From Parties to President - Essay Example

From Parties to President Common sense seems to dictate that lawmakers introduce or support bills which correspond with their personal or their party’s beliefs and principles. Per the textbook, We the People, “the institutional structure of Congress is one key factor that helps shape the legislative process,” (Ginsberg, et. Al 288). Per the library of congress, Republican Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina sponsored bill number S. 3055-Department of Veterans Affairs Dental Insurance Reauthorization Act of 2016. Typically, congress is essentially gridlocked on most issues, however, this one bill was Co-Sponsored by Democratic Senator Jon Tester of Montana, in my opinion because it directly affects veterans. The main premise of this bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish and administer a dental insurance plan to Veterans enrolled in the system of annual patient enrollment under federal veterans’ benefit provisions and for veterans’ survivors and dependents who are eligible for medical care under such provision(Committees). “The VA shall contract with a dental insurer to administer the plan” (Text). “Benefits shall include diagnostic services, preventative services, endodontics and other restorative services, surgical services, and emergency services,” (Text). “Enrollment shall be voluntary,” (Text). “The VA shall: (1) prescribe the minimum enrollment period, and (2) prescribe and annually adjust the premiums necessary to cover costs associated with carrying out the plan,”(Text). “The VA shall permit voluntary disenrollment within 30 days after initial enrollment and under specified circumstances the VA shall prescribe to the extent that such disenrollment does not jeopardize the fiscal integrity of the plan,” (Text). Conventional wisdom has it that the reason bills take an immensely long time to pass is mainly because of the disagreements among the members of congress. “The first step in how a bill becomes a law is Committee Deliberation,” (Ginsberg, et. Al 290). “Even if a member of congress, the White house or a federal agency has spent months developing and drafting a piece of legislation, it does not become a bill until it is submitted officially by a senator or representative to the clerk of the House or Senate and referred to the appropriate committee for deliberation,” (Ginsberg, et al). This bill of vital importance was introduced in Senate on June 14th 2016(Actions). The bill was handled the Senate of Veterans Affairs’ committee(Actions). The Senate committee on Veterans’ Affairs discharged by Unanimous consent(Actions). It was passed and agreed to in the Senate(Actions). This bill passes Senate without amendment by Unanimous consent. On July 14 2016, the bill was passed and agreed to in the House. On passage the bill was passed without objection(Actions). In my experience of watching Committee Deliberations on political channels, bills typically aren’t passed quickly due to the constant objections between members of congress. On July 17th, 2016, the bill was presented to President Obama. “No floor action on any bill can take place until the committee with jurisdiction over it has taken all the time it needs to deliberate,” (Ginsberg, et al). “During its deliberations, the committee typically refers to the bill to one of its subcommittees, which may hold hearings, listen to expert testimony, and amend the proposed legislation before referring the bill to the full committee for consideration,” (Ginsberg, et al). “The debate is less restricted in the Senate Than in the House,” (Ginsberg, et al 290). “In the House, virtually all the time allotted for debate on a given bill is controlled by the bill’s sponsor and by its leading opponent,” (Ginsberg, et al 290). “In almost every case, these two people are the committee chair and the ranking minority member of the committee that processed the bill----or those they designate,” (Ginsberg, et al 290). “These two participants are, by rule and tradition, granted the power to allocate most of the debate time in small amounts to members who are seeking to speak for or against the measure,” (Ginsberg, et al 290). “Preference in the allocation of time goes to the members of the committee whose jurisdiction covers the bill,” (Ginsberg, et al 290). “In the Senate, the leadership has much less control over floor debate,” (Ginsberg, et al 290). “Indeed, the Senate is unique among the world’s legislative bodies for its commitment to unlimited debate,” (Ginsberg, et al 290). “Once given the floor, a senator may speak if he wishes,” (Ginsberg, et al 290). “Once a debate is concluded on the floor of the House and the Senate, the leaders schedule it for a vote on the floor of each chamber,” (Ginsberg, et al 291). “By this time, congressional leaders know what the vote will be; leaders do not bring legislation to the floor unless they are certain it is going to pass,” (Ginsberg, et al 291). “Consequently, it is unusual for the leadership to lose a bill on the floor,”(Ginsberg, et al 291). “On rare occasions, the last moments of the floor vote can be very dramatic, as each party’s leadership puts its whip organization into action to make sure that wavering members vote with that party,”(Ginsberg, et al 291). “Getting a bill out of committee and through both houses of Congress is no guarantee that it will be enacted into law,” (Ginsberg, et al 292). “Before a bill can be sent to the president, both houses must pass it in the identical form,” (Ginsberg, et al 292). “Frequently, bills that began with similar provisions in both chambers emerge with little resemblance to each other,” (Ginsberg, et al 292). “When a bill comes out of conference, it faces one more hurdle,” (Ginsberg, et al 292). “Before it is sent to the president for signing, the House-Senate conference committee’s version of the bill must be approved on the floor of each chamber,” (Ginsberg, et al 292). “Usually such approval as one last opportunity to defeat a piece of legislation,” (Ginsberg, et al 292). “Once adopted by the House and Senate, a bill goes to the president, who may choose to sign it into law or veto it,” (Ginsberg, et al 292). “If the President neither signs nor vetoes it within 10 days, and Congress is in session, the bill automatically becomes law,” (Ginsberg, et al 292). “The veto is the president’s constitutional power to reject a piece of legislation,”(Ginsberg, et al 292). “To veto a bill, the president returns it unsigned within 10 days to the house of Congress in which it originated,” (Ginsberg, et al 292). “If Congress adjourns during the 10-day period, such that congressional adjournment prevents the president from returning the bill to Congress, the bill is also considered to be vetoed,” (Ginsberg, et al 292). Lawmakers typically introduce and support bills which correspond with their personal of their party’s beliefs and principles, common sense provides evidence of this. In this case, members of congress could find common ground in a piece of legislation which involved a veteran, however, lawmakers are not always able to find a common ground silver lining on all bills. Works Cited Ginsberg, Benjamin, Theodore J. Lowi, Margaret Weir, Caroline J. Tolbert, and Robert J. Spitzer. "Chapter 7." We the People: An Introduction to American Politics. 10th ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2014. 288-292. Print. “Committees - S.3055 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): Department of Veterans Affairs Dental Insurance Reauthorization Act of 2016.” Congress.gov, https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/3055/committees. “S.3055 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): Department of Veterans Affairs Dental Insurance Reauthorization Act of 2016.” Congress.gov, 29 July 2016, https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/3055. “Actions - S.3055 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): Department of Veterans Affairs Dental Insurance Reauthorization Act of 2016.” Congress.gov, https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/3055/actions. “Text - S.3055 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): Department of Veterans Affairs Dental Insurance Reauthorization Act of 2016.” Congress.gov, https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/3055/text. Read More