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CONGRESS ORGANIZES

I. Congress Convenes – on January 3rd of every odd-numbered year

1. Opening Day in the House

a.The Clerk of the House from the preceding term presides.

b.A Speaker is elected. The Speaker is a long-standing member of the majority party. The election is a formality.

c.The Speaker takes the oath of office and swears in the rest of the members.

d.House elects its clerk, parliamentarian, sergeant at arms, chief administrative officer, and chaplain.

Opening Day in the Senatea.The Senate is a continuous body and has

been organized since its first session in 1789.

b.Newly elected and reelected members are sworn in, vacancies in Senate organization and on committees are filled, and a few other details are attended to.

State of the Union Messagea. Once both houses are organized, a joint committee

informs the President. In late January or early February, the President delivers his annual State of the Union message.

b. In this address, the President reports on both domestic and foreign policy. The President lays out the broad shape of the policies his administration will follow and the course that he has charted for the nation.

I. Presiding Officers1. The Speaker of the House

a. Is the more important and powerful positionb. Has two primary duties: to preside and to keep

orderi. Interprets and applies the rules, refers bills to

committee, rules on points of order, puts motions to a vote, decides the outcome of most votes taken on the floor

c. Follows the Vice President in the line of succession to the presidency

The President of the Senate a. The Vice President is the president of the senate

i. Unlike the House, Senate does not choose presiding officer

ii.President of the Senate is not a memberb. Powers - recognize members, put questions to a

vote, etc. Cannot debate on the floorc. President pro tempore serves in the absence of the

Vice President. He is elected by the Senate and is the majority party leader.

I. Party Officers1.The Party Caucus

a.Closed meeting for members of each party in each house

b.It meets just before Congress convenes in January and occasionally while Congress is in session.

c.It deals mostly with matters of party organization

The Floor Leadersa. After the speaker, the majority and minority floor

leaders are the most important officers in Congress.b. They are legislative strategists who try to carry out

the decisions of their parties’ caucuses and steer floor action to their parties’ benefit.

c. They are assisted by whips. The majority and minority party whip are assistant floor leaders. They act as liaisons between the party’s leadership and its rank-and-file members.

I. Committee Chairmena.Most work in Congress is done by

committee. Committee chairmen head the standing committees in each chamber. 1.Seniority Rule – an unwritten custom

that the most important posts will be held by those party members with the longest records of service in Congress.

COMMITTEES IN CONGRESSI. Standing Committees – permanent panels to which

similar bills are sent1.Committee Assignments

a.House committees have between 10 to 75 members. Senate committees have between 14 and 28 members.

b.The fate of most bills is decided in the various standing committees. Bills receive their most thorough inspection in committee and members of both houses tend to respect the decisions of committees.

c.When a bill is introduced in either house, the Speaker or the president of the Senate refers the measure to the appropriate standing committee.

d.Most standing committees are divided into subcommittees.

The House Rules Committeea.“Traffic Cop” in the lower houseb.A bill gets to the floor only if it has been

granted rule by the Rules Committee.Select Committees

c.Panels set up for a specific purpose and, most often, for a limited time.

d.Most select committees are formed to investigate a current matter.

Joint and Conference Committees

a.A joint committee is one composed of members of both houses.

b.Some are select committees set up to serve a temporary purpose. Some are permanent groups. Others are set up to investigate and issue reports to the House and Senate.

c.Both houses must pass identical versions of the same bill before it can be signed by the President. A conference committee can be created to iron out the differences in a bill.

HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW: THE HOUSEI. The First Steps

1.A bill is a proposed law presented to the House or Senate for consideration. Most bill originate somewhere in the executive branch. Some come from standing committees in Congress. Only members can introduce bills in the House and the do so by dropping them in the “hopper”.

Types of Bills and Resolutions1.Publics bills are measures applying to the

nation as a whole2.Private bills are measures that apply to

certain persons or places3.Joint Resolutions are proposals for some

action that has the force of law when passed. They usually deal with special circumstances or temporary matters.

4.Concurrent Resolutions are a statement of position on an issue. This does not have the force of law.

5.Resolutions are measures dealing with some matter in one house. This does not have the force of law.

6.A rider is a provision not likely to pass on its own that is attached to an important measure.

The First reading1.The clerk numbers and gives each

bill a short title. Then, the bill is entered into the House journal and in the Congressional Record.

2.Bill is referred to the appropriate committee.

The Bill in Committee1.Committees decide the fate of many of the

thousands of bills introduced in each session.

2.Many are pigeonholed – they are never acted upon.

3.A discharge petition enables members to force a bill that has been in committee for 30 days onto the floor for consideration. If the petition is signed by a majority of the House, the committee has seven days to report the bill.

Gathering Information – most committees handle their work through subcommittees. Committee Actions

a.When a subcommittee has finished its background work on a bill, it goes to the full committee. The committee may: report the bill favorably with a “pass” recommendation”, refuse to report the bill, report the bill in an amended form, report the bill with unfavorable recommendation, or report a committee bill.

I. Scheduling Floor Debate1.Calendars

a.The five calendars in the House are: The Calendar of the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, The House Calendar, The Private Calendar, The Corrections Calendar, and The Discharge Calendar

Rulesa.The Rules Committee must grant a rule before

bills can reach the floori. May not grant rule and kill billii.May set special rule with conditions

b.Bills can be privileged and be called up at almost any time. Major a proportions and general revenue bills, etc.

I. The Bill on the Floor1. If a bill reaches the floor, it receives a

second reading. 2.Committee of the Whole deals with

important measures and consists of all the members of the House.

3.Debatea.Due to the size of the House, restrictions are

placed on floor debateb.Any member can “move the previous

question” and demand a vote

Votinga. Bills may be the subject of many floor votes as

they are amendedb. Methods include: Voice votes (most common),

standing vote, teller vote, roll-call voteFinal Steps

c. Once a bill has been approve at the second reading, it is engrossed (printed in its final form). It is read a third time and a final vote is taken. If it passes, the Speaker signs it. It is placed on the Senate president’s desk

THE BILL IN THE SENATE

I. Introducing the Bill1.Bills are introduced by Senators who

are formally recognized for that purpose.

2.A measure is then given a number, a short title, read twice, and referred to a committee, where the bill is dealt with much as it is in the House.

I. Rules For Debate1. Debate is unrestrained in the Senate. Senators may

speak on the floor for as long as they please but may only speak twice on a given question. The Senate’s consideration of a bill is brought to a close by a unanimous consent.

2. The Filibuster a. This is essentially an attempt to talk a bill to death. It is

a stalling tactic used to delay or prevent the Senate from taking action on a measure.

b. Even the threat of a filibuster has resulted in the Senate’s failure to consider a number of bills.

3. The Cloture Rule a. It was adopted in 1917 after one of the most notable

filibusters. b. This rule allows for Cloture (limiting debate). A vote to

invoke this rule must be taken two days after a petition calling for that action has been submitted by at least 16 Senators.

I. Conference Committees1.There are times when one House will not

accept the other House’s version of a bill. When this happens, the bill is turned over to a conference committee.

2.The conferees are named by the respective presiding officers and are mostly members of the standing committees that first handled the measure in each House.

3.They cannot include any new material. They can only consider the points in the bill on which the two Houses disagree.

4.Once they have agreed, they submit their compromise bill to both Houses.

I. The President Acts1.When a bill is presented to the

President he may: sign the bill, veto the bill, allow the bill to become law without signing it, or use the “pocket” veto.