Chapter 7 Congress at Work

Section 1 How a Bill Becomes a Law

Types of Bills and Resolutions
o Private bills deal with individual people or places
o Public bills deal with general matters and apply to the entire nation
o Simple resolution covers matters affecting only one house; passed by that house
o Joint resolution both houses; may correct an error in an earlier law
o Concurrent Resolutions cover matters requiring action of the House and Senate
o Riders attached to a bill; provision on subject other than one covered in the bill
o Why So Few Bills Become Laws
Lawmaking process itself is very long and complicated (>100 steps)
Sponsors must be willing to bargain with lawmakers and interest groups
Lawmakers sometimes introduce bills for publicity
Introducing a Bill
o How Bills Are Introduced through a member of Congress
o Committee Action new bills sent to committees
o Committee Hearings public attention
o Markup Session decide changes, requires majority vote of committee
o Reporting a Bill send to House of Senate for action
Floor Action
o Debating and Amending Bills lawmakers can propose amendments to bill
o Voting on Bills voice vote, standing vote / division vote, or roll-call vote
Final Steps in Passing Bills
o Conference Committee Action conferees work out differences between 2 bills
o Presidential Action on Bills president signs bill it becomes a law
o Vetoing Bills president returns bill to the house of Congress where it originated
o Congressional Override of a Veto requires two-thirds vote in both houses
o Line-Item Veto allows a leader to reject specific lines in the bill
o Clinton v. City of New York S Court ruled Line Item Veto Act unconstitutional
o Registering Laws registered with the National Archives and Records Service
o Tracking Legislation on the Internet with THOMAS
Section 2 Taxing and Spending Bills
Making Decisions About Taxes
o The Houses Power Over Revenue Bills Ways and Means Committee
o The Senates Role in Tax Legislation Senate Finance Committee
Appropriating Money Congresss approval of government spending
o How Congress Appropriates Money
Authorization bill sets up federal program and money appropriated
Appropriations bill HUD requests money from Congress
o The Appropriations Committee handle appropriations bills
o Uncontrollable Expenditures money government is legally committed to spend

Section 3 Influencing Congress

Influences on Lawmakers personality, the issue, congressional staff members, concerns
of voters back home, their own political parties, the president, and special-interest groups
The Influence of Voters
o What Voters Expect
o Visits to the District keep track of constituents opinions
o Messages From Home connect voters with lawmakers
o Surveys and Polls collect opinions of voters
o Key Supporters money and reelection
The Influence of Parties
o Party Voting members usually vote with their party
o The Importance of Parties lawmakers dont always have strong opinions
Other Influences on Congress
o The Influence of the President can appear on television to influence public
opinion and put pressure on Congress; influence Congress members with power
o The Influence of Interest Groups
Lobbyists try to convince members of Congress to support policies
Provide lawmakers with information about policies
Visit lawmakers in their offices or in the lobbies of the Capitol
Encourage citizens to write to members of Congress
Focus attention on congressional committees
o Political Action Committees (PACs) political fund-raising organizations
Section 4 Helping Constituents
Handling Problems
o Casework helping constituents with problems
o Many Different Requests many lawmakers complain that although voters say
they want less government they demand more services from Congress members
o Who Handles Casework
All lawmakers have staff members called caseworkers
Sometimes the senator or representative may have to get directly involved
o Purposes of Casework
Helps lawmakers get reelected
Casework is one way in which Congress oversees the executive branch
Provides a way for the average citizen to cope with national government
Helping the District or State
o Public Works Legislation
Pork-barrel legislation when Congress passes laws to appropriate money
Logrolling agreements by 2+ lawmakers to support each others bills
o Winning Grants and Contracts lawmakers often compete

o Behind the Scenes

Lawmakers may pressure agency officials to give a favorable hearing to
their states requests or encourage their constituents to contact officials in
order to make their requests known
Many lawmakers assign one or more of their staff members to act as
specialists in contracts and grants