legislation in congress Flashcards
how does a bill become successful
by passing most the stages in both houses
needs to be completed within 2 years
congress need to create, scrutinise, amend, delay and pass legislation
what is the 6 stage process
introduction
committee stage
timetabling
floor debate and vote on passage
conference committee
presidential action
introduction / first reading
not formal, no debate, no vote
lots and lots of bills introduced
- in 2019-2021 16,000 bills were introduced and only 1% got enacted
committee stage in both
-most important stage
-most bills fail if they don’t get the support
-bills which have pressure from congressmen, administration or the white house get given hearings
-standing committees are policy specialists and have full power to add or remove anything from the bill
- after hearings completed, they make the changes then send it to the next stage
- they right a report eg which states the main aims of the bill
what are the functions of standing committees
- conducting committee stage of bills
- conducting investigations
- confirming pres appointments
- house rules committee
- conference committee
- select committees
conducting committee stage of bills
hearings of the bill and getting witnesses in eg from interest groups, congress people, members of the public
non controversial bills can take a few hours
controvrsial bills can take weeks or months
a vote is then done to pass onto next stage
conducting investigations
allows congress to oversee the bill as a whole
investigate the perceived problems or crisis
problems in america as a whole
confirming presidential appointments
recommending on policy because they are specialists
CANNOT FORCE because they dont legislate
house rules committee
responsible for prioritising bills
huge number of bills, so important and powerful to which succeed and which dont
sets out the ‘rules’ for the bill eg unlimited amednments can be made or forbidding amendments
has just 13 members
conference committees
set up if there is two versions of the same bill
used less nowadays because the house and senate leaders find other ways to compromise
select committees and an example of when one was used
investigate a particular issue that doesn;t fall under the standing committee or is likely to be a very time consuming issue
eg in 2014, John Boehner set up a House select committee on events surrounding the 2012 terrorists attack in Benghazi in which the american amassador to libya died. the committee made its final report in 2016
Timetabling in the SENATE
they decide what order the bills get debated which is called an unanimous consent agreement
timetabling in the HOUSE and an example of when it was used successfully
deals with it through the house rules committee
They have powers to allow bills through or keep them back
they can also discharge them
once they do this, it is released to the house floor to debate
eg 2002 Bipartisanship campaign reform act which the U.S. Congress banned unlimited contributions — known as “soft money” — to political campaigns
second reading
as many members take part in the debate as possible
further amendments can be made
votes on the amendments and the bill itself with a simple majority needed
votes can be done by voice or recorded down
voice is usually for non controversial bills
senate - for controversial bills a roll-call vote with the clerk alphabetically calling the roll of 100 senators
house - electronically
how did the way the houses vote change during covid
may 2020 congress agreed to do remote voting for the first time ever during covid but it was only a temporary measure
what is a filibuster
where senators can delay action on a bill or any other matter by debating it at length
how can a filibuster be stopped
a procedure called a ‘closure’
a closure petition must be signed by 16 senators and then voted on by at least 60 members of the senate
in 2013, democrats passed ‘a nuclear option’ to require only s simple majority vote to end filibusters for executive nominations
in 2017, the republican senate kept the reform but allowed sc nominations to be part of the nuclear option aswell. This is because they wanted to use a simple majority to get NEIL GORSUCH into the supreme court
presidential action
they can:
sign the bill into law - will sign bills that they support and claim the credit for them. EG Obamas CARES ACT in 2010, photo opportunity
leave the bill on their desk - for bills they dont care about, or would veto but know it would be overridden. these bills become law without the pres signature within 10 working days as long as congress remains in session
regular veto - the threat of a veto can be a bargaining tool with congress, must act within 10 days explaining their objections
pocket veto
what is a pocket veto
occurs when congress adjourns during the ten day period
the pres cant return the bill to congress and congress cant override it
a last late rush of bills may arrive on the presidents desk just as the legislative session ends - signif power
why have filibisters been reformed
despite they potentially protecting a singluar state by holding up a bill, it prevents the majority from passing legislation
minority parties are more likely to use it
example of filibuster reforms
1975 - number of senators needed to pass a closure motion was reduced to 3/5ths
2017 - the use of filibusters was also prevented on supreme court nominees
is the legislative process effective?
YES
1- lengthy process means that there is sufficient scrutiny and the quality, popularity and workability are passed correctly
2 - equality of both houses makes sure that the needs of the people and the states are heard because compromise is very important to getting a bill through
is the legislative process effective?
NO
1 - process is challenging and the congressional session is short that the chance to pass leg is limited
2 - the need for supermajorities and the abiloty of one senator to hold up a bill allows for tyranny of the majority
3 - in a united gov, scrutiny is reduced through party dominance and a divided gov, causes gridlock and a lack of leg as a whole
