4.How a Bill Becomes a Law

With the exception of revenue or tax bills，legislation can be introduced in either the House or the Senate；sometimes identical bills are introduced in both houses.When bills are introduced，they are sent to the appropriate committees by the Speaker of the House or the Senate majority leader.The chair of the committee then sends the bill to a subcommittee，where hearings on the bill are held.After hearings，the subcommittee usually issues a report that is either favorable or unfavorable to the bill.Or it may report an amended or changed bill or rewrite the original bill.A bill favorably reported out of a Senate committee is put on the calendar for floor action.But the process is different in the House.Here bills must first go through the Rules Committee，which decides when the full House will hear the bill.The procedures for debating and voting on legislation are different in the House and the Senate.In the House，each member is allowed five minutes to speak on a bill.If amendments are allowed by the Rules Committee，these must pertain to the bill itself.Amendments are accepted or rejected by a vote of the members present.In the Senate，there is no time limit on debate.A senator who wants to delay action on a bill or kill it altogether may use a tactic called a filibuster.This is a marathon speech that may go on for hours with the senators yielding the floor only to members who support his or her position.A filibuster can be cut off only through cloture³.A petition from a minimum of 16senators is needed for a cloture vote，and 60senators must actually vote for cloture to end a filibuster.Even then，each senator can still speak for one hour.The Senate also puts no restrictions on the nature of the amendments to a bill.Amendments completely unrelated to the bill are called riders.Bills are passed in both houses by voice vote（ayes and noes），standing vote（standing up to indicate yes or no），or roll call vote（each member’s vote for or against a bill is recorded）.Then the bills are sent to President.If the President does not sign or veto a bill within ten days，the bill becomes law.On the other hand，the bill is dead if Congress adjourns within this ten day period.This is known as a pocket veto⁴.If the President vetoes a bill within the time，Congress can override the veto by a two-thirds vote of both houses.But a veto override is usually very difficult to succeed.

Filibuster

Legislators may be influenced in making their decisions by such factors as the interest of their constituency，party policy，favor of interest groups⁵，and call from President.Interest groups，such as industry trade associations，

unions，environmental groups，and political action committees，provide information to and put pressure on a legislator to vote one way or another.The role of the interest groups is significant because they contribute money and sometimes volunteers to election campaigns.The interest groups try to influence legislation usually through the professional paid lobbyists.Lobbying is part of the citizen’s right to petition government in the US.Now there are thousands of lobbyists in Washington D.C.Their influence in making the US policy is so great that some people call them“the third house”of Congress.It is true that if there is no pressure from party members，lobbyists，the President，or even constituents，a member of congress who holds a strong position on an issue will make a difference.

Notes

1.tie vote：equal number of votes of two sides.

2.president pro tempore：officer of the US Senate chosen from the ranks，usually the senior member of the majority party.He or she serves as president of the Senate in the absence of the Vice President.

3.Cloture：rule allowing a majority of two-thirds or three-fifths of the members in a legislative body to set a time limit on debate over a given bill.

4.Pocket veto：method by which the president vetoes a bill by raking no action on it when Congress bas adjourned.

5.Interest groups：collections of persons who share some common interest or attitude.

Exercises

Ⅰ.Choose the correct answer.

1.The power of the state in the US is actuallyfrom________.

A.the central government　　　B.the state constutution

C.the US Constitution　　　　 D.both B and C

2.The supreme law of the United States includes________.

A.the US Constitution

B.treaties under the authority of the United States

C.laws to ensure the constitutional power being practiced

D.all the above three

3.The terms of the senator and representative are ________and________ years respectively.

A.two...four　　　B.two...three

C，two...six　　　D.six...two

4.Which Amendment provided for the direct election of senators？

A.The 16th Amendment（1913）.

B.The 17th Amendment（1913）.

C.The 18th Amendment（1919）.

D.The 19th Amendment（1920）.

5.Certain presidential appointments must be approved by a majorityvote in.

A.Congress B.the House

C.the Supreme Court D.the Senate

6.All revenue or tax bills must be originated in________.

A.the Cabinet　　　B.the House

C.the Senate 　　　D.the Executive Office

7.Who is second in line in presidential succession？

A.The Speaker of the House.

B.The Vice President.

C.The president pro tempore.

D.The leader of the majority party in the Senate.

8.In the House，the power to decide when the full House will hear the bill is vested in________.

A.the Rules Committee　　 B.the standing committee

C.Subcommittee　　　　　　D.the select committee

Ⅱ.Fill in the blanks.

1.Federalism means the division of powers bya ________between the________government and ________government.It operates only on two levels，the national and the state.Units of government within a state enjoy no ________existence.

2.Separation of powers in the United States means not only allocating________power to Congress，________power to President and________ power to the Supreme Court，but also giving each branch constitutional and political________and________that ensure each of the three branches a sufficient role in the of the others.

3.According to the Constitution，members of the House of Representatives must be________years old and must have been citizens for________years.Senators must be at least________and must have been citizens for________years.

4.The________is officially the presidingofficer and is called the________of the Senate.In fact he seldom appears in the Senate chamber in this role unless it appears that there might be________vote in the Senate.In such instances，he casts the________vote.To deal with day-to-day business，the Senate chooses the________.

5.A senator who wants to delay action on a bill or kill it altogether may use a tactic called a________.It can be cut off only through________.

6.Lobbying is part of the citizen’s right to________government in the US.Now there are thousands of lobbyists in Washington D.C.Their influence in making the US policy is so great that some people call them“________”of Congress.

Ⅲ.Questions for discussion.

1.How do you understand that the US citizen can strive for the change of a law by legal and peaceful means？

2.What are the specific powers and implied powers of Congress？

3.What are the special powers of the Senate and the House of Representatives？

4.How does a bill become a law in Congress？

5.What is a pocket veto？