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Describe the process by which a bill becomes law
Process by which a bill becomes law essay
Significance of us congress
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It seems the Founders wanted to make the passage of legislation difficult. The Constitution settles how bills become law in the United States. The procedure is operose and can take significant time to complete. The course materials of week three offer more than enough information on how the procedure works. This essay will, mainly, use the course materials to describe the process of how a bill becomes a law. The process of transforming a bill into a law requires the participation of both the Legislative branch and Executive branch of government. Before there is a law, there is a bill – and bills have many phases to pass through before these may become laws. The course materials of week three point out that a bill can originate in the House of Representatives or in the Senate – but different versions of the same bill could begin simultaneously in both chambers of Congress (Unit 3 the Congress, 9). It is possible for the President – or someone else – to write a bill, but a member of Congress must introduce the legislation through sponsorship. New bills receive a number and receive assignment to the committee best suited to examine the bill. Project Vote Smart reveals “Bills may be referred to more than one committee and it may be split so that parts are sent to different committees” (Project Vote Smart 2010). If the bill passes through the committee – or committees – the bill may get a new number before passing on to floor action. But it is not necessary for the bill to receive a new number. The foregoing stages describe the initial actions of the Legislative branch in the procedure of a bill becoming law. Depending on the chamber of Congress where the bill exists, the procedures for floor action differ. I... ... middle of paper ... ...ences American Military University Faculty. Course Materials Unit 3 the Congress. American Public University System. https://online.apus.edu/educator/student/ [the rest of the URL is deleted as it contains information tied to my student ID number, etc. in the URL and this piece of html code presents a security risk] (accessed November 22, 2010). Harris, Lawrence S. Discussion Board 3, Response to Joshua Jordan . American Public University System. https://online.apus.edu/educator/student/ [the rest of the URL is deleted as it contains information tied to my student ID number, etc. in the URL and this piece of html code presents a security risk] (accessed November 22, 2010). Project Vote Smart. GOVERNMENT 101: How a Bill Becomes a Law . Project Vote Smart. http://www.votesmart.org/program_about_pvs.php (accessed November 22, 2010)
September 17, 1787, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; during the heat of summer, in a stuffy assembly room of Independence Hall, a group of delegates gathered. After four months of closed-door quorums, a four page, hand written document was signed by thirty-nine attendees of the Constitutional Convention. This document, has come to be considered, by many, the framework to the greatest form of government every known; the Constitution of the United States. One of the first of its kind, the Constitution laid out the frame work for the government we know today. A government of the people, by the people, and for the people; constructed of three branches; each branch charged with their own responsibilities. Article one established the Congress or Legislative branch, which would be charged with legislative powers. Article two created the Executive branch, providing chief executive powers to a president, who would act in the capacity of Commander in Chief of the Country’s military forces. The President of the United States also acts as head of state to foreign nations and may establish treaties and foreign policies. Additionally, the President and the departments within the Executive branch were established as the arm of government that is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by Congress. Thirdly, under Article three of the Constitution, the Judicial branch was established, and consequently afforded the duty of interpreting the laws, determining the constitutionality of the laws, and apply it to individual cases. The separation of powers is paramount to the system of checks and balances among the three branches; however, although separate they must support the functions of the others. Because of this, the Legislative an...
The United States of America is one of the most powerful nation-states in the world today. The framers of the American Constitution spent a great deal of time and effort into making sure this power wasn’t too centralized in one aspect of the government. They created three branches of government to help maintain a checks and balance system. In this paper I will discuss these three branches, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial, for both the state and federal level.
The procedure for approving a bill and making it a law involves many steps. The following description is a short summary from “How Our Laws are Made”, an in depth description of the legislative process that can found on the website of the Library of Congress. After a bill is drafted, a member...
The legislative branch is responsible for making laws and includes Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate has 100 members, two from each state. The house of representatives is made up of 435 members, and the larger the population of the state is, the more representatives it will have. The House and the Senate are also known as Congressional Chambers, and they both have particular exclusive powers. The consent of both chambers is required to pass any legislation. But it can only become law if it is signed by the President. The President has the power to veto a bill though, which will deny the legislation and kick the bill back to Congress. It may then only be passed if 2/3 of both houses of Congress vote to pass the bill.
Contrasts in the lawmaking methodology utilized as a part of the House and Senate reflect the distinctive size of the two chambers and individual terms of its parts. In the House, the dominant part gathering is inflexibly in control, stacking advisory groups with lion 's share party parts, and utilizing principles to seek after enactment supported by its parts. In the Senate, singular parts are better ready to hold up the procedure, which prompts lower similarity costs, however higher exchange costs. The complication of the lawmaking procedure gives rivals different chances to murder a bill, making a solid predisposition for the present state of affairs.
...ven law into legislation. If these steps were not taken, we would risk living in a world of oppression and injustice. Many have paid the ultimate price, granting us the opportunity to live in a nation where we pride ourselves upon the freedom we value so dearly. Thus, when reflecting back on our society and the value of living in a democratic environment, it seems rather obvious that the implementation of these Charter sections is a small price to pay for our free and equal culture.
Many Americans in today's society will find it difficult to answer the question of what Congress exactly does and why it exists. Others simply don't care and see Congress as a failed system where nothing gets done. Lee Hamilton, in his book Why Congress Works and Why you Should Care, proves these people wrong and gives an insider's look at what Congress actually does do and how it affects every American each day.
Otto von Bismarck once said, “Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.” The arduous process that a bill undergoes in order to become a law may seem grueling and pointless; however, the processes high caliber of difficulty allows for the extreme prestige and exclusivity of bills that are passed. Because the process is so exhausting, and filibusters, subsequently requiring a super-majority vote to pass a bill, have always been such a threat in Congress, historically, bills that attempt to reform sensitive issues have not fared well in the legislative branch. However, when Congress does pass controversial laws, it then also faces the task of effectively enforcing them. But, when the process is carried out to completion, laws that are enforced have significant impacts on the everyday lives of the American people—such as laws concerning abortion rights. In the United States, the government and Congress have significantly affected the rights of women with regard to abortions through laws that either restrict or guarantee their legality and availability, while the government’s capacity to do so is affected by the principle of federalism along with that of the separation of powers.
Most legislation originates from governmental departments and agencies. In committees, a majority vote decides and often, compromise must be reached in order for a bill or law to survive committee action. This frequently requires that a delegate alter his position in order to achieve a compromise. This compromise may or may not reflect the wishes of the people he/she represents. The Modern Bureaucracy in the United States serves to administer, gather information, conduct investigations, regulate, and license.
West Virginia Legislature. (2011). How a bill becomes a law. Retrieved October 14, 2011, from
First, in the long process of a bill becoming a law is introducing a bill. After someone from Congress in either chamber has come up with an idea for a bill they must introduce it. For members of the House of Representatives this is easy. All they have to do is put their idea in a mahogany box at the front of the chamber called the hopper. Now for a Senator to introduce a bill they must either hand it to the clerk of the Senate or they must talk about it in a presentation to their peers in a floor speech. Sometimes though Senators can cut down this process by adding their bill as an amendment to legislation that is already being processed. This saves them a lot of time. Also, new ideas for bills are labeled depending on what chamber they come from. Bills from the house will always be labeled with an H.R. with its number behind it. Well bills from the Senate will always be labeled with an S. followed by its number.
The primary source of legislation and law reform in the UK is the Westminster Parliament, which consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Parliament amends existing legislation in order to update the law to account for additional factors that may have come to have an influence on a particular area of law. Green papers and white papers which are also known as discussion documents or Bills are presented to parliament for debate. These documents contain the details of ideas for new laws or ideas for the reform of or amendment of existing laws. Bills go through several stages known as readings before becoming Acts of Parliament. During the first reading the proposal for a change in the law is formally introduced to parliament. The second reading gives parliament the opportunity to debate the general contents of the Bill. At the committee stage a detailed examination of the proposals takes place and proposals for amendments are made. Any amendments which may have been made are discussed further at the report stage. The third reading is...
Sarah Balistreri is a coordinator in the Office of Academic Initiatives at the College Board. F. Tony Di Giacomo is a director in Research & Development at the College Board. Ivanley Noisette is a Mitchell Scholar. Thomas Ptak is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Oregon. 2012, The College Board. College Board, Advanced Placement Program, www.collegeboard.org.
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