GWR Tip
Representative X (I-VT)
When you see a Member of Congress listed in this way, the first letter in parentheses after a their name denotes their party or if they're an independent. The two-letter abbreviation after that identifies their home state. If you see a city name and not a two-character state abbreviation, that means that they’re a state legislator, not a Member of Congress.
Since this bill deals with education, it might seem logical to refer it to the House Education Committee. Not so fast. The legislative process is filled with riptides and black holes. For our example, let’s say that the Chair of the Education Committee is a college dropout and no fan of this proposal. But let’s also assume that the prevailing opinion on the Rules Committee is that they want the bill to pass. The Rules Committee would instead refer it to the House Budget Committee, where, let’s say, their Chair is a former teacher who loves the idea.
Legislative Pothole Alert: An easy way for the Rules Committee to stop a bill it doesn’t like from moving forward is to assign it to a "dead committee," meaning a committee that has finished meeting for the year. There are also many other ways to stall or stop a bill, with such legislative maneuvers as the Senate filibuster.
Back From the Dead
Congress meets in two-year sessions. A defeated bill can be brought back for reconsideration in either year of a session, which explains why they’re sometimes called zombie bills. Such bills often return with a different purpose than their original one. (The umpires keep a low profile in Congress.)
The Committee process itself is becoming increasingly marginalized, with more bills being sent directly to the House or Senate floor with little or no committee work. This is a considerable change to the process, since committees traditionally draft, debate, amend, and then vote upon bills. Limiting or even eliminating their duties greatly increases the possibility that bills will not be properly scrutinized.
But let’s say that our hypothetical bill survives its first challenge and is sent to the friendly House Budget Committee. Don't relax yet, because the legislative waters are filled with sharks in the form of powerful special-interest groups who have a good record of getting what they want.
How a Bill Becomes a Law
“I could end the deficit in five minutes. You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting Members of Congress are ineligible for reelection.”
— Warren Buffett
Overview
The process of making laws is often compared with that of making sausage: it’s something so revolting that you’d rather not watch it. Having worked in the state legislature, I witnessed a good deal of legislation snaking its way through the grinder. I hope the process of making sausage is less unsightly.
Many bills begin on the computer of a special-interest group. While hardly shocking, this reality is sadly emblematic of the sway such groups hold over lawmakers.
Let's take a streamlined look at the lawmaking process, warts and all.
In the Beginning: Introducing a Bill
In Congress, legislation can begin either in either of the two chambers, the House of Representatives or the Senate. The exception to this is that all finance bills—that is, bills that involve appropriating taxpayer dollars—must originate in the House.
The overwhelming majority of bills introduced in Congress do not become law. For example, of the 16,601 bills introduced in the 116th Congress from January 3, 2019 to the same date in 2021, only 1,229 (7%) became law, either on their own or after being incorporated into other successful legislation. This information is tracked by GovTrack.us, which follows “the activities of the United States Congress and the White House to create a more open and accountable government.”
This low passage rate does not count as an aberration. The 7% of successful bills fell right around the average in the near half-century that GovTrack.us has been tabulating Congressional legislation.
If you're among the few who approve of Congress's performance, you can proudly point out that another 4% of bills also passed in that session. Unfortunately, these were mostly resolutions, often symbolic or ceremonial measures with little or no impact on actual law.
Some argue that the passage rate doesn't matter much because we already have enough laws. Still, it does speak to the inability of Congress to pass new laws as a means of solving new, evolving, or unresolved problems. Regardless of its relative efficiency or unsightliness, let's examine how the lawmaking process works.
The Initial Steps
The first stop for a new bill is usually the Rules Committee of either the House or the Senate. These powerful committees can help a bill pass or fail depending on their actions. To be clear, it is much easier to stop a bill than to pass one.
It is the job of the Rules Committees to refer new bills to an appropriate policy committee. Each bill is given an alphanumeric identifier. For example, Senate Bill #24 would be designated SB24, while House Resolution #32 would be HR32.
The title of the bill is determined by its chief author. Oftentimes, these are essentially marketing tools to make them attractive to the public. Other titles are intended as attention grabbers more than anything else. This BuzzFeed article discusses 22…let’s call them interesting bills…that were actually introduced one year.
Let's walk our way through the process. Let’s invent an example, Representative Jane Doe (I-KS) introduces the “Make Education More Affordable Act,” which would, if made into law, forgive a certain amount of student debt under the conditions that the borrower completes their degree and spends at least three years teaching at a public school.
Moving a Bill Along
To demonstrate support within the House or Senate chambers, the bill’s authors aggressively seek as many co-sponsors as they can wrangle. They will also set the rules and schedule for its hearings and debate. This includes the topics it will cover, determining its cost and potential impacts, the expert witnesses who will testify, how amendments will be handled, and so on.
Let’s say our hypothetical bill survives in committee and is approved, and so then proceeds to floor of the House for more debate and an eventual vote. As mentioned earlier, bills can now more easily advance to the House or Senate floor without a positive committee vote. Another way to do that in the House is through a discharge petition, signed by a majority of its members. The Senate Majority Leader can simply order this to be done.
After setting the rules for procedures, amendments, and debate, there is more debate and often, but not always, a vote on the bill. If approved, the bill is sent to the other chamber. If not, there are many possible next steps—it can be brought back for more amendments or votes, it can be shelved, or it might just die with no other action taken.
When passed by one legislative chamber and moved to other, the bill then goes through a similar process. If it passes the second chamber in the same form, then it is sent to the President for their approval or veto.
If the bill is amended in one or both chambers and then passed, a Conference Committee of both House and Senate members will be formed to work out the differences so that both chambers can vote on the same bill, a necessity for it becoming law.
Even just forming a conference committee can be fraught with politics. There is no requirement that one be formed. They often aren't if neither the House nor Senate is genuinely interested in passing the proposed bill. Legislative leaders can also impact the Conference Committee's actions by appointing legislators known to be either good dealmakers or purveyors of intractable logjams.
If a Conference Committee works out a compromise, they create a conference report, which is sent back to both chambers for votes. If adopted by both bodies, the bill then moves on to the President for their signature or veto.
If the President vetoes (rejects) the proposed law, Congress can try to override their veto with a two-thirds vote of both chambers.
Depending on whether or not Congress is in session, a bill can become law without a President's signature, or the President can kill it with a pocket veto by not taking further action within the requisite time period.
Summing It Up
The Founders intentionally made it difficult to pass legislation, and especially to amend the Constitution, which they felt needed to be shielded from rash actions. The flip side is that our political system desperately needs some major updates to deal with its high level of dysfunction. This is but one of many areas where the willingness to compromise by achieving consensus is sadly lacking.
The dramatic rise in the use of the filibuster in recent years has effectively required approval of 60 of the 100 Senators to get anything done, a tough task in today’s hyper-partisan environment. Gerrymandered districts—that is, electoral districts manipulated to benefit a particular party—result in most House members being virtually assured of reelection. Combined with requiring a super-majority in the Senate to pass legislation, we have a recipe for legislative inaction.
Did You Know…?
How many Senators does it take to bring the Senate to a halt in getting even routine things done quickly?
A) 1
B) 33
C) 60
D) 66
You can find the correct answer at the bottom of this page.
The Founders believed that they would be followed by similarly principled successors who shared their values. Sadly, far too often, that has not been the case. To be clear, there are many fine lawmakers committed to public service. Unfortunately, too many others place party and their own political interests above the good of their constituents.
As I’ve mentioned elsewhere and will continue to do so, if we want lawmakers to change their behavior, we voters need to change ours first. When we vote almost exclusively for members of one party, there's little incentive for lawmakers to compromise and work across party lines. Many surveys of the American people, as discussed in this article—show that a majority believe in the need for compromise.
We need to put more energy in making such a worthy political future a reality.
Additional Resources
Here are a couple of additional resources for those who want to learn more about the legislative process and other workings of our government.
A really good one is the PBS Crash Course series. These short videos cover a wide variety of useful topics in engaging and informative ways. The main presenter does a great job of explaining them, often with good humor.
The Thought Company is another fine resource that covers political topics in easy-to-understand terms.
Answer to the Did You Know…? Question
The answer is A) 1.
If even a single Senator objects to a motion of Unanimous Consent, which is used for votes on noncontroversial matters, such as approving minutes from the previous Senate meeting, just that one No vote will prevent the motion from being considered.