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fandomhigh2006-03-22 11:26 am
professor-lyman.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2006-03-22 11:26 am
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US Government (Wednesday, March 22, 4th period)
Josh was back at his desk, feet propped up like he'd never left.
"So, where were we?" he asked, smiling. "Congress, I think."
He popped an instructional video into the VCR.
"So, that's how a bill supposedly becomes law." He laughed. "Generally, there's less singing."
He pointed to what he had written on the board. "So, to summarize. You, as a Congressman write up a bill--well, technically, you tell a staffer to do it and they call the legislative affairs office who'll write it up for you--, then it gets kicked to committee. The committee votes on it and if they think it's good, it goes onto the floor calendar for debate. Then the entire House or Senate'll vote on it and the bill goes over to the other legislative body for the entire thing to happen again. Realistically, if it's a bill that has 'legs'--a chance to pass, not actually appendages--there will be a Senate and a House version going through the committee process at roughly the same time. The differences between the two versions will be worked out in a conference committee--members from both the House and Senate screaming at each other over pizza, and that final version goes back to the respective floors for passage. If they pass then--and once you've gone through a conference committee, passage is pretty much assured--it goes up to the White House to be signed or vetoed."
He grinned. "On Friday, we'll talk about how the process actually works."
He sat back down. "So what'd I miss while I was gone trying to negotiate world peace?" He paused. "Which didn't work, just in case you were wondering."
"So, where were we?" he asked, smiling. "Congress, I think."
He popped an instructional video into the VCR.
"So, that's how a bill supposedly becomes law." He laughed. "Generally, there's less singing."
He pointed to what he had written on the board. "So, to summarize. You, as a Congressman write up a bill--well, technically, you tell a staffer to do it and they call the legislative affairs office who'll write it up for you--, then it gets kicked to committee. The committee votes on it and if they think it's good, it goes onto the floor calendar for debate. Then the entire House or Senate'll vote on it and the bill goes over to the other legislative body for the entire thing to happen again. Realistically, if it's a bill that has 'legs'--a chance to pass, not actually appendages--there will be a Senate and a House version going through the committee process at roughly the same time. The differences between the two versions will be worked out in a conference committee--members from both the House and Senate screaming at each other over pizza, and that final version goes back to the respective floors for passage. If they pass then--and once you've gone through a conference committee, passage is pretty much assured--it goes up to the White House to be signed or vetoed."
He grinned. "On Friday, we'll talk about how the process actually works."
He sat back down. "So what'd I miss while I was gone trying to negotiate world peace?" He paused. "Which didn't work, just in case you were wondering."
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