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fandomhigh2007-11-26 10:43 pm
professor-lyman.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2007-11-26 10:43 pm
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US Government [Tuesday, November 27, 1st period]
Josh was paging through a copy of the Congressional Record, looking very thoughtful, when the class arrived. Pages of the text had been tabbed. Josh was doing research. That was probably not a good sign.
He smiled at them, then directed Lana over to the DVD player. "Turns out it's almost December and I haven't mentioned any of the other branches of government. It's not that important--they don't get motorcades. But on the theory that the branches are equal, let's meet the Congress, and how a bill becomes a law."
He waited for the video to end before consulting his notes again. "So, that's how a bill supposedly becomes law." He laughed. "Generally, there's less singing."
He glanced down at his notes. "There are currently more than 4,000 bills introduced just in the House of Representatives this Congress. Now a few things to know before you start hyperventilating about the sheer number. First of all, at the beginning of each year, all of the bills that weren't passed the previous year need to be reintroduced. So if someone had a Medicare improvement bill in 2006 and it didn't get anywhere, they have to reintroduce it and get a new bill number. Secondly, there are multiple versions of legislation addressing important issues, because every Congressperson and Senator wants their name to be the shorthand. They might've passed a campaign finance law called McCain-Feingold, but that doesn't mean that there weren't a dozen other bills out there with similar ideas. Thirdly, if that's a word, most of the bills are introduced with the understanding that they won't actually become law. They're position statements for constituency groups back home."
He ran a hand through his hair. "Okay. So you have this bill. Say you want to improve veterans' health care. You'll introduce it--that means submit it to the floor, not take it around to cocktail parties--and it'll get sent to the Veterans' Affairs Committee. They'll hold hearings about it, maybe, or just mark it up. 'Mark up' is what it sounds like--they'll go through the bill and decide if it works or not--maybe combine it with someone else's veterans' bill for a bigger bill that'll have more of a chance on the floor." He smiled. "This is also where things die if you've not kissed up to the chairman enough or you're running for re-election and the other party wants to screw you.
"So say your bill gets passed by the committee. That still doesn't mean it's going anywhere. You need to get floor time, and that's normally spoken for. Every year the House and Senate have to pass thirteen appropriations bills--and get the President to stop vetoing 'em already--or roll them all into one gigantic doorstop called an omnibus bill and pass that--but regardless, this sucks up a good half of the time for floor debate. The other half is normally reserved for the two or three major objectives the party in power has for the year--Medicare, social security, cloning, whatever."
He looked around. "That doesn't mean your bill is necessarily dead, though. Half the reason the appropriations bills are so huge are because they are carrying a lot of little bills as amendments. The trick is getting those little bills through the conference committee--because if the House passed one version of a bill and the Senate passed another and your amendment isn't in both, chances are that it won't be in the final version.
"Then the final version is sent to the House and Senate, they pass it and send it up to the President, who signs it with many different pens and everyone congratulates themselves on a job well done." He snickered. "And if it's an abortion bill, the Supreme Court declares it unconstitutional a few years later."
He put his notes down. "Any questions? Confused about some of the vocab in the book? Filibusters? Wondering what a second-degree amendment is? Interested in hearing about a votorama?" He waved his hands at the pastries on his desk. "Grab a donut and talk to me."
He smiled at them, then directed Lana over to the DVD player. "Turns out it's almost December and I haven't mentioned any of the other branches of government. It's not that important--they don't get motorcades. But on the theory that the branches are equal, let's meet the Congress, and how a bill becomes a law."
He waited for the video to end before consulting his notes again. "So, that's how a bill supposedly becomes law." He laughed. "Generally, there's less singing."
He glanced down at his notes. "There are currently more than 4,000 bills introduced just in the House of Representatives this Congress. Now a few things to know before you start hyperventilating about the sheer number. First of all, at the beginning of each year, all of the bills that weren't passed the previous year need to be reintroduced. So if someone had a Medicare improvement bill in 2006 and it didn't get anywhere, they have to reintroduce it and get a new bill number. Secondly, there are multiple versions of legislation addressing important issues, because every Congressperson and Senator wants their name to be the shorthand. They might've passed a campaign finance law called McCain-Feingold, but that doesn't mean that there weren't a dozen other bills out there with similar ideas. Thirdly, if that's a word, most of the bills are introduced with the understanding that they won't actually become law. They're position statements for constituency groups back home."
He ran a hand through his hair. "Okay. So you have this bill. Say you want to improve veterans' health care. You'll introduce it--that means submit it to the floor, not take it around to cocktail parties--and it'll get sent to the Veterans' Affairs Committee. They'll hold hearings about it, maybe, or just mark it up. 'Mark up' is what it sounds like--they'll go through the bill and decide if it works or not--maybe combine it with someone else's veterans' bill for a bigger bill that'll have more of a chance on the floor." He smiled. "This is also where things die if you've not kissed up to the chairman enough or you're running for re-election and the other party wants to screw you.
"So say your bill gets passed by the committee. That still doesn't mean it's going anywhere. You need to get floor time, and that's normally spoken for. Every year the House and Senate have to pass thirteen appropriations bills--and get the President to stop vetoing 'em already--or roll them all into one gigantic doorstop called an omnibus bill and pass that--but regardless, this sucks up a good half of the time for floor debate. The other half is normally reserved for the two or three major objectives the party in power has for the year--Medicare, social security, cloning, whatever."
He looked around. "That doesn't mean your bill is necessarily dead, though. Half the reason the appropriations bills are so huge are because they are carrying a lot of little bills as amendments. The trick is getting those little bills through the conference committee--because if the House passed one version of a bill and the Senate passed another and your amendment isn't in both, chances are that it won't be in the final version.
"Then the final version is sent to the House and Senate, they pass it and send it up to the President, who signs it with many different pens and everyone congratulates themselves on a job well done." He snickered. "And if it's an abortion bill, the Supreme Court declares it unconstitutional a few years later."
He put his notes down. "Any questions? Confused about some of the vocab in the book? Filibusters? Wondering what a second-degree amendment is? Interested in hearing about a votorama?" He waved his hands at the pastries on his desk. "Grab a donut and talk to me."
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