Chapter 6
Section 4
 Two basic types of bills
 Private Bills-Concern individual people
or places; and typically deal with
peoples claims against the government
 Public Bills-Apply to the entire nation
and involve general matters like
taxation, civil rights, or terrorism.
These bills tend to get more media
coverage
 Where bills come from
 Most bills are started by a Representative’s
constituents
(Ideas from the people)
 The White House
 Special Interest Groups
 Or….the Congressmen and women
themselves.
**All bills must be introduced by a member of the Senate
or House**
 Who is Responsible for What
 The House has first say on all matters pertaining
to money
 The Senate can introduce any bill so long as it
does not deal with money
H=
S=
 A Committee Chairperson decides what bill
get discussed and which bills to leave out
 Public Hearings are sometimes held to let
experts and concerned citizens voice their
concerns
 A Committee has five
choices about what to do
with a bill: Pass, Change,
Replace, Ignore, or Kill
 Bills approved by the Committees are debated in
chronological order
 The House has a time limit on how long a bill will
be discussed and only accepts amendments that
are specifically related to the bill being discussed.
 The Senate does not and talking a bill to death is
known as a Filibuster. They can add any type of
amendments to their Bills and these are known as
riders.
 Longest Filibuster was 74 days in 1964 over the Civil Rights Act
 Voting on a Bill
 The House uses computerized voting
today.
 Voice votes and standing votes used to
be the norm
 The Senate takes a Roll Call vote
 Presidential Actions
 President Must Sign any Bills before they
become laws
 Can Veto or (tell Congress no)
 Or Pocket Veto which means wait ten
days if Congress is adjourned
 After ten days if Congress is
still in session the bill is passed
as law
 Must have a two-thirds vote from each House to
override a Presidential veto