PPT 14

The Rules of the Game in the House & Senate – Key Notes

📌 Why Do Rules Matter in Congress?

• Rules protect majority & minority rights in legislative debate.

• Divide workload across committees.

• Contain conflict & ensure fair play in the legislative process.

• Distribute power among members to avoid dominance by a single individual.

📌 How Bills Are Introduced

• Only members of Congress can introduce bills.

• Bill ideas come from constituents, lobbyists, executive branch, or personal interests.

• Sponsor: Member who introduces the bill.

• Cosponsors: Other members who publicly support the bill (can be added later).

• More cosponsors = stronger bill support.

Types of Legislation

• Bills (H.R. or S.) → Can become law.

• Joint Resolutions (H.J. Res. or S.J. Res.) → Like bills, but often for limited matters or constitutional amendments.

• Concurrent Resolutions (H. Con. Res. or S. Con. Res.) → Express congressional sentiment but lack legal force.

• Simple Resolutions (H. Res. or S. Res.) → Affect only one chamber’s rules or express their views.

📌 Omnibus Bills – Large legislative packages that combine multiple policies to gain support or hide controversial measures.

📌 The Legislative Process – Step-by-Step

1⃣ Referral of Bills to Committees

• Speaker (House) & Presiding Officer (Senate) decide which committee gets a bill.

• Bills may be referred to multiple committees if they cover different policy areas.

📌 Example: Senator Domenici carefully drafted a "waterway fee" bill without using the word "tax" to avoid the Senate Finance Committee.

2⃣ Committee Stage – Where Most Bills Die

• Subcommittees & committees review, amend, or kill bills.

• Committee chairs set the agenda.

• Hearings are held for expert testimony & public input.

• At least half of a committee must be present to vote on whether a bill moves forward.

• Discharge Petition (House Only): If a committee refuses to advance a bill, a majority (218 members) can force it to the floor.

3⃣ House Floor Debate & Voting

• Bills are placed on House Calendars:

  • Union Calendar: Bills that raise or spend money.

  • House Calendar: All other major public measures.

  • Private Calendar: For individual concerns (e.g., immigration cases).

  • Consensus Calendar: For bipartisan bills with 290+ cosponsors.

Ways Bills Can Pass Quickly

• Suspension of Rules: Used for minor bills (40 minutes of debate, no amendments, ⅔ vote required).

• Unanimous Consent: Fast-tracks a bill if no one objects.

• Special Rules from Rules Committee:

  • Open Rule: Allows amendments.

  • Closed Rule: No amendments.

  • Modified Rule: Some amendments allowed.

📌 Most House bills (75-80%) pass under Suspension of Rules.

4⃣ Senate Floor Debate & the Filibuster

• The Senate lacks a Rules Committee → Instead, bills move forward by unanimous consent or cloture votes.

• Filibuster: Senators can delay a bill indefinitely unless 60 votes (cloture) end debate.

• Cloture Rule (Rule XXII):

  • Originally 2/3 of Senators had to vote to end debate.

  • Now 3/5 (60 Senators) is required to break a filibuster.

  • Exception: In 2013 & 2017, Senate eliminated filibusters for judicial nominees.

📌 Filibuster Power:

• Minority Senators can extract concessions by threatening a filibuster.

• Some proposals suggest a “talking filibuster” to make filibusters harder to sustain.

5⃣ Resolving Differences Between House & Senate

• Conference Committees: House & Senate negotiate final bill language.

• “Ping Pong” Method: Chambers send the bill back and forth until they agree.

6⃣ Final Passage

• If both chambers approve, the bill goes to the President.

• Privileged motion to end amendment and debate to move a final vote to a bull

• The President can:

  • Sign it into law.

  • Veto it (Congress can override with ⅔ vote in both chambers).

  • Ignore it (becomes law after 10 days unless Congress adjourns).

📌 Other Key Points

Special Tactics in Lawmaking

• Killer Amendments: Opponents add poison pill provisions to sink a bill.

• Motion to Recommit (House Only): Last-minute attempt by the minority party to send a bill back to committee or amend it.

• "Vote to Call the Previous Question": Used to end debate and move a bill to a final vote.

📌 In the House, the Speaker & Rules Committee control much of the process.
📌 In the Senate, individual Senators have more power to delay or shape legislation.

🚀 How This Helps You in the Simulation

• Use Cosponsors: A bill with broad support is harder to kill.

• Know the Rules: If your bill gets referred to committee, understand how to move it forward.

• Be Strategic: If facing opposition, amend the bill to gain more votes.

• Filibuster Awareness: In the Senate, you might need 60 votes to break a filibuster.

📌 Summary – What to Remember

• The House is a majoritarian body (controlled by leadership).

• The Senate gives more power to individual members (filibuster & unanimous consent).

• Most bills die in committee.

• The Rules Committee & Speaker control the House agenda.

• Filibusters & cloture votes shape Senate strategy.

Additional Information

Committee of the whole:

Procedural artifice borrowed from British House of Commons, allowing a more flexible legislative process.

Debate and amendment:

Who decides who gets to speak? The chair of the committee moderates the discussion, determining the order of speakers and ensuring that all members have an opportunity to contribute.

Open rule may allow opponents to load bill with objectionable admendmnet or to force a series of tough votes

Why are open votes rare in today’s Congress? This is primarily due to strategic decision-making by party leadership, who prefer closed votes to maintain party discipline and control over the legislative agenda.

Additionally, closed votes can streamline the process, allowing for quicker decision-making and minimizing the chances of amendments derailing the legislation's intended objectives.

The basic amendment tree:

• The amendment tree begins with the main bill at the top, branching out to various potential amendments that may be proposed by members, including both supportive and opposition amendments.

• Each subsequent branch represents a different amendment, which can further lead to additional amendments or alterations proposed during the voting process, illustrating the complexity of legislative negotiations.

Killer Amendment:

An amendment that broke the support coalition for the bill and ultimately led to its failure in the legislative vote due to its controversial nature and significant opposition from key stakeholders.

How rare are killer amendments? They are relatively uncommon, but when they do occur, they can drastically alter the outcome of proposed legislation by isolating supporters, creating divisions, and generating heated debates.