As a young child I can remember every Saturday morning tuning in to the ABC television station waiting on the School House Rocks song “I’m Just a Bill” to start. I never really understood the significance of the song or grasp the concept that it simplified the process of a bill becoming a law in the US government. When the song debuted in 1975 not only it gave teachers an aid to assist the younger generation with learning how laws were made on Capitol Hill it was also a way of educating US citizens on how they have a direct impact on the laws of the land. While the process of passing a bill can be lengthy and tiresome experience sometimes lasting several month I will briefly explain the procedure in a few short paragraphs.
Before a bill is ever drafted it begins as an idea introduced to the general public by common citizens, The Executive Branch, and members of the Legislative Branch. Once the idea is throw into circulation it is up to Congress to draft the bill and present it for discussion. For example, someone in a local community can contact their city council and advise them that they believe that all school buses should be required to have seatbelts. If the councilmen feels that it is a valid
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Although many bills never are presented to Congress each year many never make it though. According to Scholastic magazine “about 25,000 bills are introduced in each term of Congress, but only 10 percent become law.” The Speaker of the House “the member of the U.S. House of Representative who is elected by the party with a majority of members as their leader” (Macmillan Publishers Limited 2009-2005) sends the bill to a committee where they decide where to amend, pigeonhole or vote on the bill. Once this has taken place the House of Representatives then vote on the bill and with majority rule on the bill it then moves to the