The Legislative Branch Section 6: How a Bill Becomes a Law.

The Legislative Branch

Section 6: How a Bill Becomes a Law

6 Steps• Referral to Committee

– Most cases, a bill introduced in Congress is referred to a committee– Committee consideration is crucial– Without committee approval, bills usually don’t go to full House or Senate

• • Hearings

– Committee and subcommittee hearings—open to public– Supporters and opponents testify– Interest groups testify

• • Markup

– Usually take place at the full committee level– Markup is the exact phrasing—line by line– Time consuming and precise– Lot of detail– Now, bill must get full committee support

6 Steps• Floor Consideration

– Full House and Senate debates– Changes can be made to bill– Filibuster—one or more senators can hold up the final vote on a bill through delaying

tactics– Voting—after floor debate, congress members vote on the bill– Roll-call vote—each member called individually to declare vote

• • Conference Committee

– A bill that passes one house of Congress is then sent to the other house– Members from both houses– Iron out last details

• • Presidential Action

– Sign bill, making it a law– Veto the bill– Keep the bill 10 days without signing it—bill then becomes a law– Pocket veto—president gets bill within 10 days of Congress adjournment—does not sign

and bill does not become a law

Website

• How a Bill Becomes a Law and terms

• Schoolhouse Rock--How a Bill Becomes a Law

The Legislative Branch

Section 7: Congress and Special Interest Groups

Influence of Special Interests

– Argument: Congress serves special interests at the expense of the public good

– Give too much weight to the narrow concerns of interest groups of their home districts and states

– Pork-barrel spending—awards projects and grants, or “pork” from the gov “barrel” to a member’s home district or state• $500,000 to renovate the boyhood farm of Lawrence Welk• $320,000 to buy the home of President William McKinley’s in-

laws in Canton, OH for donation to the state as a museum• $10 million to build a ramp to Milwaukee’s County Stadium

parking lot

13 Most Absurd Pork Barrel Spending Projects of 2010

http://www.investinganswers.com/education/global-economic-crisis/13-most-absurd-pork-barrel-spending-projects-2010-1583

More Pork Barrel Spending Examples

http://www.areddy.net/mscott/pork.html

Voice of the People

• Despite problems, Congress provides citizens with a voice in gov