committeephase

=Part III: The Committee Phase= Back to Project Page.

Woodrow Wilson once stated that "Congress in committee is Congress at work." So what do committees do? In 1946, Congress passed the Legislative Authorization Act. This law requires that every piece of legislation submitted to Congress be referred to a committee. Most bills never make it past this point. They die in committee. If there's a chance that the committee will pass the bill, the committee holds **public hearings** on the proposed legislation. We are skipping this important step in the proces s and moving right on to markup. During the **mark-up session** the language of the bill is worked out. Committee members can make changes and add amendments. The goal is to create a clear bill that will gain the support of fellow legislatures. After the **mark-up session,** the committee votes on the bill. If the majority votes in favor of the bill, the committee writes a **report** summarizing the bill and the committee's deliberations. Essentially the committee explains why they think it s a good bill. If a bill fails to gain majority approval in a Senate committee, that's it. There's nothing else a Senator can do. In the House, a bill can be **discharged** from the committee and onto the House floor for debate IF a majority of the members sign a **discharge petition**. In this phase of the Model Congress project, you will meet with your fellow committee members and **mark-up** the bills referred to your committee. Each committee will produce a report for the bills they consider.

For each bill that you pass or fail, please complete the following evaluation and post on your committee page. These reports are worth 10% of your grade. Questions to consider before you write your report: 1.) Is the bill clear? 2.) Does the written legislation reflect its stated purpose? 3.) Does the bill sound constitutional? 4.) Is the bill needed? 5.) Will the good achieved by the passage of this legislation clearly outweigh any bad effects that it will cause?
 * Standing Committee Report Instruction**

Your report should summarize your answers to these questions in several bullets points or in a paragraph. Basically, you want your classmates to understand why you are recommending that the entire House of Representatives consider and pass this bill. If you choose to not pass a bill, please write several sentences offering concrete suggestions for improvement. Minority members of the committee may post their opposing points of view in a dissent.

In addition to the Committee Report, you are each responsible for writing a one paragraph response explaining your vote. Your audience for this response is your constituents.
 * Individual Responses to Committee Bills**


 * To help you prepare for this part of the project:**

You can read committee reports by visiting the THOMAS site here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cp110/cp110query.html

You can read more about the markup session here: http://www.llrx.com/congress/committeemarkup.htm

Examples of Mark-Up sessions:
 * [|House Committee on Energy and Commerce]