research findings, and information about the public since they also work to mobilize public opinion. Interest groups also build close alliances with legislators and PAC's are an important source of funding for campaigns. Congress members also engage in logrolling special favors

B. Why is it so hard to pass a bill?

(B)Although congress holds the power to pass laws it is extremely difficult to get anything passed. For this reason congress is frequently thought to be a highly dysfunctional branch for several reasons. First bills have more chances of dying then getting passed. In order for a bill to pass it must go through several committees where it can be killed. For instance a full committee may decide not to hold a hearing on a particular bill and it may die, and if a bill goes through the House rule committee on an open rule the bill can be severely weakened through amending process, and not make it to the floor for voting. Moreover if members of House and Senate are not satisfied with a particular bill they can amend the bill beyond recognition in the conference phase and dissatisfied members can decide to vote against the bill, and kill it before it reaches the presidents desk .In addition the senate can purposely prevent a bill from passing by employing several tactics like a filibuster ; in which a senator holds the floor by speaking until the majority backs down unless a cloture (2/3s vote) is reached to break the filibuster. A senator can secretly hold or stall a bill without revealing his or her identity in attempts prevent it from going into effect. Many of these hindrances are embedded into the congressional framework, as the framers intended for lawmaking process to be difficult. Since they feared that a overly powerful federal government would breach the authority of state and local governments. They wanted to make the law making process as representative as possible, and include many opportunities for dissentors to derail legislation, and ensure that only legislation with mass appeal survive the legislative obstacle course. Nevertheless they never envisioned the extent of the difficulty since the framers did not imagine the tyranny of partisanship could lead to divided government.. Partisan differences have lead to difficulty in compromises over proposed legislations, and have been responsible for government shutdowns.

D. Include in your discussion of Congress the committees system, the importance of seniority and how incumbency affects the legislative outcomes in Congress I. Should congress have term limits? Discuss. F. Discuss what s the role of lobbyist and pressure groups.

(D)The committee system plays a major role in congress and its role is central to the process of legislation on every level. There are several levels of congressional committees on every level. First there are permanent committees called standing committees which are crucial to policy making process as they are present in every congressional session, and have the power to propose and write laws. Such committees have jurisdiction in a specific area such the house of ways and means committee, Senate Finance Committee's which are powerful because they deal with matters such as taxes and Social Security and Medicare and call upon the expertise in these areas to propose amendments to bills, and decide how much funding said programs will receive. These standing committees process proposals for bills into official legislation. Select Committees on the other hand do not propose legislation and are temporary. They hold more of an Oversight function, but can become permanent committees such as House Select Homeland Security Committee, was created to oversee the new department of Homeland Security but was later made into a permanent committee. Then there are Joint Committees which involve members from both the house and senate which do not have legislative function, but have an important role in collecting information and holding hearings. Lastly conference committees are temporary where Speaker of House and presiding officer of senate appoint members who are charged with the important role of reconciling the legislative differences between the House and Senate. The committee system functions as a hierarchy which is based on seniority on the number of years of continuous service to a committee, not the years served in House or Senate; the most senior member of majority party holds chair in the committee system. However given the strong impact chair members have over legislation both Democrats and Republicans violated these terms and have selected non-senior majority leaders members of their parties for chair, and given several attempts to reform this party members who recognize the critical role of Committees in legislative outcomes have bypassed Committees in order to get legislation they support passed. Finally Incumbency can play an important role for legislation,and representation. Because congress members often use their service to constituents as tool for maintaining their seat. For this reason re-election rates are high in both senate and house. Incumbency is an advantageous position for congress members, The rationale for this is that incumbents have a stronger connection with constituents, and have proved themselves based on their previous work, and they are also better connected with resources and support from interest groups and money for campaigning. However many believe incumbency can lead to little turn over in legislation, and contributes to the dysfunction, and lack of fresh initiatives. The advantageous position of incumbency is problematic because it deters potential candidates from running with fresher ideas, as well, and particularly deters women and minorities from pursuing office. While I believe incumbency has its advantages in terms of experience and stability;the fact that congress is overrun by older white males is problematic and is reflected in legislation that ignores the needs and interests of younger constituents and minorities therefore term limits can help solve this issue.

E. Discuss the different roles the House and Senate play and the different rules the House and Senate operate under when each is working on legislative matters.

(E) Article I consists of 10 sections longest of constitution, and establishes congress. Article I vests congress with the most important role in government the power to legislate, or to create and pass the laws that govern the nation, and impact our daily lives, and also occupies a preeminent role in balancing the checks over the other branches particularly the executive. Its powers include Congress has two primary functions. First The law making is the central function of congress. The power to draft and pass bills on a range of matters some mandatory like omnibus bills are bills for appropriations on how money will be spent, and on how revenue will be raised. Other bills range from matters from climate change, social security, federal tax, and minimum wage. The law making function of congress is a complex because it must undergo a lengthy process, passing through various levels before it can become law which is why it is very difficult to pass a bill.

Structure of Congress Discuss the different roles that Congress plays. H. How is congress similar to and different from the British Parliament?

6) Bicameral composed of two chambers the House of Representatives and Senate, and unlike other branches are directly elected by the people. House has 435 members elected from districts and are approportioned according to population. Senate has 100 members two senators for each state. (E)The House is the lower house, and is the law making body that is is closest to the people because it serves local interests where minority interests give way to majority passions. Aside from having legislative role; the House has a role of public or representative in which they advocate for the interest of their constituents when proposing or supporting bills. The House also has the role of public servant as they often assist constituents directly with every day issues and engage is what as known as constituent case work in order to get a better sense of how they can serve constituents. This role is critical for re-election which happens every two years, and more frequently than in the senate which is every six years. Given their proximity to the people the framers gave the House the power of the purse where bills for raising revenue originate in the House. The Senate is said to be upper house proportioned in a way that ensures equal representation two senators for each state, and they serve larger constituencies, and act as agents for larger interests and work on both a state and national level. The Senate only hold the power of advice and consent on presidential appointments and treaties and it conducts impeachment trial of federal official Longer terms in office means the Senate has time to bring new coalitions of special interests, and insulates them from popular interests. Senate unlike the House has more of a trustee role which means that the Senate votes based on what he or she thinks is best for its constituents whereas House votes on the preferences of his or her constituency. (H) Congress is structurally similar to British parliament both are bicameral. American congress is composed of the House of Representatives and Senate; the parliament is composed of House of Lords and House of Commons, and both have similar law making functions. However British Parliament and U.S congress have key structural differences that impact the way they operate. First British parliament member's votes for parliament are cast based on party affiliation whereas in the U.S congress we vote for separate candidates which could mean that congress elected members can be of any party. As a result the British parliament does not experience the legislative gridlock and the legislative process runs much smoother while bipartisan conflict in U.S congress severely where one party thwarts other from passing legislation. Also the law making process in congress is designed to make passing laws more difficult due to the checks and balances within system where the bill is checked by house, senate, and goes through a committee system, and president before it can become legislation. However in the British parliamentary system there is no system of checks and balances and power is more centralized, and parliament holds power to appoint and remove a prime minister.