A Closer Look at the Legislative Process

 

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Overview

In this lesson students will analyze, in depth, how a bill becomes a law. Students will examine the role that Congressional committees play in this process, and learn how one’s Congressional representatives can influence legislation through their specific committee assignments.

 

Grade Levels

9–12

 

Objectives

Students will:

• explain how a bill becomes a law; and
• describe the role that Congressional committees play in the lawmaking process.

Estimated Time

4 days

 

Materials Needed

• Interactive Learning Module: Dynamic Legislative Process
• Internet connection with Macromedia FLASH ® enabled
• Projection device
• "Who Makes Up Congress?" Worksheet

Procedure

Day 1

1. Choose a bill from the Library of Congress's Thomas Web site (http://thomas.loc.gov) that is currently pending and use it to give students a sense of the substance and appearance of an actual bill. Discuss the content with the class and have each member of the class write a short, two-paragraph statement which presents and defends his or her individual position on the bill if he were in the Congress and would have to eventually vote on this bill.
2. Give students the worksheet "Who Makes Up Congress?" and have them complete it as homework. If possible, suggest to students that they access and use the Congressional Glossary to use in doing their homework as well as the Thomas (http://thomas.loc.gov) Web site.

Day 2

1. First, go through the worksheet, discussing students' answers and having them self-correct any missing or incorrect responses.
2. Next, show the version of how a bill is passed from the module which represents the "Textbook Legislative Process" and ask students to record the key elements of the model in their notes for future use in the lesson. Next, show he "Dynamic Legislative Process", where Congressman Lee Hamilton describes the actual process.
3. List and explain/discuss all of the key elements that Congressman Hamilton suggests must occur at each stage of the bill's movement through the process. Have students prioritize the items from most important to least important. Also have them provide rationale for their prioritization.
4. Have students watch Congressman Hamilton's description of the actual process again and focus on the recent changes which he highlights. (You might wish to access this 2^nd clip from the interactive by accessing the E-Learning Activities for Students and clicking on "Dynamic Legislative Process" in the menu on the left). Ask students to record the differences between the theoretical and real process with particular emphasis on the arrowed changes (which have further explanations when the cursor is placed on the arrows). Discuss how these changes affect the legislative process. Focus the discussion on the issues Congressman Hamilton raises, especially the lack of transparency which results from the shortcuts and bypasses of the legislative process which are occurring. The current use of the threat of the filibuster in the Senate (requiring 60 votes for cloture) should also be included in the discussion. Mention to students that the filibuster strategy has been used by both political parties.

Day 3

1. Using the Thomas Web site, choose several bills which are currently being considered in Congress or that have been proposed but not acted upon by Congress. Have students work in groups of two to four and assign each group one bill. Provide each student in the group with a copy of his or her assigned bill. Then have each group do research on the bill and prepare a presentation in writing or a combination of written and other media which responds to the following questions.
• Who are the authors of the bill?
• What is the purpose and intent of the bill?
• Which interest groups have a stake in the outcome of this bill and why?
• Is this bill promoting the common good of the country, the special interest of a select group, or perhaps even harming the common good of the country?
• Which committee or committees are hearing the bill?
• Is support for the bill divided along political party lines, and if so, why?
• Who is the chairperson of the committee and who is the ranking member of the minority party on the committee(s) which will hear the bill?
• How many members does each committee have, and how are they divided amongst the two political parties?
2. State and describe the key arguments for and against the bill. As indicated earlier, each group will prepare a presentation which addresses the above questions and also states the group's position on the bill, including key arguments supporting their position.

Day 4

Have each group present to the class in summary form the key elements of their research. (The teacher will have to decide what the parameters of the presentation will be in terms of time and media used.)

Extension Activity

Have students find out on which committees or subcommittees your Congressional representatives serve. Then ask students to choose one committee and research the size of that committee, its jurisdiction, whether or not your representative has a leadership role in that committee, and what legislation is currently before the committee. Discuss whether or not your Congressional representatives have seats on committees of significant importance to your state or community.

 

Assessment

Basic Concepts and Processes

Ask your students to respond to the following requests for information and assess their knowledge of key concepts taught in this lesson.

1. Explain how a bill becomes a law.
2. Describe the role that Congressional committees play in the lawmaking process.

Lesson Plan Feedback

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