The Role Of Congressmen In Congress

Anyone can write a bill not just a member of congress. Any citizen, group or organization can “draw” up a bill. The right to petition is guaranteed by the first amendment. These bills are usually written in the form of a letter. It is estimated that more then 15,000 bills are introduced to The House of Representatives and the Senate each year. Each one is then assigned to a committee after it is given a number. 22 of these committees belong to The House of Representatives and 15 to the Senate. The majority of all laws originate in The House of Representatives.

Various actions can occur once a bill passes through the first house and awaits approval by the second. The course materials point out that if one chamber passes the bill the other may: pass the bill as it stands, send the bill to a committee, reject the bill, or ignore the bill (Unit 3 the Congress, 11). If referred to a committee, that committee would: examine the bill, change the bill, or both. If rejected, the rejecting chamber will apprise the other chamber of its act. If ignored, the ignoring chamber would press forward with its work on that chamber’s particular version of the bill.

Then, a reading clerk reads the bill section by section and the Representatives recommend changes. When all changes have been made, the bill is ready to be voted on.There are three methods for voting on a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives: Viva Voce, Division, and Recorded. If a majority of the Representatives say or select yes, the bill passes in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill is then certified by the Clerk of the House and delivered to the U.S. Senate. When a bill reaches the U.S. Senate, it goes through many of the same steps it went through in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill is discussed in a Senate committee and then reported to the Senate floor to be voted on. Senators vote by voice. Those who support the bill say “yea,” and those who oppose it say “nay.” If a majority of the Senators say “yea,” the bill passes in the U.S. Senate and is ready to go to the President.

It would be as foolish to assume that a committee can know and understand a full piece of legislation as it would be to assume that individual members of Congress would. For this purpose, subcommittees are formed. Subcommittees are a further delegation of tasking within the review of legislation. Valerie Heitshusen, an analyst on Congress wrote, “Most committees form subcommittees to share specific tasks within the jurisdiction of the full Committee” (Committee Types and Roles 3). Subcommittees are expected to present their finding on their assigned area of a bill. They, along with experts (witnesses) testify before the full committee on their findings. After the full committee considers the subcommittees’ findings, a vote is taken as to whether or not the bill goes to the chamber.

If the bill is vetoed, the president can then make changes to the bill that he or she sees necessary and then send it back to congress for reassessment. The framers of the constitution created a legislative process that required each branch to contribute to the legislative process. As a result, a vetoed bill must go through congress and the legislative process again. The bill must also receive, at minimum, two thirds votes from the House of Representatives and the Senate before it can become an official law. Finally, if the president does not sign nor veto a bill for ten days, excluding Sundays, it will automatically become a law. However, in certain circumstances, the president can use a pocket veto. A pocket veto may only be used on a bill that is proposed within the last ten days of the presidency. When a pocket veto is used, the president does not sign or veto the bill. Rather, after ten days of no action, the bill is automatically rejected. As Chief in Legislature, the president, in a sense, has the last word in the legislative process.

In this process a bill is drafted, then it is introduced in the house. The Speaker of the House sends the bill to a committee, the committee decides to make changes to the bill or kill it. If the bill gets sent on, it gets sent to the Senate. In the senate it is sent to another committee and if majority vote for it, the bill will go to the whole Senate. The bill gets debated and amendments add, if needed, and then sent back to the House. Any changes made and House doesn’t agree it goes to a committee to find compromises. After the compromise it goes to the President. If the President vetoes the bill, ⅔ majority of the House can override the veto.

The revised bill then must go back to the floors of each house and be passed by both houses before it can be sent to the President for signing. Finally, the bill is given to the commander and chief, Mr. President. The president role in passing a bill into law includes but in not limited to review the law for equally, verbiage and unfortunally, if it meets his political goals. If Congress is sitting to the left while the President views or more towards the right, the president is more likely to veto the bill. A veto is just a legal term meaning to return or send back. However, if the resubmission doesn’t get approved, with a 2/3 majority the bill can be put into law without presidential approval. The Presidents may also issue a proclamation, often ceremonial in nature or issue an executive order. In conclusion, the Founding Father implemented a system that including checks and balances. The process of a bill passing into a law is a very long and tedious journey. In my professional opinion, the process is a bit out dated and should be reformed. The political parties that is Congress should remain 50/50 while publically announcing all law on major television and radio

After introduction of the bill, the referral or assignment to house or senate then takes place. In other words, the bill is assigned to standing committee. The Speaker and Lieutenant Governor appoint committee members and chairs. This gives the presiding officers great power and these vital decisions can

A Bill has a number of stages that it goes through before it is presented to the Queen to be signed. It starts off as a discussion in the House of Commons, and if decided to be an effective new policy idea then it is sent off

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

But the bill can also be brought to the floor if a large amount of the Senate chooses it to. Then there is the debate, The Committee of the Whole debates and amends the bill, but they can not pass it. They will decide how much time each person will get to debate the bill. The bill will then go back to the house to be voted on; there must be two hundred and eighteen members present to have a final vote. If for some reason there is not enough members the House will be adjourned or the Sergeant at Arms will go get them.

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

Firstly, there are standing committees. They are a permanent committee in house or senate that considers bills within a specific area. Each different committee is given a specific area of legislative policy jurisdiction. Members tend to seek committee seats that deal with matters of special interest to their constituents. There are select committees. It is a temporary legislative committee created for a limited time for a specific reason. They normally form to investigate public issues like aging. Another is joint committees. It is comprised of both Chambers of Congress. They can be permanent or temporary. They work with economy, tax, or Library of Congress. Conference Committees are formed to reach an agreement between the House and

The Organizational Structure of congress in the United Stated is demonstrated through the fact that we have a House and a Senate that are separated from each other. Congress is a very complex structure that possesses many committees that all handle a variety of topics. The United States Senate is composed of only 100 members that serve six year terms. Some refer to the senate as the “upper house”, and only 1/3 of the members of the United Senate are re-elected every two years. The House of Representatives is composed of 435 members that each serve two year terms. The HOR is known as the “lower house” and all 435 members are up for re-election every two years. The top two leadership roles in the Senate are The Vice President of the United States who presides over the Senate, and required to vote when there is a tie in Senate. Also in the case of a death of a president, the Vice president must step up and preside over the nation. The second most vital role in Senate is the President Pro-Tempore. The President Pro-Tempore is the highest ranked senator as elected by the Senate. The top two positions in the House are The Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader. The Speaker of the House is arguably the most influential single legislator in both houses. The Speaker presides over proceedings on the House floor, designates which bills go to which committees, designates committee assignments for new members, appoints the party 's other leaders , and