How a Bill Becomes a Law: Crash Course Government and Politics #9

Summary

In this Crash Course episode, Craig explores the intricate process of how a bill becomes a law in the U.S., highlighting the roles of Congress, committees, and the President. He explains the journey from bill introduction to potential veto, emphasizing the numerous 'veto gates' that can halt legislation. Craig also discusses the purpose of these procedural hurdles in preventing the passage of ill-considered laws and the rarity of overrides, providing a clear and engaging overview of the legislative process.

Takeaways

• 📜 The process of making a bill into a law begins with a legislator introducing a bill, often inspired by interest groups, the executive branch, or constituents.
• 🏛️ Bills are referred to a committee after introduction, where they are drafted in legal language, and voted on.
• 🏫 Revenue bills must originate in the House of Representatives, reflecting the Constitution's assignment of revenue-related powers.
• 🗣️ The Senate sets rules for debate, including time limits and whether amendments are allowed, which can influence the bill's passage.
• 🔄 If a bill passes in the Senate, it moves to the House, where it undergoes an additional review by the Rules Committee before a floor vote.
• 🤝 For a bill to become law, it must pass both the House and Senate in identical form, which is rare and often leads to negotiations.
• 🤔 The conference committee reconciles differences between House and Senate versions of a bill, aiming to produce a compromise version.
• ✍️ The President has three options upon receiving a bill: sign it into law, veto it, or neither sign nor veto it, allowing it to become law if Congress is still in session.
• 🚫 The President can also pocket veto a bill by not signing it and not vetoing it as Congress's term ends, preventing it from becoming law.
• 🔄 If the President vetoes a bill, Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both houses, a rare but possible occurrence.
• 🛑 Many bills fail to become laws due to the numerous 'veto gates' or hurdles, such as committee refusal, lack of majority votes, or filibustering.

Q & A

What is the primary topic of the video?

The video explains how a bill becomes a law in the U.S. government.

What is the role of a Congressman or Senator in the process of creating a law?

A Congressman or Senator introduces a bill, which begins the formal legislative process.

What happens after a bill is introduced in either house of Congress?

The bill is referred to a committee, which writes up the bill in formal legal language (markup) and votes on it.

What is the significance of the Senate Armed Services Committee in the example given in the script?

The Senate Armed Services Committee is responsible for marking up and voting on the example bill about naming helicopters in the military.

How does the House of Representatives handle bills differently from the Senate?

The House has an extra step where the bill must go through the Rules Committee, which determines how it will be debated on the floor.

What is a conference committee and why is it needed?

A conference committee, made up of members from both houses, reconciles different versions of a bill to create a compromise version that can be voted on again.

What are the three options the President has once a bill is sent to them?

The President can sign the bill into law, veto the bill, or do nothing, allowing the bill to become law if Congress remains in session for 10 days.

What is a pocket veto?

A pocket veto occurs when the President neither signs nor vetoes the bill, and Congress adjourns within 10 days, causing the bill to fail.

How can Congress override a Presidential veto?

Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and the Senate, which makes the bill a law without the President's signature.

What are 'veto gates,' and how do they affect the lawmaking process?

'Veto gates' are procedural hurdles that make it difficult for bills to pass, allowing various points in the process where a bill can be killed, such as in committee or through filibuster.

Why is it so difficult for a bill to become a law, according to the video?

The difficulty arises from the many procedural steps and checks, which were designed to prevent dangerous or poorly thought-out laws from passing easily.

Outlines

00:00

📜 Introduction to How a Bill Becomes a Law

Craig begins by introducing the episode, joking about the challenge of explaining how a bill becomes a law, a task often taught using the famous 'Schoolhouse Rock' cartoon. He highlights that despite the fun alternative, they won’t be using it in this episode. Instead, he dives into the topic by promising their own take on explaining the legislative process.

05:02

🏛️ How a Bill is Introduced and Referred

Craig outlines the process of introducing a bill in Congress, beginning with an idea from a legislator, which can originate from various sources such as interest groups or constituents. The bill is then formally introduced and referred to a committee. He notes that while most bills can start in either the Senate or the House, revenue bills must begin in the House. Using a hypothetical bill about naming helicopters, Craig describes how the bill is discussed, marked up, and voted on in the committee before moving to the Senate floor.

📜 Senate Debate and Rules

Craig explains how the Senate debates a bill, with rules about how long debates can last and whether amendments are allowed. An open rule allows for amendments, while a closed rule does not. He emphasizes how amendments, especially controversial ones, can reduce a bill’s chances of passing. Using the example of a helicopter bill, he notes that if controversial amendments are added, supporters may end up opposing the bill. Once a bill passes the Senate, it moves to the House for further consideration.

🏛️ The House's Role in Passing a Bill

After the Senate, the bill reaches the House, where it goes through an additional step: review by the Rules Committee. Craig points out that for a bill to pass the House, it needs a majority of 238 votes. The same version of the bill must pass both the House and Senate, though this rarely happens without changes. If changes are made, the bill goes to a conference committee for reconciliation.

✉️ Sending the Bill to the President

Craig discusses the President's role in the legislative process. After both houses pass a bill, it is sent to the President, who can sign it into law. However, the President has two other options: veto the bill or use a 'pocket veto' if Congress adjourns within ten days. If the President does not act and Congress remains in session, the bill automatically becomes law. Craig also highlights the rarely used option of overriding a presidential veto with a two-thirds majority in both houses.

🧱 Veto Gates and the Challenges of Passing Laws

Craig introduces the concept of 'veto gates'—procedural hurdles that make it difficult for bills to pass. He humorously mentions that they can’t call them 'Bill Gates' due to the name being associated with a person. These gates include the leadership's refusal to schedule votes or committee inaction. Craig stresses that Congress members often avoid voting on controversial bills, which leads to many bills dying quietly.

🎭 The Procedural Complexity and Intentional Design

Craig wraps up by reflecting on the complexity of the lawmaking process, noting that while the system is frustratingly slow and cumbersome, it was designed this way to prevent hasty or harmful laws. He discusses how the bicameral Congress and procedural hurdles were established to limit executive power and avoid tyranny. The process’s intentional difficulty helps prevent authoritarian laws from passing too easily, maintaining a balance of power.

👋 Conclusion and Acknowledgements

Craig concludes the episode by thanking viewers and partners, mentioning that the challenges in lawmaking are part of a system designed for checks and balances. He jokes that if someone accuses you of being difficult, you can say you’re behaving like a senator. Finally, he acknowledges the production team and sponsors before signing off for the next episode.

Keywords

💡Bill

A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. In the context of the video, a bill is the starting point for the law-making process, where a Congressman or Senator introduces it after having an idea for a new law, which can stem from various sources like interest groups or constituents. The video uses the example of a bill to name helicopters to illustrate the journey a bill takes through the legislative process.

💡Legislator

A legislator is a person who writes and passes laws, typically a member of a legislative body such as the U.S. Congress. The video emphasizes the role of legislators in introducing bills, which is the formal beginning of the law-making process. It is the legislator's responsibility to draft and propose bills that they believe will become laws.

💡Committee

A committee is a smaller group within a legislative body that focuses on specific issues or types of legislation. In the video, after a bill's introduction, it is referred to a committee where it is reviewed, discussed, and possibly amended. The example given is the Senate Armed Services Committee, which would handle a bill about naming helicopters.

💡Markup

Markup refers to the process by which a committee revises a bill into formal legal language. The video explains that after a bill is referred to a committee, it undergoes markup, which is a critical step in shaping the bill before it moves to the full legislative body for consideration.

💡Floor of the Senate

The term 'floor of the Senate' refers to the main meeting area where the full Senate convenes to discuss and vote on bills. The video describes how a bill that has passed the committee stage moves to the Senate floor, where it is debated and potentially amended before a vote is taken.

💡Amendments

Amendments are changes made to a bill during the legislative process. The video discusses how rules for debate in the Senate determine whether amendments are allowed, which can significantly impact the bill's content and its chances of passing. The video uses a hypothetical scenario where an amendment could alter the bill's intent.

💡Conference Committee

A conference committee is a joint group from both legislative houses that works to reconcile differences between two versions of a bill. The video explains that if the House and Senate pass different versions of a bill, a conference committee is formed to create a compromise version that can be voted on again by both houses.

💡Veto

A veto is the power of the President to reject a bill, preventing it from becoming law. The video outlines the President's options upon receiving a bill: signing it into law, vetoing it, or using a 'pocket veto' if Congress is about to adjourn. The video also mentions the possibility of Congress overriding a veto with a two-thirds majority in both houses.

💡Filibuster

A filibuster is a tactic used in the Senate where a senator prolongs debate to delay or block a vote on a bill. The video touches upon the historical use of filibusters as a way to kill bills, though it also notes recent changes to filibuster rules that may reduce their frequency.

💡Rules Committee

The Rules Committee in the House of Representatives is responsible for determining the terms under which bills are considered by the full House. The video explains that unlike the Senate, the House has an additional step where all bills must go through the Rules Committee before they can be debated and voted on by the full House.

💡Veto Gates

Veto gates are procedural hurdles within the legislative process that can prevent a bill from becoming law. The video uses this term to describe various points at which a bill can be stopped, such as by the speaker not referring it to committee, by a committee not voting on it, or by the full House or Senate not passing it. These gates are designed to ensure that only bills with broad support or those addressing non-controversial issues are likely to pass.

Highlights

Introduction to the process of how a bill becomes a law in the U.S. legislative system.

The role of interest groups, the executive branch, and constituents in initiating the legislative process.

The formal start of the legislative process with a bill introduction by a Congressman or Senator.

The requirement for revenue bills to originate in the House of Representatives.

Committee referral as the next step after a bill's introduction.

The importance of the committee markup and voting process in shaping the bill.

The rules of debate in the Senate, including open and closed rules for amendments.

The impact of amendments on the likelihood of a bill's passage.

The process for a bill to move from the Senate to the House of Representatives.

The additional step in the House involving the Rules Committee.

The necessity for a bill to pass both houses of Congress with the exact same text.

The role of the conference committee in reconciling differences between House and Senate versions of a bill.

Presidential involvement in the legislative process through signing bills into law or issuing vetoes.

The concept of a pocket veto when the President neither signs nor vetoes a bill at the end of a congressional term.

The ability of Congress to override a presidential veto with a two-thirds majority in both houses.

The high mortality rate of bills due to the numerous stages at which they can be halted or killed.

The various ways a bill can die, including failure to pass committee, failure to reach the floor, or failure to gain a majority vote.

The concept of 'veto gates' and their role in preventing the passage of controversial or poorly considered legislation.

The historical design of the U.S. government to prevent tyranny and ensure careful consideration of laws.

Transcripts

This episode of Crash Course is brought to you by Squarespace.

Hi, I'm Craig, and this is Crash Course: Government and Politics, and today, I've got my work

cut out for me because I'm going to try to do something that every single social studies

teacher in the U.S. has tried to do, even though there is a perfectly good cartoon you

could just show. It's from the '70s. It's catchy. It's fun.

That's right, today we're going to learn how a bill becomes a law. But we're not going

to be able to license the Schoolhouse Rock song.

I'm just a bill, yes, I'm only a - you know what has a bill? An eagle.

[Theme Music]

Okay, I think the only way we're going to possibly be able to compete with Schoolhouse Rock

is to jump right into the Thought Bubble with our own cartoon. And to stop talking about Schoolhouse Rock.

So let's start at the very beginning, which in this case is a Congressman or a Senator

introducing a bill. The real beginning is when he or she has an idea for a law. And

even this might come from an interest group, the executive branch, or even the constituents.

But the formal process begins with the legislator introducing the bill.

After it's introduction, bill is referred to a committee.

Although most bills can start in either house, except for revenue bills, which must start

in THE House, let's imagine that our bill starts in the Senate, because it's easier.

Congress has the power to make rules concerning the Armed Forces, so let's say this is a bill

about naming helicopters. Anywho, this bill would be referred to the Senate Armed Services

Committee, which would then write up the bill in formal, legal language, or markup, and vote on it.

If the markup wins a majority in the committee, it moves to the floor of the full Senate for consideration.

The Senate decides the rules for debate - how long the debate will go on and whether or

not there will be amendments. An open rule allows for amendments and a closed rule does

not. Open rules make it much less likely for bills to pass because proponents of the bill

can add clauses that will make it hard for the bill's proponents to vote for.

If opponents of our helicopter name bill were to add a clause repealing the Affordable Care

Act or something, some supporters of the bill probably wouldn't vote for it. If a bill wins

the majority of the votes in the Senate, it moves onto the House. Thanks Thought Bubble.

We're going to have to go the rest of the way without fancy animation. But I could sing it.

Laaaa- I'm not going to sing it. I'm not going to use a funny voice.

The Senate version of the bill is sent to the House. The House has an extra step, in

that all bills before they go out to the floor of the House must go to the Rules Committee,

which reports it out to the House. If a bill receives the majority of votes in the House,

238 or more to be exact, it passes. YAY!

Now, this is important. The exact same bill has to pass both houses before it can go to

the president. This almost never happens though. Usually the second house to get the bill will

want to make some changes to it, and if this happens, it will go to a conference committee,

which is made up of members of both houses. The conference committee attempts to reconcile

both versions of the bill and come up with a new version, sometimes called a compromise bill.

Okay, so if the Conference Committee reaches a compromise, it then sends the bill back

to both houses for a new vote. If it passes, then it's sent to the President. And then

the President signs the bill, boom, done. That's the only option.

Oh, no, there's two other options, actually.

Option 2 is for him to veto the bill and we've gone through all of this for nothing.

The 3rd option is only available at the end of a congressional term. If the President

neither signs nor vetoes the bill, and then in the next 10 days, Congress goes out of

session, the bill does not become a law. This is called a pocket veto, and is only

used when the President doesn't want a law to pass, but for political reasons, doesn't want to veto it either.

Congress can avoid this all together by passing bills and giving them to the President before

that 10 day period. If the President neither signs nor vetoes a law and Congress remains

in session for more then 10 days, the bill becomes a law without the President's signature.

So that's the basic process, but there is one wrinkle, or if you want to be all Madisonian about it,

check, on the president's power.

If Congress really wanted a bill and the President has vetoed it, they can override the veto

if it gets a 2/3rd majority in both houses on a second vote. Then the bill becomes a law

over the President's signature. Aw snap!

This is really rare, but it does happen once in a great while. The Taft-Hartley Act of

1953 passed over Truman's veto. I like to call it the Tartley Act.

Shorten it. It's a portmanteau.

It doesn't happen that often because if the President knows that two thirds of the Congressmen

supported the bill, he won't veto it. And if Congress knows that they don't have two

thirds support, they won't try to override the veto. Nobody wants to try something and

fail in public, right? Except for me obviously, if you look at my other YouTube channel, WheezyWaiter.

Eh.

So there you have it, how a bill becomes a law. I'll admit, the process is a little cumbersome,

but it's designed that way so that we don't get a lot of stupid or dangerous laws. Still

this doesn't quite explain why so few laws get passed. Bills have a very high mortality

rate, and it's way more common for a bill not to become a law than to become one.

The main reason is that there are so many places where a bill can die.

The first place that a bill can die is at the murderous hands of the speaker or majority

leader, who refuses to refer it to committee. Then the committee can kill the bill by not

voting for it at all. And if they do vote and it doesn't get a majority then the bill

doesn't go to the floor, and it's dead.

In the Senate the murderous leadership can kill a bill by refusing to schedule a vote

on it. And any senator can filibuster the bill which is when he or she threatens to

keep debating until the bill is tabled. It's a bit more complex than that, but the filibuster

rules have changed recently, so hopefully we won't have as many filibuster threats in the future.

The House doesn't have a filibuster but it does have a Rules Committee that can kill

a bill by not creating a rule for debate. The entire House can also vote to recommit

the bill to committee, which is a signal to drop the bill or change it significantly.

And of course if either house fails to give a bill a majority of votes, then it dies.

This applies to compromise bills coming out of conference committees too. Even if a bill

gets a majority in both houses then there's that whole veto thing that the President can do. Remember?

So, there are many more ways for a bill to be killed than to become a law. These hurdles

are sometimes called veto gates.

They can't call 'em Bill Gates because that's a person.

Veto gates make it very difficult for Congress to act unless there's broad agreement or the

issue is uncontroversial like naming a post office or thanking specific groups of veterans

for their service, which are two things that Congress actually does pretty efficiently.

Think of all the post offices that aren't named. You can't think of one, can you?

Name it. You can't. It's not named.

Veto gates are purely procedural, which means they don't draw a lot of attention from the

media. The easiest way for Congress to kill bills is to simply not vote on them or even

schedule votes for them. This way they don't have to go on record as being for or against

a bill, just whether they support having a vote. And constituents rarely check up on this sort of thing.

So I hope I managed to do a good job of both explaining how a bill becomes a law and why

it's difficult for most bills to pass. And I hope I looked good doing it, as well.

This might be frustrating but it's strangely comforting to consider that Congress and the

government as a whole were designed to make it difficult to get things done. A single super-powerful

executive like a king can be very efficient, but also tyrannical. We don't like tyrannical around here.

The founders set up these structural hurdles of the bicameral Congress and the presidential

role in legislation to reduce the likelihood that authoritarian laws would pass. Congress

added procedural hurdles like committees and filibusters for the same reason. You can argue

that Congress has become dysfunctional, but looking at the process of lawmaking, it's

hard to argue that this isn't by design.

So next time someone accuses you of being difficult, you just say, "I was behaving in a senatorial manner."

Thanks for watching. I'll see you next episode

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