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HOW OUR LAWS ARE MADE
I. INTRODUCTION
This brochure is intended to provide a basic outline of the numerous steps of our federal lawmaking process from the source of an idea for a legislative proposal through its publication as a statute. The legislative process is a matter about which every citizen should be well informed in order to understand and appreciate the work of Congress. It is hoped that this guide will enable every citizen to gain a greater understanding of the federal legislative process and its role as one of the foundations of our representative system. One of the most practical safeguards of the American democratic way of life is this legislative process with its emphasis on the protection of the minority, allowing ample opportunity to all sides to be heard and make their views known. The fact that a proposal cannot become a law without consideration and approval by both Houses of Congress is an outstanding virtue of our bicameral legislative system. The open and full discussion provided for under the Constitution often results in the notable improvement of a bill by amendment before it becomes law, or it may result in the defeat of an inadvisable proposal. As the majority of laws originate in the House of Representatives, this discussion will focus principally on the procedure in that body.
II. THE CONGRESS
Article I, Section 1, of the United States Constitution, provides that: All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. The Senate is composed of 100 Members--two from each state, regardless of population or area--elected by the people in accordance with the 17th Amendment to the Constitution. The 17th Amendment changed the former constitutional method under which Senators were chosen by the respective state legislatures. A Senator must be at least 30 years of age, have been a citizen of the United States for nine years, and, when elected, be a resident of the state for which the Senator is chosen. The term of office is six years and one-third of the total membership of the Senate is elected every second year. The terms of both Senators from a particular state are arranged so that they do not terminate at the same time. Of the two Senators from a state serving at the same time the one who was elected first--or if both were elected at the same time, the one elected for a full term--is referred to as the ``senior'' Senator from that state. The other is referred to as the ``junior'' Senator. If a Senator dies or resigns during the term, the governor of the state must call a special election unless the state legislature has authorized the governor to appoint a successor until the next election, at which time a successor is elected for the balance of the term. Most of the state legislatures have granted their governors the power of appointment. Each Senator has one vote. As constituted in the 105th Congress, the House of Representatives is composed of 435 Members elected every two years from among the 50 states, apportioned to their total populations. The permanent number of 435 was established by federal law following the Thirteenth Decennial Census in 1910, in accordance with Article I, Section 2, of the Constitution. This number was increased temporarily to 437 for the 87th Congress to provide for one Representative each for Alaska and Hawaii. The Constitution limits the number of Representatives to not more than one for every 30,000 of population. Under a former apportionment in one state, a particular Representative represented more than 900,000 constituents, while another in the same state was elected from a district having a population of only 175,000. The Supreme Court has since held unconstitutional a Missouri statute permitting a maximum population variance of 3.1 percent from mathematical equality. The Court ruled in Kirkpatrick v. Preisler, 394 U.S. 526 (1969), that the variances among the districts were not unavoidable and, therefore, were invalid. That decision was an interpretation of the Court's earlier ruling in Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 (1964), that the Constitution requires that ``as nearly as is practicable one man's vote in a congressional election is to be worth as much as another's''. A law enacted in 1967 abolished all ``at-large'' elections except in those less populous states entitled to only one Representative. An ``at-large'' election is one in which a Representative is elected by the voters of the entire state rather than by the voters in a congressional district within the state. A Representative must be at least 25 years of age, have been a citizen of the United States for seven years, and, when elected, be a resident of the state in which the Representative is chosen. If a Representative dies or resigns during the term, the governor of the state must call a special election pursuant to state law for the choosing of a successor to serve for the unexpired portion of the term. Each Representative has one vote. In addition to the Representatives from each of the States, a Resident Commissioner from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and Delegates from the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands are elected pursuant to federal law. The Resident Commissioner and the Delegates have most of the prerogatives of Representatives including the right to vote in committees to which they are elected. However, the Resident Commissioner and the Delegates do not have the right to vote on matters before the House. Under the provisions of Section 2 of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, Congress must assemble at least once every year, at noon on the 3rd day of January, unless by law they appoint a different day. A Congress lasts for two years, commencing in January of the year following the biennial election of Members. A Congress is divided into two sessions. Unlike some other parliamentary bodies, both the Senate and the House of Representatives have equal legislative functions and powers. However, the Constitution provides that only the House of Representatives originate revenue bills. By tradition, the House also originates appropriation bills. The designation of one as the ``upper'' House and the other as the ``lower'' House is not appropriate. The Constitution authorizes each House to determine the rules of its proceedings. Pursuant to that authority, the House of Representatives adopts its rules on the opening day of each Congress. The Senate considers itself a continuing body and operates under continuous standing rules that it amends from time to time. The chief function of Congress is the making of laws. In addition, the Senate has the function of advising and consenting to treaties and to certain nominations by the President. In the matter of impeachments, the House of Representatives presents the charges--a function similar to that of a grand jury--and the Senate sits as a court to try the impeachment. No person may be impeached without a two-thirds vote of the Senate. The Congress also plays a role in presidential elections. Both Houses meet in joint session on the sixth day of January, following a presidential election, unless by law they appoint a different day, to count the electoral votes. If no candidate receives a majority of the total electoral votes, the House of Representatives, each state delegation having one vote, chooses the President from among the three candidates having the largest number of electoral votes and the Senate chooses the Vice President from the two candidates having the largest number of votes for that office.
III. SOURCES OF LEGISLATION
Sources of ideas for legislation are unlimited and proposed drafts of bills originate in many diverse quarters. Primary among these is the idea and draft conceived by a Member or Delegate. This may emanate from the election campaign during which the Member had promised, if elected, to introduce legislation on a particular subject. The entire campaign may have been based upon one or more such proposals. The Member may have also become aware after taking office of the need for amendment to or repeal of an existing law or the enactment of a statute in an entirely new field. In addition, the Member's constituents, either as individuals or through citizen groups or associations may avail themselves of the right to petition and transmit their proposals to the Member. The right to petition is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution. Many excellent laws have originated in this way, as someorganizations, because of their vital concern with various areas of legislation, have considerable knowledge regarding the laws affecting their interests and have the services of legislative draftspersons at their disposal for this purpose. Similarly, state legislatures may ``memorialize'' Congress to enact specified federal laws by passing resolutions to be transmitted to the House and Senate as memorials. If favorably impressed by the idea, the Member may introduce the proposal in the form in which it has been submitted or may redraft it. In any event, the Member may consult with the Legislative Counsel of the House or the Senate to frame the ideas in suitable legislative language and form. In modern times, the ``executive communication'' has become a prolific source of legislative proposals. This is usually in the form of a message or letter from a member of the President's Cabinet or the head of an independent agency--or even from the President--transmitting a draft of a proposed bill to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate. Despite the structure of separation of powers, Article II, Section 3, of the Constitution imposes an obligation on the President to report to Congress from time to time on the ``State of the Union'' and to recommend for consideration such measures as the President considers necessary and expedient. Many of these executive communications follow on the President's message to Congress on the state of the Union. The communication is then referred to the standing committee or committees having jurisdiction of the subject matter of the proposal. The chairman or the ranking minority member of the relevant committee usually introduces the bill promptly either in the form in which it was received or with desired changes. This practice is usually followed even when the majority of the House and the President are not of the same political party, although there is no constitutional or statutory requirement that a bill be introduced to effectuate the recommendations. The committee or one of its subcommittees may also decide to examine the communication to determine whether a bill should be introduced. The most important of the regular executive communications is the annual message from the President transmitting the proposed budget to Congress. The President's budget proposal, together with testimony by officials of the various branches of the government before the Appropriations Committees of the House and Senate, is the basis of the several appropriation bills that are drafted by the Committee on Appropriations of the House. Several of the executive departments and independent agencies employ trained legislative counsels whose functions include the drafting of bills to be forwarded to Congress with a request for their enactment. The drafting of statutes is an art that requires great skill, knowledge, and experience. In some instances, a draft is the result of a study covering a period of a year or more by a commission or committee designated by the President or a member of the Cabinet. The Administrative Procedure Act and the Uniform Code of Military Justice are only two of many examples of enactments resulting from such studies. In addition, congressional committees sometimes draft bills after studies and hearings covering periods of a year or more.
HOW OUR LAWS ARE MADE Revised and Updated by Charles W. Johnson, Parliamentarian, U.S. House of Representatives < Presented by Mr. Warner November 12, 1997.--Ordered to be printed U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 44-600 WASHINGTON : 1998