How laws are made

I thought it would be helpful to remind everyone how exactly the sausage making process works…

Schoolhouse Rock style!!!

Boy: Woof! You sure gotta climb a lot of steps to get to this Capitol Building here in Washington. But I wonder who that sad little scrap of paper is?

♪♫
I\’m just a bill.
Yes, I\’m only a bill.
And I\’m sitting here on Capitol Hill.
Well, it\’s a long, long journey
To the capital city.
It\’s a long, long wait
While I\’m sitting in committee,
But I know I\’ll be a law someday
At least I hope and pray that I will,
But today I am still just a bill.

Boy: Gee, Bill, you certainly have a lot of patience and courage.


Bill: Well I got this far. When I started, I wasn\’t even a bill, I was just an idea. Some folks back home decided they wanted a law passed, so they called their local Congressman and he said, \”You\’re right, there oughta be a law.\” Then he sat down and wrote me out and introduced me to Congress. And I became a bill, and I\’ll remain a bill until they decide to make me a law.

♪♫
I\’m just a bill
Yes I\’m only a bill,
And I got as far as Capitol Hill.
Well, now I\’m stuck in committee
And I\’ll sit here and wait
While a few key Congressmen discuss and debate
Whether they should let me be a law.
How I hope and pray that they will,
But today I am still just a bill.

Boy: Listen to those congressmen arguing! Is all that discussion and debate about you?


Bill: Yeah, I\’m one of the lucky ones. Most bills never even get this far. I hope they decide to report on me favourably, otherwise I may die.


Boy: Die?


Bill: Yeah, die in committee. Oooh, but it looks like I\’m gonna live! Now I go to the House of Representatives, and they vote on me.


Boy: If they vote yes, what happens?


Bill: Then I go to the Senate and the whole thing starts all over again.


Boy: Oh no!


Bill: Oh yes!

♪♫
I\’m just a bill
Yes, I\’m only a bill
And if they vote for me on Capitol Hill
Well, then I\’m off to the White House
Where I\’ll wait in a line
With a lot of other bills
For the president to sign
And if he signs me, then I\’ll be a law.
How I hope and pray that he will,
But today I am still just a bill.

Boy: You mean even if the whole Congress says you should be a law, the president can still say no?


Bill: Yes, that\’s called a veto. If the President vetoes me, I have to go back to Congress and they vote on me again, and by that time you\’re so old…


Boy: By that time it\’s very unlikely that you\’ll become a law. It\’s not easy to become a law, is it?


Bill: No!

♪♫
But how I hope and I pray that I will,
But today I am still just a bill.

Congressman: He signed you, Bill! Now you\’re a law!


Bill: Oh yes!!!