American Government

Sections: Introduction | Section 1 | Section 2 | Section 3 | Section 4

Government : The Legislative Branch : Section Four Purpose of Law   Benjamin Franklin was also considered an Enlightened thinker for his many contributions to American Democratic thought. In the previous unit, “Constitutional Origins,” we discussed John Locke, an English philosopher. Locke theorized that all human beings are born with natural rights. Therefore, colonists as well as others around the world during the 1700s began to question the authority of a monarchy like England’s. Locke also brought up a point that dates back to the Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle. That point is the “rule of law” which states that no individual is above the law. If no individual is above the law, then how could a King or Queen rule over a country governed by laws? Other Enlightenment philosophers included Charles de Montesquieu, Thomas Hobbes, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Montesquieu was a French theorist that founded the idea of checks and balances. These checks and balances would assign separate powers to the monarchy, the aristocracy and a limited democracy. In his book, “The Spirit of the Laws” he wrote of how the monarchs could be stopped from abusing their power by institutions such as the church and guilds. Hobbes, on the other hand, adhered to a philosophy that people were naturally lawless and selfish. Therefore, society needed a strict set of laws to keep people in line and not take advantage of each other’s properties or liberties. Jean-Jacques Rousseau took Hobbes' ideas one step further and wrote in his book, “The Social Contract,” how the state should exist as a contract based on popular sovereignty. If the state represents the will of the people it may exist, but if government goes against people’s will it should be overthrown. Finally, Machiavelli is famous for his book, “The Prince.”  Machiavelli’s political theory centers on maintaining order in a monarchy. To rule effectively, a monarch, or “prince,” must do whatever is necessary to keep order among his subjects. Although they disagreed on how to rule society, all of these Enlightenment thinkers came to the same conclusion - that civilizations need to work in an orderly fashion with the inclusion of laws. The rule of law protects individual rights, the common good and promotes government accountability. Laws are found in many different aspects of society including nature, social customs, religion, and legislatures. Natural law states that actions should be ruled by virtue, or a sense of what is right and just. Laws can also be found in religion. For example, Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), was a proponent of natural law as a reflection of divine law. Aquinas believed, and wrote extensively, about the Catholic Church’s philosophy that human beings should reflect the actions of Christ by living within the constraints of the Church. The 10 commandments clearly spell out what is expected, and what is not allowed, by the Catholic Church. The function of law in the American constitutional system includes maintaining fairness, protecting individual rights (the first 10 amendments), and the promotion of the common good. These basic functions are derived from Greek democratic thought, Enlightenment ideals and societal pressures. How a Bill Becomes a Law In order for a bill to become a law, it must first be presented by a member of Congress. Revenue and appropriations bills (those relating to acquiring and spending money) must originate in the House of Representatives, but any other bill can start in either house of Congress. The process of a bill becoming a law goes like this: The bill is introduced by a member of Congress. The bill is given a number (starting with HR in the House or S in the Senate). The bill is assigned to a standing committee within whichever house it originated. The committee that is assigned the bill then assigns it to the appropriate subcommittee. Hearings are held and revisions are made as necessary in the subcommittee. The bill goes back to the standing committee, which may recommend passage or kill the bill. If the committee recommends passage, the bill moves on. In the House of Representatives only, the bill then moves to the Rules Committee which decides if the bill will move on to the floor of the entire House. They also set rules for the debate on the bill. The bill is brought to the full House or Senate for debate and a vote. If the bill is passed by that house of Congress, it must then go to the other house for their approval. If the other house passes the bill, it moves on to the president’s desk for his or her approval. If the other house passes a different version of the bill, it must go to a conference committee. This is a committee made up of members from both houses of Congress. They must develop a version of the bill that both houses can agree on. Each house then must vote to pass the compromise version of the bill for it to move on to the president. Once the bill reaches the president, he or she can sign it into law, ignore it, or veto (or reject) it. If the president vetoes the bill, Congress can override that veto with a 2/3 majority vote thus making the bill a law. If the bill is ignored and the president takes no action, it automatically becomes law after 10 days, assuming that Congress does not adjourn during this time. If the president ignores bills passed at the end of a legislative session, and Congress then adjourns, the bill fails. This is known as a pocket veto. One part of this process that is unique to the Senate is their ability to use a technique called a filibuster. A filibuster is a tactic for making debate stretch out for a long time and preventing a vote from being taken on a specific bill. A Senator speaks for a prolonged length of time until other Senators decide to abandon the bill. As one of the last major legislative bodies to accept unlimited debate, the Senate allows its members to speak for as long as they want about any issue – including reading from a phone book or other nonsense discussion. The longest filibuster on record was delivered by Strom Thurmond when he spoke out against the Civil Rights Act of 1957. It went on for over 24 hours. A filibuster can end if 3/5 of the Senate (60 members) votes for cloture. Cloture is a procedure that allows individual senators to only speak for up to one hour on the bill in question.  Watch this presentation about how a bill becomes a law. Text Version  Discussion 3 – How useful is a filibuster? Why do you think filibusters have been used more often in recent years than they were in the past? So now that we know how a bill becomes a law, let’s take a look at some current events issues relating to policymaking.  Now it’s time to take the quiz on section 4.  Once you’ve completed all activities in this unit, study the materials and complete the Unit 4 exam.

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