Democrats' Bills: Law Or Lost Cause?

The process of a bill becoming a law in the United States is a long and complex one. It begins with a member of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives sponsoring a bill, which is then assigned to a committee for study. If the committee approves the bill, it is put on a calendar to be voted on, debated, or amended. If the bill passes by a simple majority, it moves to the other chamber, where it is assigned to another committee and, if released, debated and voted on again. If it passes a second time, a conference committee made of members from both chambers works out any differences between the two versions of the bill. The resulting bill returns to the House and Senate for final approval. Finally, the bill is sent to the President, who has 10 days to sign or veto it.

While the process may seem straightforward, there are many opportunities to kill a bill before it becomes law. In each chamber, a bill must survive committee consideration, floor debate, and, in some cases, conference committees. Furthermore, the bill must pass both chambers in identical form. If it does not, it must be sent back to the first chamber to be voted on again. This can happen multiple times before a bill is passed or dropped.

The bill must be introduced by a sitting member of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives

The legislative process in the United States is a complex and lengthy procedure. The first step is the introduction of a bill, which can be done by a sitting member of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives. The bill is then assigned to a committee, which will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. After this, the bill is put before the chamber to be voted on. If the bill passes one body of Congress, it goes through a similar process in the other body. Once both bodies have voted to accept the bill, they must work out any differences between the two versions. Then, both chambers vote on the same version of the bill. If it passes, it is presented to the President.

The process of introducing a bill can be done by any member of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives. This can be done by a sitting member of Congress or by someone running for election. Bills can also be petitioned by people or citizen groups, who recommend a new or amended law to a member of Congress that represents them.

The bill must be assigned to a committee

Once a bill has been introduced, it is assigned to a committee whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. The committee stage is perhaps the most important phase of the legislative process. There are currently 20 standing committees in the House and 16 in the Senate, as well as several select committees. Each committee's jurisdiction is defined by certain subject matter under the rules of each House, and all measures are referred accordingly. For example, the Committee on the Judiciary in the House has jurisdiction over measures relating to judicial proceedings, immigration policy, bankruptcy, patents, copyrights, and trademarks.

In the past, the Speaker of the House could refer a bill to only one committee. Now, the Speaker may refer an introduced bill to multiple committees for consideration of those provisions of the bill within the jurisdiction of each committee concerned. Except in extraordinary circumstances, the Speaker must designate a primary committee of jurisdiction on bills referred to multiple committees. The Speaker may place time limits on the consideration of bills by all committees but usually places time limits only on additional committees to which a bill has been referred following the report of the primary committee.

In the Senate, introduced measures and House-passed measures are referred to the one committee of preponderant jurisdiction by the Parliamentarian on behalf of the Presiding Officer. By special or standing order, a measure may be referred to more than one committee in the Senate.

Membership on the various committees is divided between the two major political parties. The proportion of the Members of the minority party to the Members of the majority party is determined by the majority party, except that half of the members on the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct are from the majority party and half from the minority party. The respective party caucuses nominate Members of the caucus to be elected to each standing committee at the beginning of each Congress. Membership on a standing committee during the course of a Congress is contingent on continuing membership in the party caucus that nominated a Member for election to the committee. If a Member ceases to be a Member of the party caucus, a Member automatically ceases to be a member of the standing committee.

Members of the House may serve on only two committees and four subcommittees with certain exceptions. However, the rules of the caucus of the majority party in the House provide that a Member may be chairman of only one subcommittee of a committee or select committee with legislative jurisdiction, except for certain committees performing housekeeping functions and joint committees.

A Member usually seeks election to the committee that has jurisdiction over a field in which the Member is most qualified and interested. For example, the Committee on the Judiciary is traditionally populated with numerous lawyers.

Members rank in seniority in accordance with the order of their appointment to the full committee, and the ranking majority member with the most continuous service is often elected chairman. The rules of the House require that committee chairmen be elected from nominations submitted by the majority party caucus at the commencement of each Congress. No Member of the House may serve as chairman of the same standing committee or of the same subcommittee thereof for more than three consecutive Congresses, except in the case of the Committee on Rules.

The rules of the House provide that a committee may maintain no more than five subcommittees, but may have an oversight subcommittee as a sixth. The standing rules allow a greater number of subcommittees for the Committees on Appropriations and Oversight and Government Reform. In addition, the House may grant leave to certain committees to establish additional subcommittees during a given Congress.

Each committee is provided with a professional staff to assist it in the innumerable administrative details involved in the consideration of bills and its oversight responsibilities. For standing committees, the professional staff is limited to 30 persons appointed by a vote of the committee. Two-thirds of the committee staff are selected by a majority vote of the majority committee members, and one-third of the committee staff are selected by a majority vote of minority committee members. All staff appointments are made without regard to race, creed, sex, or age. Minority staff requirements do not apply to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct because of its bipartisan nature. The Committee on Appropriations has special authority under the rules of the House for appointment of staff for the minority.

The bill must be put before the chamber to be voted on

Once a bill has been introduced, it is assigned to a committee whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to it. The committee will also invite various experts, government officials, or lobbyists to present their points of view. After the hearings, the committee will revise the bill until they are ready to put it before the chamber to be voted on.

The bill is then put before that chamber to be voted on. If the bill passes one body of Congress, it goes to the other body to go through a similar process of research, discussion, changes, and voting.

The House of Representatives

In the House of Representatives, a bill goes from committee to a special Rules Committee that sets time limits on debate and rules for adding amendments. If time limits are short and no amendments are allowed from the floor, the powerful rules committee is said to have imposed a "gag rule". Rules for debate on the House floor are much stricter than in the Senate, with Representatives being subject to time limits on their speeches. No restrictions on amendments are allowed in the House. Passage of a bill generally requires a majority vote (218 of 435) of the members present.

The Senate

In the Senate, rules for debate are much looser, with Senators being allowed to talk for as long as they like about each bill. This lack of rules has led to the occasional filibuster, where a Senator talks a bill to death. Filibusters are prohibited in the House. Passage of a bill generally requires a simple majority (51 of 100) of Senators present.

The bill must be approved by both bodies of Congress

The legislative process in the United States is intentionally long and difficult. The founders believed that efficiency was the hallmark of oppressive government, and they wanted to ensure that laws that passed were well-considered and the result of inspection by many eyes.

For a bill to become a law, it must be passed by both houses of Congress: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The two chambers are fundamentally equal in their legislative roles and functions, but there are some differences in how they operate.

In the House of Representatives, a bill is first introduced by a representative. It is then assigned to a committee for study. If released by the committee, the bill is put on a calendar to be voted on, debated, or amended. If the bill passes by a simple majority (218 out of 435), it moves to the Senate.

In the Senate, the bill is assigned to another committee. If released, it is debated and voted on. Again, a simple majority (51 out of 100) passes the bill.

Finally, a conference committee made up of members from both the House and the Senate works out any differences between the two versions of the bill. The resulting bill returns to the House and Senate for final approval.

The process by which a bill becomes a law is rarely predictable and can vary significantly from bill to bill. However, for a bill to become a law, it must be approved by both bodies of Congress.

The bill must be signed by the President

In the United States, the President has the power to veto any bill passed by Congress. This means that the President can refuse to approve a bill, preventing it from becoming law. However, Congress can override this veto if there is a two-thirds majority in favour of the bill in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. In this case, the bill will become law even without the President's signature.

If the President does not sign off on a bill and Congress is no longer in session, the bill will be vetoed by default. This is known as a "pocket veto" and cannot be overridden by Congress.

The President's signature is, therefore, a crucial step in the process of a bill becoming law. However, it is important to note that even if the President approves a bill, it may still not become law if Congress does not pass it during the same congressional session in which it was proposed.

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