Congress continued:

Committees, Congress at work, and …..How a bill becomes a law.

Congress Convenes Opening day for congress

is when? According to what

amendment? Which opening day do

you think is more confusing – House or Senate and why?

Opening day in the House

Call to order and take roll Choose a Speaker

Takes oath and swears in rest

Elect: Clerk, Sergeant at arms,

doorkeeper, postmaster, and chaplain

Adopt rules Organize committees

Congress Convenes (cont.) Opening day in the Senate

How many of its’ members are newly elected?

So…. What do they do? Newly elected and reelected members are

sworn in and vacancies are filled.

The Presiding Officers:The Speaker of the House

John Boehner, OH Most influential member Two duties:

Preside over all sessions & keep order.

Allowed to debate and vote on any matter.

The Presiding Officers:The President of the Senate

VP is Pres of Senate According to what???

Recognize members, put questions to a vote.

Only votes to break a tie. Why? How is this different from the S.O.H?

If absent, a president Pro Tempore, presides. Daniel K. Inouye

Democrat, Hawaii Elected by Senate Member of majority party

Floor Leaders & other Party Officers The Floor Leaders

Majority and minority floor leaders Chosen by party Assistants are called whips (what do you think they do?)

The Party Caucuses Closed meetings of each party in each house and deal

with party organization, selection of floor leaders, and committee membership.

Your majority and minority party floor leaders in the Senate:

Majority leader: Harry Reid (NV)

Minority leader: Mitch McConnell

(KY)

Your majority and minority party floor leaders in the House: Majority leader:

Eric Cantor (VA)

Minority leader: Nancy Pelosi (CA)

Committee Chairpersons They decide….

When their committees will meet Which bills they will consider Whether they will hold public hearings What witnesses to call

Seniority Rule Unwritten custom, most important posts are awarded

according to length of service. Criticisms of Seniority Rule – what do you think? Defenders of Seniority Rule – ditto?

Standing Committees Permanent groups to which all similar bills are

sent. 19 in the House, 17 in the Senate

House members can only serve on one, and Senate members can serve on two.

The Speaker of the House or the President of the Senate is responsible for assigning bills to the appropriate standing committees.

The House Rules Committee The “Traffic Cop” in the House. This committee manages the flow of bills

for action by the full House by scheduling their consideration.

Why is there not one in the Senate? Who does it then?

Select Committees Special groups set up for specific purposes

and for a limited period Members are appointed by the Speaker or the

president of the Senate.

Usually formed to conduct especially important investigations, Ex: The Senate Watergate Committee of 1973.

Joint Committees Composed of members from both houses.

Appropriations, Budget, Judiciary, Small Business, Veteran’s Affairs.

Usually permanent groups that serve on a regular basis. So, joint committees are usually standing.

Conference Committees Before a bill is sent to the President, it must be

passed in identical form by each house. Do you think they’ll pass the exact same bill each

time verbatim??? Conference Committees are created to iron out

the differences on the bills. Must produce a compromise bill both houses will

accept.

How a Bill becomes a Law!

Introduce Activity

Passing a Bill – Simulation!

Bill Simulation Steps Assign Roles:

4 total committees Two for the House Two for the Senate

Two readers (1 for Bill One, 1 for Bill Two) Speakers for Bill One – 3 Speakers for Bill Two – 3

Bill Simulation Steps Bill is read to class Split into your four groups

Talk about the bills for 2-5 minutes Conduct Hearings

Speakers testify about the bills Committee members ask one question of each speaker Vote on whether or not to proceed with the bills

Mark up time! Meet for five minutes to revise the bills to your liking

Bill Simulation Steps Reconvene

All House members come together All Senate members come together Each side introduce your revisions

Floor consideration (vote – yay/nay) If the bill doesn’t pass…it dies If it does pass, it goes to conference committee

Conference Committee Nominate/vote on members (two from each group) Work out the kinks on the passed bills

Bill Simulation Steps Vote again

The Conference Committee has one bill If it passes, it goes to the President who has

four options Pass Veto Pocket Veto Ignore for ten days, and automatically it passes

How it a bill becomes a law: The House

1st reading Goes to committee and then subcommittee Reviewed and back to full committee

Can report favorably, amend it, unfavorably, totally redo it, or pigeonhole it (refuse to report).

Placed on a calendar (H.R. Co.) for floor debate.

Continued – bill in the House Bill read a 2nd time Floor debate – strict time limits Voting!

Voice vote, standing vote, 1/5 quorum asks for a teller vote, or a roll-call vote.

Bill read a 3rd time and signed by Speaker Sent to Senate President (aka: Vice Pres)

The Bill in Senate Bill is read, given a title, referred to committee.

Bills are called to floor by majority floor leader; different from House Rules Co.

Read twice and comes back to full Senate Floor debate – unlimited!

Filibuster – only in Senate. Strom Thurmond, 24 hrs and 18 min

Cloture rule – shuts down with a 4/5 vote Conference Committee – smooth out differences b/t

House bill and Senate bill Goes to President

What are the President’s options? 1.) Sign the bill – law! 2.) Veto – no law!

Congress can override with a 2/3 vote. 3.) Not sign within ten days of receiving it… law! 4.) If Congress is about to end (within 10 days)

he can give the bill a POCKET VETO. Basically sticks it in his pocket and it goes away