Bill Research Project
Due Date: Thursday, Jan 16 - start of class.
Point Value: For this project, you can work by yourself and earn 105/ 105 pts, or work with a partner and earn 80 / 80 points.
Project Objective: to understand the "ins and outs" of the law making process with in the legislative branch of the federal gov't.
Restrictions: No law can be researched by more than one person / pair.
Future use of project: The bill you select now will be used to do additional research on in the future. Good work citation will save you from having to re-lookup sources of information.
Where to begin: The best source of information for this project will be www.thomas.gov - the website of the Library of Congress.
But to begin your search, start with Wikipedia (yes, I'm saying start here). This will help you find the Public Law number for the bill.
If you click on the Public Law hyperlink, it will take you directly to the Congressional Record.
What will be submitted: Copy of rubric on top, followed by typed project. Short answers are acceptable expect for the 3 parts that are in italics. A basic outline is also included as to where information can be cut and pasted.
Mistakes to avoid:
1. Every year, there is a HR 100 / S.B. 50. Be sure you know the correct year / session of congress, or the bill you think you are looking up on gun rights might turn out to be a bill on navigation on manmade waterways.
2. The bill we know today may have started out completely different. Don't be fooled by a bill that has a similar name to the one you are researching. Again, bill number and congressional session are key.
3. Don't just read the first part of a bill / amendment- scan the full document- an amendment that appears to do with bird migration could have multiple parts to it that could end up including information about free and reduces lunch school programs.
What you will be looking for. Solo Pairs total
1. Office bill name / number 2 2
2. Bill public law number 2 2
3. What bill is commonly called 2 2
4. Bill sponsor / Co Sponsor (title, name, party, state) 3 2
5. Bills stated purpose (found on bill) 3 2
6. Party control - For the House and Senate -give the breakdown of the party membership - number of Democrats, Republicans, Independents, others , at the time the bill was passed, in addition to who the President was / is.
4 2
7. Committees in House that discussed the bill- list committees and give the chair for each committee - name, state, party 6 4
8. Final House vote 2 2
- break down by party lines 2 2
- Type of vote -roll call, voice, division, teller 2 2
- briefly describe amendments added to the bill the address the purpose of the bill - give amendment # and primary sponsor (title, name, party, state) list 3
6 4
- briefly describe riders added to the bill that have nothing to do with the bill - give amendment rider # and primary sponsor (title, name, party, state) list 3
6 4
9. Committees in Senate that discussed the bill - list committees and give the chair for each committee - name, state, party 6 4
10. Final Senate vote 2 2
- break down by party lines 2 2
- Type of vote - roll call, voice, division 2 2
- briefly describe amendments added to the bill the address the purpose of the bill- give amendment # and primary sponsor (title, name, party, state) list 3
6 4
- briefly describe riders added to the bill that have nothing to do with the bill - give amendment rider # and primary sponsor (title, name, party, state) list 3
6 4
11. Joint committee work- brief explanation of what committee did and final vote on committee. 4 3 12. Which Congressional staff agencies played a role in the bill process- what did they specifically do. 5 4 13. Total time it took to get the bill passed into law - date first introduced to date it became law (how many days, or
months, weeks and day)
3 2
14. Date bill became law 2 2
15. Dates(s) bill went into effect 2 2
16. Bill summary: What did you learn about the bill that you did not know prior to beginning this assignment. 10 7(solo) 17. How did the bill change from when it was first introduced to the time it became law. 10 7
18. work cited page 5 5
Total Points 105 80
Bill Research Project
Add the hyperlink to each answer.
Answer Hyperlink –edit to abbreviate
1. Office bill name / number 2. Bill public law number 3. What bill is commonly called 4. Bill sponsor / Co Sponsor
(title, name, party, state) 5. Bills stated purpose (found
on bill)
6. Party control - For the House and Senate -give the
breakdown of the party membership - number of Democrats, Republicans, Independents, others, at the time the bill was passed, in addition to who the President was / is.
7. All Committees in House that discussed the bill
list committees and give the chair for each
committee - name, state, party
8. Final House vote
break down by party lines
Type of vote -roll call, voice, division, teller
briefly describe amendments added to the bill the address the
purpose of the bill- give amendment # and primary sponsor (title, name, party, state) list 3
briefly describe riders added to the bill that have nothing to do with the bill - give
amendment rider # and primary sponsor (title, name, party, state) list 3 9. All Committees in the Senate
that discussed the bill
list committees and give the chair for each
committee - name, state, party
10. Final Senate vote
break down by party lines
Type of vote - roll call, voice, division
amendments added to the bill that address the purpose of the bill- give amendment # and primary sponsor (title, name, party, state) list 3
riders added to the bill that have nothing to do with the bill - give amendment rider # and primary sponsor (title,
name, party, state) list 3 11. Joint committee work- brief
explanation of what
committee did and final vote on committee.
12. Which Congressional staff agencies played a role in the bill process- what did they specifically do.
13. Total time it took to get the bill passed into law - date first introduced to date it became law (how many days, or months, weeks and day)
14. Date bill became law 15. Dates(s) bill went into effect 16. Bill summary: What did you learn about the bill that you did not know prior to beginning this assignment?
attached
17. How did the bill change from when it was first introduced to the time it became law.
attached
18. work cited page attached
