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6 Steps• Referral to Committee
– Most cases, a bill introduced in Congress is referred to a committee– Committee consideration is crucial– Without committee approval, bills usually don’t go to full House or Senate
• • Hearings
– Committee and subcommittee hearings—open to public– Supporters and opponents testify– Interest groups testify
• • Markup
– Usually take place at the full committee level– Markup is the exact phrasing—line by line– Time consuming and precise– Lot of detail– Now, bill must get full committee support
6 Steps• Floor Consideration
– Full House and Senate debates– Changes can be made to bill– Filibuster—one or more senators can hold up the final vote on a bill through delaying
tactics– Voting—after floor debate, congress members vote on the bill– Roll-call vote—each member called individually to declare vote
• • Conference Committee
– A bill that passes one house of Congress is then sent to the other house– Members from both houses– Iron out last details
• • Presidential Action
– Sign bill, making it a law– Veto the bill– Keep the bill 10 days without signing it—bill then becomes a law– Pocket veto—president gets bill within 10 days of Congress adjournment—does not sign
and bill does not become a law
Website
• How a Bill Becomes a Law and terms
• Schoolhouse Rock--How a Bill Becomes a Law
Influence of Special Interests
– Argument: Congress serves special interests at the expense of the public good
– Give too much weight to the narrow concerns of interest groups of their home districts and states
– Pork-barrel spending—awards projects and grants, or “pork” from the gov “barrel” to a member’s home district or state• $500,000 to renovate the boyhood farm of Lawrence Welk• $320,000 to buy the home of President William McKinley’s in-
laws in Canton, OH for donation to the state as a museum• $10 million to build a ramp to Milwaukee’s County Stadium
parking lot
13 Most Absurd Pork Barrel Spending Projects of 2010
http://www.investinganswers.com/education/global-economic-crisis/13-most-absurd-pork-barrel-spending-projects-2010-1583
More Pork Barrel Spending Examples
http://www.areddy.net/mscott/pork.html