Federal Legislative Process

The Senate

· Composed of 100 Members—two from each state, regardless of population or area

· A Senator must be at least 30 years of age, have been a citizen of the United States for nine years, and, when elected, be an inhabitant of the state for which the Senator is chosen.

· The term of office is six years and one-third of the total membership of the Senate is elected every second year. Terms of both Senators from a particular state are arranged so that they do not terminate at the same time.

· The ‘senior’ Senator from a state was elected first. If both were elected at the same time, the one elected for a full term—is referred to as the ‘‘senior’’ Senator from that state. The other is referred to as the ‘‘junior’’ Senator. If a Senator dies or resigns during the term, the governor of the state must call a special election unless the state legislature has authorized the governor to appoint a successor until the next election, at which time a successor is elected for the balance of the term. Most of the state legislatures have granted their governors the power of appointment.

· Each Senator has one vote.

The House of Representatives

· The House of Representatives is composed of 435 Members elected every two years from among the 50 states, apportioned to their total populations. The permanent number of 435 was established by federal law following the Thirteenth Decennial Census in 1910, in accordance with Article I, Section 2, of the Constitution. This number was increased temporarily to 437 for the 87th Congress to provide for one Representative each for Alaska and Hawaii.

· The Constitution limits the number of Representatives to not more than one for every 30,000 of population.

· A Representative must be at least 25 years of age, have been a citizen of the United States for seven years, and, when elected, be an inhabitant of the state in which the Representative is chosen.

· Unlike the Senate where a successor may be appointed by a governor when a vacancy occurs during a term, if a Representative dies or resigns during the term, the executive authority of the state must call a special election pursuant to state law for the choosing of a successor to serve for the unexpired portion of the term.

· Each Representative has one vote.

· A Resident Commissioner from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and Delegates from the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands are elected pursuant to federal law.

o The Resident Commissioner, elected for a four-year term, and the Delegates, elected for two-year terms, have most of the prerogatives of Representatives including the right to vote in committees to which they are elected, the right to vote in the Committee of the Whole and the right to preside over the Committee of the Whole.

o However, the Resident Commissioner and the Delegates do not have the right to vote on matters before the House.

· Under the provisions of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, Congress must assemble at least once every year, at noon on the third day of January, unless by law they appoint a different day.

Tying It All Together - the Legislative Process

"All Legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives." (Article I, Section 1, of the United States Constitution). The chief function of Congress is the making of laws. When a bill is passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives, it is sent to the president for his signature. He can sign the bill into law or veto it. If vetoed, the bill is sent back to the chamber of origination. Congress can overturn a presidential veto with a two-thirds majority in both houses.

· A Congress lasts for two years, commencing in January of the year following the biennial election of Members. A Congress is divided into two regular sessions.

· The Constitution authorizes each House to determine the rules of its proceedings. The House of Representatives adopts its rules anew each Congress, ordinarily on the opening day of the first session. The Senate considers itself a continuing body and operates under continuous standing rules that it amends from time to time.

· Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have equal legislative functions and powers with certain exceptions. For example, the Constitution provides that only the House of Representatives may originate revenue bills. As both bodies have equal legislative powers, the designation of one as the ‘‘upper’’ House and the other as the ‘‘lower’’ House is not applicable.

· In addition, the Senate has the function of advising and consenting to treaties and to certain nominations by the President. Under the 25^th Amendment to the Constitution, a vote in each House is required to confirm the President’s nomination for Vice-President when there is a vacancy in that office.

· In the matter of impeachments, the House of Representatives presents the charges and the Senate sits as a court to try the impeachment. No impeached person may be removed without a two-thirds vote of those Senators voting, a quorum being present.

The work of Congress is initiated by the introduction of a proposal in one of four principal forms: the bill, the joint resolution, the concurrent resolution, and the simple resolution.

Bills -A bill is the form used for most legislation, whether permanent or temporary, general or special, public or private. A bill originating in the House of Representatives is designated by the letters "H.R.", signifying "House of Representatives", followed by a number that it retains throughout all its parliamentary stages. Bills are presented to the President for action when approved in identical form by both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Joint Resolutions - Joint resolutions may originate either in the House of Representatives or in the Senate. There is little practical difference between a bill and a joint resolution. Both are subject to the same procedure, except for a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution. On approval of such a resolution by two-thirds of both the House and Senate, it is sent directly to the Administrator of General Services for submission to the individual states for ratification. It is not presented to the President for approval. A joint resolution originating in the House of Representatives is designated "H.J.Res." followed by its individual number. Joint resolutions become law in the same manner as bills.

Concurrent Resolutions - Matters affecting the operations of both the House of Representatives and Senate are usually initiated by means of concurrent resolutions. A concurrent resolution originating in the House of Representatives is designated "H.Con.Res." followed by its individual number. On approval by both the House of Representatives and Senate, they are signed by the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate. They are not presented to the President for action.

Simple Resolutions - A matter concerning the operation of either the House of Representatives or Senate alone is initiated by a simple resolution. A resolution affecting the House of Representatives is designated "H.Res." followed by its number. They are not presented to the President for action.

Resolving Differences

After a measure passes in the House, it goes to the Senate for consideration. A bill must pass both bodies in the same form before it can be presented to the President for signature into law.

If the Senate changes the language of the measure, it must return to the House for concurrence or additional changes. This back-and-forth negotiation may occur on the House floor, with the House accepting or rejecting Senate amendments or complete Senate text. Often a conference committee will be appointed with both House and Senate members. This group will resolve the differences in committee and report the identical measure back to both bodies for a vote. Conference committees also issue reports outlining the final version of the bill.

Final Step - Voting

Votes on final passage, as well as all other votes in the House, may be taken by the electronic voting system which registers each individual Member's response. These votes are referred to as Yea/Nay votes or recorded votes, and are available in House Votes by Bill number, roll call vote number or words describing the reason for the vote.

Votes in the House may also be by voice vote, and no record of individual responses is available.

There are three ways of voting in the Senate:

A roll call vote occurs when each senator votes "Yea" or "Nay" as his or her name is called by the clerk, who records the votes on a tally sheet. A roll call vote must be taken if requested by one-fifth of a quorum of senators. Typically, a simple majority is required for a measure to pass. In the case of a tie, the vice president (president of the Senate) casts the tie breaking vote. An affirmative vote of three-fifths of the senators duly chosen and sworn is typically required to invoke cloture. To invoke cloture on a change in Senate rules, a two-thirds vote is required.

A voice vote occurs when the presiding officer states the question, then asks those in favor to say "yea" and those against to say "no." The presiding officer announces the results according to his or her best judgment. In a voice vote, the names of the senators and the tally of votes are not recorded.

The least common vote in the Senate is a division (or standing) vote. If a senator is in doubt about the outcome of a voice vote, he or she may request a division vote, whereby the presiding officer counts the senators voting yea and those voting no, to confirm the voice vote.

Sources:

http://www.senate.gov/

http://www.house.gov/house/Tying_it_all.shtml

http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html

Additional Resources

www.shrm.org

SHRM Advocacy

SHRM’s Pending Legislation Report

SHRM’s HR Congressional Monitor

WV Congresswoman

Rep. Shelly Moore Capito

2443 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2711 Fax: (202) 225-7856

WV Senators