Learnsmart 5 Essay

The process in which a bill becomes a law can be a lengthy one, it must go through many steps in order to become the law of the land. It is believed that this process should be a matter that every American citizen should be informed of in order to fully understand and appreciate the inner workings of congress with regard to The House of Representatives and the Senate. The steps in which a bill becomes a law is an example of the democratic way of life here in The United States. “The fact that a proposal cannot become a law without consideration and approval by both houses of congress is an outstanding virtue of our bicameral legislative system.” (Sullivan 1-2)

Thus, Members of the House may only speak on a bill in the time mandated by the House Rules Committee vis-à-vis their judgments for that particular bill. It is also possible for the House to meet as the Committee of the Whole, which has more streamlined debating rules – though the Committee of the Whole cannot pass a bill. The Senate debate rules differ with the debate rules of the House of Representatives, as Senators have an unlimited time to debate bills – this lack of limit allows a filibuster to occur. The course materials state, “Debate can be closed by unanimous consent, or by invoking ‘cloture,’ which requires a three-fifths majority (at least 60 votes) of the entire Senate” (Unit 3 the Congress, 10). Once a bill passes through the House of Representatives, or the Senate, it must pass through the other chamber of Congress before it becomes law.

Most individuals with a general background knowledge of the United States Federal Government system are aware that in order for a bill to become a law, it must first pass a majority vote in Congress. There is, however, a very important step in the legislative process that sometimes goes unnoticed. The committee system of the legislation process ensures that the appropriate attention is given to each bill introduced to Congress. Each member of both chambers are assigned to committees and subcommittees, and are expected to become subject matter experts in their respective roles as committee members.

Members of Congress are voted to office by their electorate as their representatives at the congress level of democracy. In their capacity, they may decide to exercise their powers by the will of the people or according to their personal judgment. When the members of Congress opt to be the people’s delegate, their actions in the House and other congressional engagements are a reflection of the will of their district. As such, the delegate representative does not have or exercise the autonomy to represent and decide for their district. Instead, a strenuous consultation process is required to keep the people in control of all relevant decisions.

C. Explain why each of the following limits the influence of public opinion on the voting decisions of members of Congress.

Introduction of a bill requires both house and senate members to file a written bill with each of their corresponding clerk members. The clerk then submits the bill to alphanumeric designation where it is available to the eyes of lawmakers and citizens so that they make track its progress. There is a specific time bills can be submitted. They can be submitted the Monday after the November general election. This step can be influenced by many figures outside of Legislative. Interests groups influence legislation as well as the Governor can influence legislation. At this point there are no delay tactics that could prevent the bill from moving on to step two.

- Passing a bill bills were sponsored by a member of a legislative body and is approved by the employees of the house or the Senate

For instance, the Speaker of the House must set the agenda, appoint chairs of committees and, have an impact over what gets voted on in the legislature (Champagne et al., 2017, p.209). Another important persona in the state legislature is the lieutenant governor; the president of the state senate. He is held accountable for setting the legislative agenda and appointing committee chairs (Champagne et al., 2017, p.210). Moreover, the committee system of the state legislature must work together to perform more common governmental tasks. Such as, when the Texas Senate and House members work together to pass a new law (Champagne et al., 2017, p. 211-212).

A. The first step in the legislative process is the introduction of a bill to Congress.

The U.S. Senate on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) committee was initiated in 1869 and took on several names to include the Committee on Education, the Education and Labor committee, and in 1999, it assumed its current name (”U.S. Senate Committee on Health,” n.d.). The purpose of the HELP committee is to comprehensively study and review concerns related to the health, education and training, and public welfare of American citizens. The committee reviews all proposed legislation, messages, and memorials along with other matters relating to twenty different subjects ranging from aging, equal employment opportunity, mediation and arbitration of labor disputes’, to public health, student loans, and wages and hours of labor (”U.S.

All of the laws in the United States begin as a bill, which must be approved by the Senate, House of Representatives, and the President. The bill stars as an idea from a representative or a citizen who has an idea and tells their representative about the idea. The representative then decides if the idea is

Congress must always sponsor this bill before it is introduced to the House or Senate. Several drafts may even be composed by Congress, citizens of society, lobbyists, and coalitions. Primarily though, the President is the main source when it comes down to proposing one. The four forms of congressional action process as bills, joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions and simple resolutions. The introduction of a bill is the first step in the federal process is the referral to a standing committee where they have the power to delay, block or expedite

In the Senate, member can speak as long as they want. Once the debate is over the Senate will then vote on the bill. If fifty-one members vote in favor of the bill then it will be passed. The bill will then move on to a conference committee, which is made up of member from each House. The committee works out any differences between the House and Senates versions of the bill. The revised bill will then be sent back to both Houses for their final approval. Once approved, the bill is printed by the Government Printing Office in a process called enrolling. The clerk from the introducing house will certify the final version.

All things first start with an idea. This idea, then becomes an action and this action in turn has a result. This same concept can be applied to the legislative process. The first step begins with an idea, this idea is shared and if it gains the support of the masses this idea will then become sponsored by a representative. Once this idea has sponsorship it then proceeds to the congressional level where this idea gets the new title of a bill. Upon the name change from idea to bill also comes the benefit of becoming a proposed piece of legislation. For a bill this means that it will be sent to both the House of Representatives and Senate awaiting it’s future through debate. If the debate proves favorable for the bill, that is both the House of Representatives and the Senate approve then this bill is sent off to the desk of the president. From the moment the bill arrives at the desk of the president a countdown of ten days begins, this is

Congress is like a mosaic. At first glance, it seems simple and complete. However, when examining the picture as a whole, the image seems to constantly transform. Geometric shapes in a mosaic intertwine perfectly, and an overall image is created in unity. We must look at Congress in a similar way. In order to understand the way Congress works, we have to determine the intermingling of congressmen that cause transformation among its body. First, there are multiple committees that make up Congress as a whole. There are four main types of committees in Congress: standing, which examines proposed laws, select, which is formed temporarily for a certain issue, joint, made up of house and senate representatives to consult on an issue, and conference,