AIMS
The aim of Gate 4 is for you to understand the overall stages in the process of a bill becoming a law. While this subject is too complex to understand all of the details involved, you should recognize by the end of this gate that most bills never become laws, that most bills die at the committee stage (and never get put on the calendar for debate or a vote), and that bills undergo a complicated series of approval and amendment steps that may add significantly to the length and nature of a bill (possibly even adding things that are unrelated to the original bill).
Bills on a similar topic with a similar aim may be introduced separately to the House and Senate and then be changed in each chamber so that the final versions that are passed do not match one another. For this reason, a Conference Committee (sometimes called a Compromise Committee) of members of both the House and Senate must meet, usually with the leaders of the two chambers, to create a compromise version of the bill that is identical, so that the House and Senate can both pass (or not pass) a bill with the same exact language, which would then go to the President to be signed, or vetoed.
More recent developments that affect how laws are made include the trend toward increasing use of omnibus or "Christmas tree" bills that may include riders, "poison pills," or demonstrate examples of "logrolling" or "wood chucking." When you complete the quiz (with a score of 70% or higher), you may choose to explore, as one of the Legislative Excursions available, the very recent development of Congress relying on the reconciliation process to try to get major bills on controversial issues (such as health care or tax change) through the Senate without being able to be filibustered. This is something that is very relevant to the news stories of 2017.
Bills on a similar topic with a similar aim may be introduced separately to the House and Senate and then be changed in each chamber so that the final versions that are passed do not match one another. For this reason, a Conference Committee (sometimes called a Compromise Committee) of members of both the House and Senate must meet, usually with the leaders of the two chambers, to create a compromise version of the bill that is identical, so that the House and Senate can both pass (or not pass) a bill with the same exact language, which would then go to the President to be signed, or vetoed.
More recent developments that affect how laws are made include the trend toward increasing use of omnibus or "Christmas tree" bills that may include riders, "poison pills," or demonstrate examples of "logrolling" or "wood chucking." When you complete the quiz (with a score of 70% or higher), you may choose to explore, as one of the Legislative Excursions available, the very recent development of Congress relying on the reconciliation process to try to get major bills on controversial issues (such as health care or tax change) through the Senate without being able to be filibustered. This is something that is very relevant to the news stories of 2017.
FIRST STEP: GATE 4A ASSIGNMENT
Create a flow chart, diagram or visual representation of the major steps in how a bill becomes a law
Use Sources A and B below (and any additional sources you find that appear to be credible) to complete a diagram or flow chart that can be written on paper and shown to the teacher in class.
SOURCE A
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SOURCE B
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STEP 2: GATE 4B ASSIGNMENT
Each individual should add at least TWO substantive comments to the "Marker Barker" posters (located in your classroom) that has quotations from Sources C and D
Read Sources C and D below. When you are finished, there will be two "Marker Barker" posters placed in the classroom, with markers nearby. You will respond to the quotations written on the posters and then write TWO substantive comments (per person) on the posters, linking your comment to the quotation or comment you are speaking about. IMPORTANT: To gain credit, you must clearly mark your initials or write your name at the end of your comment.
SOURCE C
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SOURCE D
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STEP 3: GATE 4C ASSIGNMENT
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DEFINITIONSBill: a draft of a proposed law introduced to a legislature for discussion.
Law: a bill passed by a legislature and signed and enforced by an executive, which creates or updates rules or regulations about what may or may not be done within a society. Statute: a law passed by a legislative body, expressed in writing. Amendment: a change or addition made to a legal document, such as a bill being considered in a legislature (or to the Constitution). Rider: a provision, often controversial and unlikely to pass on its own merits, that is attached to a popular bill in the hopes that it will “ride” to passage on the back of the popular bill. Omnibus: including many different topics and proposals, sometimes unrelated, in a single bill. "Christmas Tree" bill: informal name for a bill that attracts many, often unrelated, floor amendments (which may provide special benefits to various groups or interests). Congressional Committee: in order to handle the immense number of bills introduced to the House and Senate each year, both chambers assign members to various committees that specialize in certain topics or areas of policy, and the Majority Leaders (or Speaker of the House) assign bills to specific committees for consideration; to see a list of current Senate and House committees, click here. Committee Chair: usually the senior ranking member of the majority party on a particular committee, they set the agenda for committee meetings, determine when (and if) a bill will be reviewed for markup, and when or whether a committee vote will be held to send the bill to the House or Senate floor; these function give them significant power. Committee work: Congressional committees discuss bills assigned to them and perform "markup" with them; they also can hold investigative hearings (subpoenaing people to testify, if necessary) on issues related to their committee. Markup: the process by which congressional committees and subcommittees debate, amend, and rewrite proposed legislation. Congressional Hearing: a meeting of a congressional committee, usually open to the public, to get more information or opinions about policies or topics related to the committee, or to investigate problems or provide oversight of other government officials. Committee vote: no bill can make it to the floor of either the House or the Senate without first being passed by the committee to which it was assigned. Floor (debate or vote): when a bill reaches the floor of either the House or the Senate, it means that debate of the bill will be held, and a vote will usually be scheduled. Conference Committee: temporary committee made up of both House and Senate members (and usually their leaders) to work out differences between House and Senate bills on the same, or a highly similar, topic, so that a compromise version that it identical can be introduced for a vote in both chambers. Veto: a "no" issued by an executive (the President at the national level, or a governor at the state level) that blocks a bill passed by Congress (or a state legislature) from becoming a law. Override: the process by which each chamber of Congress votes on a bill vetoed by the President; to pass a bill over the president's objections requires a two-thirds vote in each chamber (historically, Congress has overridden fewer than ten percent of all presidential vetoes). BONUS (not a source):
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