How a Bill Becomes a Law WebQuest
We have already learned about all of the factors congressmen must consider when deciding whether or not to pass a bill into law (Constitutional Power, Political Party, Special Interest Groups, & Constituents). Now, in today's lesson you will complete a webquest to discover the different steps a bill must go through to actually become a law. | Additional Resources for WebQuest Glossary of Vocab Terms: https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/b_three_sections_with_teasers/glossary.htm |
Step #1: Introducing a Bill Please read the introduction section in the link below and then answer the corresponding questions in the webquest workbook:
Click on the following link to find out who can come up with ideas for bills, who can write them, and who can introduce them to Congress.
#2: Referral to Committee The House and the Senate each have their own separate standing committees to consider proposed legislation. However, sometimes it is more efficient to have members of the House and Senate consider issues together. When this happens, Congress forms a
In most cases a bill that is introduced in Congress is referred to a committee, which may send it to a subcommittee for consideration. A bill rarely reaches the full House or Senate floor without committee approval.
In the House of Representatives, bills are referred to committee by the Speaker of the House. In the Senate, the presiding officer is the one who refers the bill to the appropriate committee. Most referrals for bills are routine. However, in cases where the referral is not straightforward, the referral power gives the majority party a powerful tool in controlling legislation as many committees have predetermined positions on certain issues. For example, a bill dealing with the control and regulation of pesticides can be sent to either the agricultural committee or the environmental committee. The environmental committee will try to strengthen the bill, while the agricultural committee would try to limit or weaken it. Thus, the bills passage can heavily depend upon which committee it is sent to. Drafters of legislation know this and will often try to write bills in ways that will encourage their bill to be referred to committees most likely to favor its passage.
Please go to the link below and use the information found there to answer the corresponding questions in the webquest workbook:
#3: Hearings Many bills have committee or subcommittee hearings, which usually are open to the public. Supporters and opponents of a bill will testify at these hearings in an attempt to sway the committee members to their point of view. Hearings also serve as a way for committee members to learn information that is relevant to the bill. Testimony can come from the bill's sponsors, federal and public officials, representatives of special interest groups, and ordinary citizens who are affected by the problem the bill addresses. Committee chairs often use hearings and the accompanying media coverage to build support for, or increase opposition to, a bill. Below is a short clip from a committee hearing on a bill supporting funding for Alzheimer's research. Please watch the clip and then respond to the corresponding questions in the webquest workbook:
#4 Markups After a bill has gone through committee hearings, the next step it must pass through is the markup process. During markup a bills exact phrasing is decided, line by line. Markups can be crucial as they will determine what specific features a bill will have. For example, if a bill was being considered to give every student in high school a laptop for school work, markups would decide if students needed to maintain a certain GPA to keep their laptop, who would pay for the laptop in the beginning, and who would pay for it if it broke. Markups are very detail oriented and can take a lot of time! Read the following information on the markup process and then complete the corresponding questions in your webquest workbook:
#5 Floor Consideration Once a bill is passed out of committee and back to the whole House or Senate floor, it is ready to be debated by the whole floor, possibly amended even further if needed, and be voted on. This process is called floor consideration. Once a bill passes floor consideration in either the House or the Senate it is then sent to the other house where it will undergo the whole committee, floor consideration, and voting process again. A bill must pass both the Senate and the House floor consideration process to go to the next step. Please go to the following link and read steps 7-10 to learn about the floor consideration process. Then complete the corresponding questions in your webquest workbook:
#6 Conference Committees Read the information in the link provided below and then answer the corresponding questions in the webquest workbook:
#7 Presidential Action Watch the video in the link provided below and then answer the corresponding questions in the webquest workbook:
***A special note on the video. In the video it states that the President can ignore the bill for 10 days and that if he does not sign the bill it will still become law. The exception to this is called a pocket veto. A pocket veto happens when the President receives a bill within 10 days of Congress's adjournment (dismissal). If the President does not sign the bill within those 10 days and Congress is adjourned then the bill does not pass into law. Instead it is vetoed. Congress must then reintroduce and re-pass the bill when they reconvene if they wish to try to make the bill become a law. A 2/3rd vote will not overturn a pocket veto.
Conclusion Congratulations! You have now investigated the seven steps that a bill must go through in order to become a law. Please write a brief summary in your webquest workbook describing the process a bill must go through in order to become a law. You can reference the above information, as well as the below infographic.
Time for our Exit Ticket. Please click on the below link to go to the exit ticket.
Please do not start until directed to do so by the instructor!
PollEv.com/jeffcolwell307
If you are finished with your webquest before your classmates are click on the button below for some interesting applications on what you've just learned.
