“Writing” versus “Sponsoring”, and who decides what gets a vote?
Here’s another legislative process Q&A post. We tackle two questions in this post. Here’s the first: Does one know who writes a bill? Is writing a bill considered different than being the Sponsor...
View ArticleIf the House version is defeated, does the Senate bill die too?
Q:”What happens to an approved Senate bill with respect to an identical House bill? If the House version is defeated, does the bill end?” This is a great legislative process question. Let me rephrase...
View ArticleWhen do bills get a number?
Sara from Kentucky asks: I don’t know if I am hearing accurate information. Some of us want bill numbers listed in newspapers so we can look them up. “America’s Healthy Future Act” has no number and...
View ArticleWhat are the different types of bills?
Visitor WB asks: I understand there are different Bills passed by congress regularly. Some with “H.R.”, “S”, H. Res” and other variations. My questions is this: What are the types of Bills and what...
View ArticleAye versus Yea: What’s the difference?
Today’s question comes from Erika M: I see yea, nay, no, aye as the way congressmen voted. What does aye mean? Ah parliamentary procedure. There’s no meaningful difference between Yea and...
View ArticleKill Bill: Bills not enacted after passage by Congress
Mogy asks: Instead of just giving a number, let me break down the state of every bill proposed in Congress in 2009. As you may know, Congress operates on two-year cycles and bills don’t carry oveer...
View ArticleWho writes our law?
Today’s question comes from Gwen who asks: Who actually writes the bills that the members of congress sponsor and vote for? This is no simple question and the answer involves many different sorts of...
View ArticlePublic comments versus writing your representative
Patricia from Minnesota wrote in with a question about public comments: Something else I would absolutely LOVE to see, is a compilation of all legislation that is open for public comments. Almost...
View ArticleCan committees amend bills on their own?
GovTrack user Jonathan asks: At what point are amendments made in subcommittees considered to be adopted? Some of the language I’ve found implies that subcommittees have the authority to amend bills...
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Reader Question: How many laws are there in the United States?
Edward asks: Hello, trying to find out how many laws there are within our federal government. Nowhere can I find an answer citing back to 1982 when a government program was implemented to find the...
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