When Can a Bill Be Sent to the President for Approval Answers.com

The United states Congress is fabricated up of the Firm of Representatives and the Senate. Learn more about the powers of the Legislative Branch of the federal government of the United states of america.

Established by Article I of the Constitution, the Legislative Branch consists of the Business firm of Representatives and the Senate, which together form the United States Congress. The Constitution grants Congress the sole authority to enact legislation and declare war, the right to confirm or decline many Presidential appointments, and substantial investigative powers.

The House of Representatives is fabricated up of 435 elected members, divided among the 50 states in proportion to their total population. In addition, there are half-dozen non-voting members, representing the Commune of Columbia, the Democracy of Puerto Rico, and iv other territories of the United States. The presiding officer of the chamber is the Speaker of the House, elected by the Representatives. He or she is third in the line of succession to the Presidency.

Members of the Business firm are elected every two years and must be 25 years of historic period, a U.Due south. citizen for at least seven years, and a resident of the land (only not necessarily the commune) they represent.

The House has several powers assigned exclusively to it, including the power to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the President in the instance of an electoral higher tie.

The Senate is composed of 100 Senators, ii for each country. Until the ratification of the 17th Amendment in 1913, Senators were called by state legislatures, non by pop vote. Since then, they accept been elected to six-year terms by the people of each state. Senator'south terms are staggered and then that about one-3rd of the Senate is upwards for reelection every 2 years. Senators must be 30 years of historic period, U.S. citizens for at to the lowest degree nine years, and residents of the country they represent.

The Vice President of the United States serves as President of the Senate and may cast the decisive vote in the event of a tie in the Senate.

The Senate has the sole power to ostend those of the President'south appointments that require consent, and to ratify treaties. At that place are, however, ii exceptions to this dominion: the Firm must as well approve appointments to the Vice Presidency and any treaty that involves strange trade. The Senate also tries impeachment cases for federal officials referred to it by the Firm.

In guild to laissez passer legislation and send it to the President for his signature, both the House and the Senate must laissez passer the same bill past majority vote. If the President vetoes a nib, they may override his veto by passing the neb again in each chamber with at least ii-thirds of each body voting in favor.

The Legislative Process | Powers of Congress | Government Oversight

The Legislative Process

The showtime pace in the legislative procedure is the introduction of a bill to Congress. Anyone can write information technology, merely only members of Congress can introduce legislation. Some important bills are traditionally introduced at the request of the President, such as the annual federal budget. During the legislative process, however, the initial bill can undergo drastic changes.

Subsequently being introduced, a bill is referred to the appropriate committee for review. There are 17 Senate committees, with 70 subcommittees, and 23 Business firm committees, with 104 subcommittees. The committees are not set in stone, but change in number and form with each new Congress as required for the efficient consideration of legislation. Each commission oversees a specific policy area, and the subcommittees have on more specialized policy areas. For case, the Firm Committee on Ways and Ways includes subcommittees on Social Security and Trade.

A bill is first considered in a subcommittee, where it may be accustomed, amended, or rejected entirely. If the members of the subcommittee agree to move a bill forrard, information technology is reported to the full commission, where the process is repeated once again. Throughout this phase of the procedure, the committees and subcommittees call hearings to investigate the claim and flaws of the bill. They invite experts, advocates, and opponents to appear before the commission and provide testimony, and can compel people to announced using subpoena ability if necessary.

If the full committee votes to approve the bill, it is reported to the floor of the Business firm or Senate, and the majority party leadership decides when to identify the bill on the calendar for consideration. If a pecker is especially pressing, information technology may be considered correct abroad. Others may wait for months or never exist scheduled at all.

When the bill comes upwardly for consideration, the House has a very structured contend process. Each member who wishes to speak only has a few minutes, and the number and kind of amendments are usually express. In the Senate, debate on nigh bills is unlimited — Senators may speak to issues other than the beak under consideration during their speeches, and whatsoever amendment can exist introduced. Senators tin can use this to filibuster bills under consideration, a procedure by which a Senator delays a vote on a neb — and past extension its passage — past refusing to stand down. A supermajority of lx Senators can break a filibuster past invoking cloture, or the cession of debate on the neb, and forcing a vote. Once fence is over, the votes of a simple majority passes the nib.

A nib must pass both houses of Congress before it goes to the President for consideration. Though the Constitution requires that the two bills have the exact same wording, this rarely happens in practice. To bring the bills into alignment, a Conference Committee is convened, consisting of members from both chambers. The members of the commission produce a conference written report, intended as the final version of the bill. Each chamber then votes again to approve the conference written report. Depending on where the bill originated, the terminal text is then enrolled by either the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate, and presented to the Speaker of the Business firm and the President of the Senate for their signatures. The pecker is then sent to the President.

When receiving a bill from Congress, the President has several options. If the President agrees substantially with the bill, he or she may sign it into constabulary, and the bill is then printed in the Statutes at Large. If the President believes the law to be bad policy, he may veto it and send it back to Congress. Congress may override the veto with a 2-thirds vote of each sleeping room, at which indicate the beak becomes law and is printed.

In that location are 2 other options that the President may exercise. If Congress is in session and the President takes no activity inside 10 days, the nib becomes law. If Congress adjourns before ten days are up and the President takes no action, then the bill dies and Congress may not vote to override. This is chosen a pocket veto, and if Congress even so wants to pass the legislation, they must begin the entire process anew.

Powers of Congress

Congress, equally one of the 3 coequal branches of authorities, is ascribed pregnant powers by the Constitution. All legislative power in the authorities is vested in Congress, meaning that it is the only role of the authorities that tin make new laws or change existing laws. Executive Branch agencies outcome regulations with the total force of law, but these are only under the authorization of laws enacted past Congress. The President may veto bills Congress passes, simply Congress may also override a veto past a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Commodity I of the Constitution enumerates the powers of Congress and the specific areas in which it may legislate. Congress is also empowered to enact laws deemed "necessary and proper" for the execution of the powers given to any part of the government under the Constitution.

Office of Congress's do of legislative potency is the establishment of an almanac budget for the government. To this stop, Congress levies taxes and tariffs to provide funding for essential government services. If enough money cannot be raised to fund the government, then Congress may as well qualify borrowing to make upwards the departure. Congress tin likewise mandate spending on specific items: legislatively directed spending, commonly known as "earmarks," specifies funds for a particular project, rather than for a government agency.

Both chambers of Congress have extensive investigative powers, and may compel the production of evidence or testimony toward whatsoever end they deem necessary. Members of Congress spend much of their fourth dimension holding hearings and investigations in committee. Refusal to cooperate with a Congressional subpoena can result in charges of contempt of Congress, which could issue in a prison term.

The Senate maintains several powers to itself: It ratifies treaties by a two-thirds supermajority vote and confirms the appointments of the President by a majority vote. The consent of the Firm of Representatives is also necessary for the ratification of trade agreements and the confirmation of the Vice President.

Congress also holds the sole power to declare war.

Government Oversight

Oversight of the executive branch is an important Congressional check on the President's power and a balance against his discretion in implementing laws and making regulations.

A major way that Congress conducts oversight is through hearings. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs are both devoted to overseeing and reforming government operations, and each committee conducts oversight in its policy surface area.

Congress also maintains an investigative organization, the Regime Accountability Role (GAO). Founded in 1921 every bit the General Accounting Role, its original mission was to audit the budgets and financial statements sent to Congress past the Secretary of the Treasury and the Managing director of the Office of Management and Upkeep. Today, the GAO audits and generates reports on every aspect of the government, ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent with the effectiveness and efficiency that the American people deserve.

The executive branch also polices itself: 60-four Inspectors General, each responsible for a unlike agency, regularly inspect and report on the agencies to which they are attached.

edwardscarded.blogspot.com

Source: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/1600/legislative-branch

Share this post