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		"The consequence of citizens not participating in government is inevitably being governed by inferior leaders." Plato

isSUES
TERMS•definitions

definitions

Bills and Resolutions A proposed law may be introduced into either chamber of the Congress as a bill or a joint resolution. When a bill or a resolution is introduced, it is ordered to be printed and referred to one or more committees for review. Multiple versions of the same bill are not uncommon since each time a bill is successfully amended, or when it is introduced into the other house after passage in the first, a new version of the bill is required to be printed.
Bills may originate in either the House of Representatives or the Senate with one notable exception provided for in the Constitution. Article I, Section 7, of the Constitution provides that all bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives but that the Senate may propose or concur with amendments. By tradition, general appropriation bills also originate in the House of Representatives.

There are two types of bills--public and private. A public bill is one that affects the public generally. A private bill is a bill that affects a specified individual or a private entity rather than the population at large is called. A typical private bill is used for relief in matters such as immigration and naturalization and claims against the United States.

House Bills/Resolutions: A bill originating in the House of Representatives is designated by the letters "H.R." followed by a number that it retains throughout all its parliamentary stages. The letters signify "House of Representatives" and not, as is sometimes incorrectly assumed, "House resolution".

Senate Bill/Resolution originates in the Senate and is designated by the letter "S." followed by its number.

Companion bill: a bill introduced in one House of Congress that is similar or identical to a bill introduced in the other House of Congress.

Simple resolutions relate to the operations of a single chamber or express the collective opinion of that chamber on public policy issues.

Concurrent resolutions relate to the operations of Congress, including both chambers, or express the collective opinion of both chambers on public policy issues.

Joint resolutions are considered to have the same effect as bills and require the approval of the President. However, only joint resolutions may be used to propose amendments to the Constitution, and in this instance do not require the approval of the President. Thus, the Bill of Rights was introduced as a joint resolution in the 1st Congress and did not require the approval of the President, while the legislation annexing Texas and granting it statehood was introduced as a joint resolution but did require presidential approval.

When a billl becomes law: A bill that has been agreed to in identical form by both bodies becomes the law of the land only after Presidential approval or failure by the President to return it with objections to the House in which it originated within 10 days (Sundays excepted) while Congress is in session

Veto: By the terms of the Constitution, if the President does not approve the bill "he shall return it with Objections to the chamber of Congress where it originated.

A bill returned with the President's objections, need not be voted on at once when laid before the House since the vetoed bill can be postponed, referred back to committee, or tabled before the question on passage is pending. A vetoed bill is always privileged until directly voted upon, and a motion to take it from the table or from committee is in order at any time.

Overriding a Veto: Once the relevant Member moves the previous question on the question of override, the question is then put by the Speaker as follows: "Will the House on reconsideration agree to pass the bill, the objections of the President to the contrary notwithstanding?" Under the Constitution, a vote by the yeas and nays is required to pass a bill over the President's veto. The Clerk activates the electronic system or calls the roll with those in favor of passing the bill answering "Aye", and those opposed "No"., and a message is sent to the Senate advising that body of the House action.A two-thirds HOUSE vote in the affirmative allows the bill to be sent with the President's objections to the Senate, unless that body has acted first, together with a message advising it of the action in the House.
The procedure in the Senate is the same as a two-thirds affirmative vote is also necessary to pass the bill over the President's objections. If the Senate joins the House and votes two-thirds in the affirmative to pass the bill, the measure becomes the law of the land notwithstanding the objections of the President, and it is ready for publication as a binding statute.
Line Item Veto: From 1997 until it was declared unconstitutional in 1998, the Line Item Veto Act provided the President authority to cancel certain individual items contained in a bill or joint resolution that he had signed into law. The law allowed the President to cancel only three types of fiscal items: a dollar amount of discretionary budget authority, an item of new direct spending, and a tax change benefiting a class of 100 or fewer. While the Act has not been repealed, the Supreme Court in Clinton v. City of New York, 118 S. Ct. 2091 (1998), struck down the Line Item Veto Act as unconstitutional

Overriding a veto must be made by a two-thirds vote in Senate AND House. If fewer than two-thirds of the Members present vote in the affirmative, a quorum being present, the bill is rejected SEE CIVICS 101 to find out exactly why the Democratic Congress has not been able to get certain votes past President Bush's Vetos.

Pocket Veto: A bill does not become law without the President's signature if Congress by their final adjournment prevent its return with objections.

Filibuster: A device, used only in the Senate, to delay or prevent a vote by time-consuming oratory. It can be stopped only by a 60-member vote of the senators present and voting.

Eminent domain is the taking of land for public use - roads, schools, parks - against the owner's wishes, if necessary. The owner is paid a fair price determined by a prescribed process. The owner can appeal the price in court.

Signing Statement is a written pronouncement issued by the President upon the signing of a bill into law. In the 6-plus years that GW Bush has been president, he has placed signing statements on more documents -- almost 900 by some estimates-- than all the US presidents combined in the preceeding 231 years. Worrisome is the way such statements are used. Whether simply to assert his right to ignore the law on a domestic issue or a prohibition against torturing prisoners of war it is coupled with his insistence on a "unitary executive"--the idea that Congress cannot, by law, tell an executive branch agency what it may or may not do--Bush's signing statements amount to much more than just an expression of opinion designed to influence the courts; they are a de facto instruction to federal agencies to disregard Congressional mandate.
Read Bruce Fein's testimony on the Constitutionality Illegality of Signing Statements before the Judicial Committee
read more about the legality of signing statements

Stop Loss Policy: The retention of some troops to remain in service beyond their expected term. Soldiers contractually agree to partake in stop-loss, but it is only put into effect when the United States Government deems it necessary. Stop loss was created by Congress after the Vietnam War. Those who join the military agree to this provision under paragraph 9c of the enlistment contract which states:
"In the event of war, my enlistment in the Armed Forces continues until six (6) months after the war ends, unless my enlistment is ended sooner by the President of the United States."
Stop-loss was first significantly used just before and during the first Gulf War. According to a military publication, "the Army last used stop loss during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1990 when President George H. Bush delegated stop loss authority to the defense secretary." Since then, it has been used more extensively since 2001, primarily to fight the War on Terrorism declared by President George W. Bush.
The use of this means, along with incentive based programs, has been controversial, and called by some a "backdoor draft."
The first legal challenge to this policy came in October 2004, with a lawsuit challenged by an anonymous National Guardsman in California, referred to as "John Doe." A basis for the suit is that stop-loss does not apply to the current situation in Iraq, which is a military occupation and not a war zone. top