legislative process

Question 1

name the six ‘steps’ of the legislative process:

Answer 1

1. introduction
2. committee stage
3. timetabling
4. floor debate + vote on passage
5. conference committee (optional)
6. presidential action

Question 2

does the process happen simultaneously in both houses or at different times?

Answer 2

simultaneously

Question 3

describe the 1st stage:

Answer 3

bill is formally introduced in both houses

Question 4

describe the 2nd stage:

Answer 4

-each bill has a hearing where witnesses make the case for the bill to become law
-members then vote on whether it should go through the rest of the stages
-it also carries out investigations of a bill’s potential problems
-at the end of this stage a report is produced that states the main aims of the bill, reviews any amendments, estimates costs and recommends any actions
-committee members have a lot of influence

Question 5

describe the 3rd stage:

Answer 5

-in the senate the order that bills are debated is decided by the unanimous consent agreement senate leaders
-in the HoR the house rules committee decides on the timetabling for a bill, if they don’t like a bill they will limit its time

Question 6

describe the 4th stage:

Answer 6

-as many members take part as possible
-votes are taken on amendments and the whole bill at the end
-simple majorities are required
-this is where filibustering can take place (see later flashcards)

Question 7

describe the 5th stage:

Answer 7

-optional
-used to mediate between the two houses to try and find a solution when both houses cannot agree on whether a bill should be passed or not

Question 8

describe the 6th stage:

Answer 8

-the president can eith agree to the bill, leave it on his desk (will become law without his signature in 10 days, unless the congressional session runs out in that time) or veto the bill
-after the veto, congress can amend the bill and return it to the president, attempt to override the veto or accept the president’s decision
-e.g. obama used his veto over 1500 times and this was only overridden 111 times

Question 9

what is a filibuster?

Answer 9

a senator that talks for as long as possible during the floor debate to delay/prevent a bill from being passed

Question 10

how does a filibuster work?

Answer 10

-a senator has the right to continue without interruption but cannot leave the floor

Question 11

give an example of a filibuster:

Answer 11

in 2013 Ted Cruz spoke for 21 hours in an attempt to delay an Obamacare bill

Question 12

how does a filibuster end?

Answer 12

-if 3/5ths of senators agree, the filibuster is made to stop
-however this was amended by Obama so that only a simple majority is now needed to end a filibuster speech for presidential nominations to judicial and gov. agencies only, but not for supreme court nominations

Question 13

argument for filibusters being good for democracy, with examples:

Answer 13

-it can be democratic if a senator filibusters a bill that is controversial and unpopular with the majority of the population
-e.g. in 2013 wendy davis filibustered a bill that would greatly restrict access to abortions
-they also enhance democracy by encouraging the president to embrace consensus building - if the executive chooses nominees that the opposition party can support, and make laws which have bipartisan appeal, then it can avoid the threat of the filibuster

Question 14

argument against filibusters being good for democracy, with examples:

Answer 14

-they have made government less efficient
-this is because legislation takes much longer to pass or is abandoned early on
-e.g. only 76% of Obama’s judicial nominees had been confirmed by the senate due to filibustering
-arguably politics is becoming increasingly centred on the media, with senators using filibustering to raise their own profiles

Question 15

arguments that the legislative process is effective:

Answer 15

-congress can reject legislation proposed by the executive which is an important check on the power of the president
-lots of transformative legislation has been passed by congress e.g. affordable care act
-both houses have equal power, meaning one can’t overrule the other
-each bill goes through a long process and is scrutinised thoroughly, meaning there is usually strong consensus about a bill before it is passed, hence increasing democracy
-standing committees call witnesses and contain experts to scrutinise a bill
-congress can pass emergency legislation e.g. during COVID, legislation was passed that protected americans’ incomes

Question 16

arguments that the legislative process isn’t effective:

Answer 16

-filibusters are often ineffective because they delay the legislative process and contribute to gridlock
-the increased use of ‘closed rules’ by the house rules committee has reduced the number of amendments made to house bills, which prevents legislation from being improved by congress
-presidential vetoes of a bill are rarely overturned because a supermajority is required in each chamber to overturn it
-there is often gridlock due to a lot of polarisation between the two parties
-only 2-3% of bills become law - arguable that there are too many obstacles in place
-conference committees can lead to delays