How Bill Becomes Law in the usa
All laws in the United States begin as bills. Before a bill can become a law, it must be approved by the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and the President.
Core Vocabulary 3 to assign a number – присвоить (порядковый) номер to refer to a committee – передать в комитет to table - отложить to mark up – сделать пометки to report out - доложить to calendar – назначить на определенный день floor reading – чтение в палате to engross a bill – переписать документ; придать документу надлежащую форму conference committee – комитет по согласованию расхождений; согласительный комитет block - заблокировать full vote – голосование всей палатой to enroll - зарегистрировать override a veto – преодолеть вето |
Study the chart below thoroughly. Refer to Core Vocabulary 4
Exercise 10
Find out if the following statements are TRUE or FALSE. Correct the false statements.
A bill can be initiated only in the House of Representatives.
The Clerk of the House is the first person to receive the bill.
The Clerk assigns a certain number to the bill and refers it either to the Senate or the House of Representatives.
An appropriate Committee arranges the reporting of the bill.
The bill must be tabled before it goes further.
Then the bill is debated and amended by a Subcommittee or Committee.
The Committee members report out the bill and fix the date of the final hearing by the full house.
After the floor reading and debates the house votes on the amended bill.
The bill is referred to another house (from House of Representatives to the Senate or from the Senate to the House of Representatives)
The bill again goes through the Committee’s hearing, mark up and debates.
Then the engrossed bill can be transferred to the President.
But first both houses must agree upon all amendments and details of the bill.
The President considers the bill and signs it, and the bill becomes Law.
If the President vetoes the bill, it goes back to the Senate or the House of Representatives.
Exercise 11
Put these stages in the correct order
Committee action
Bill is introduced
Vote
Conference committee if needed
Debate
Law is given a number
Floor action
Presidential action
Override veto if needed
Exercise 12
Make up a text to describe the process of law making in the USA.
DEVELOPMENT
Exercise 13
Compare the previous information with the text below. Highlight identically expressed ideas.
A "bill" is introduced when a member of Congress decides to create a new law. Any member of Congress can introduce a bill. Only members of the House may introduce bills that deal with taxes or spending. Before a bill can become a law, both houses of Congress must pass identical versions of the bill.
Once a bill is introduced in either house, it goes through almost the same process. Each bill is first assigned to a committee for review. The bill is tabled, or set aside, if the committee decides the bill is not worthy. The bill is sent to the entire house for debate if the committee decides the bill is worthy of further action.
If the bill passes, it is sent to the other house. A joint committee works out any differences the two houses of Congress have concerning a bill. When both houses agree on a bill, the Speaker of the House and the vice president sign it. The bill must be signed before being sent to the president.
In each two-year session, thousands of bills come before Congress. Almost twelve thousand bills were introduced in Congress in one recent session. Less than five hundred were enacted into law.
A bill becomes law if the president signs it. The president doesn't always wish to sign the bill. He may choose to say "no" by vetoing it. If this happens, the bill is sent back to Congress. If two-thirds of all the members of Congress vote "yes," the bill can still become law. The bill dies when there are not enough votes to override the President. For example, when George Bush was president, Congress tried to override his vetoes thirty-six times but was successful only once. Sometimes a president decides to do nothing. He may decide neither to sign nor veto a bill. If Congress is in session, the bill becomes law after ten days without the president's signature. Otherwise, the bill suffers a pocket veto and does not become law.