JOBS, JOBS, JOBs! What kind of Jobs Bill do we want .....???

[FrenchieCat]

and How does that Jobs Bill become Law?
And what can we as activist do to see it happen? :shrug:



First the facts according to congressional workings.....


A. Legislation is Introduced - Any member can introduce a piece of legislation

House - Legislation is handed to the clerk of the House or placed in the hopper.

Senate - Members must gain recognition of the presiding officer to announce the introduction of a bill during the morning hour. If any senator objects, the introduction of the bill is postponed until the next day.

The bill is assigned a number. (e.g. HR 1 or S 1)
The bill is labeled with the sponsor's name.
The bill is sent to the Government Printing Office (GPO) and copies are made.
Senate bills can be jointly sponsored.
Members can cosponsor the piece of Legislation.

B. Committee Action -
The bill is referred to the appropriate committee by the Speaker of the House or the presiding officer in the Senate. Most often, the actual referral decision is made by the House or Senate parliamentarian. Bills may be referred to more than one committee and it may be split so that parts are sent to different committees. The Speaker of the House may set time limits on committees. Bills are placed on the calendar of the committee to which they have been assigned. Failure to act on a bill is equivalent to killing it.

Bills in the House can only be released from committee without a proper committee vote by a discharge petition signed by a majority of the House membership (218 members).


Committee Steps:

1.Comments about the bill's merit are requested by government agencies.
2.Bill can be assigned to subcommittee by Chairman.

3.Hearings may be held.

4.Subcommittees report their findings to the full committee.

5.Finally there is a vote by the full committee - the bill is "ordered to be reported."

6.A committee will hold a "mark-up" session during which it will make revisions and additions. If substantial amendments are made, the committee can order the introduction of a "clean bill" which will include the proposed amendments. This new bill will have a new number and will be sent to the floor while the old bill is discarded. The chamber must approve, change or reject all committee amendments before conducting a final passage vote.

7.After the bill is reported, the committee staff prepares a written report explaining why they favor the bill and why they wish to see their amendments, if any, adopted. Committee members who oppose a bill sometimes write a dissenting opinion in the report. The report is sent back to the whole chamber and is placed on the calendar.

8.In the House, most bills go to the Rules committee before reaching the floor. The committee adopts rules that will govern the procedures under which the bill will be considered by the House.
A "closed rule" sets strict time limits on debate and forbids the introduction of amendments. These rules can have a major impact on whether the bill passes. The rules committee can be bypassed in three ways: 1) members can move rules to be suspended (requires 2/3 vote)2) a discharge petition can be filed 3) the House can use a Calendar Wednesday procedure.

C. Floor Action

1. Legislation is placed on the Calendar
House: Bills are placed on one of four House Calendars. They are usually placed on the calendars in the order of which they are reported yet they don't usually come to floor in this order - some bills never reach the floor at all. The Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader decide what will reach the floor and when. (Legislation can also be brought to the floor by a discharge petition.)

Senate: Legislation is placed on the Legislative Calendar. There is also an Executive calendar to deal with treaties and nominations. Scheduling of legislation is the job of the Majority Leader. Bills can be brought to the floor whenever a majority of the Senate chooses.

2.Debate
House: Debate is limited by the rules formulated in the Rules Committee. The Committee of the Whole debates and amends the bill but cannot technically pass it. Debate is guided by the Sponsoring Committee and time is divided equally between proponents and opponents. The Committee decides how much time to allot to each person. Amendments must be germane to the subject of a bill - no riders are allowed. The bill is reported back to the House (to itself) and is voted on. A quorum call is a vote to make sure that there are enough members present (218) to have a final vote. If there is not a quorum, the House will adjourn or will send the Sergeant at Arms out to round up missing members.

Senate: debate is unlimited unless cloture is invoked. Members can speak as long as they want and amendments need not be germane - riders are often offered. Entire bills can therefore be offered as amendments to other bills. Unless cloture is invoked, Senators can use a filibuster to defeat a measure by "talking it to death."

3.Vote - the bill is voted on. If passed, it is then sent to the other chamber unless that chamber already has a similar measure under consideration.If either chamber does not pass the bill then it dies.

If the House and Senate pass the same bill then it is sent to the President. If the House and Senate pass different bills they are sent to Conference Committee. Most major legislation goes to a Conference Committee.

D. Conference Committee

1.Members from each house form a conference committee and meet to work out the differences. The committee is usually made up of senior members who are appointed by the presiding officers of the committee that originally dealt with the bill. The representatives from each house work to maintain their version of the bill.

2.If the Conference Committee reaches a compromise, it prepares a written conference report, which is submitted to each chamber.

3.The conference report must be approved by both the House and the Senate.



E. The President - the bill is sent to the President for review.

1.A bill becomes law if signed by the President or if not signed within 10 days and Congress is in session.

2.If Congress adjourns before the 10 days and the President has not signed the bill then it does not become law ("Pocket Veto.")

3.If the President vetoes the bill it is sent back to Congress with a note listing his/her reasons. The chamber that originated the legislation can attempt to override the veto by a vote of two-thirds of those present. If the veto of the bill is overridden in both chambers then it becomes law.

F. The Bill Becomes A Law - once a bill is signed by the President or his veto is overridden by both houses it becomes a law and is assigned an official number.

see GLOSSARY OF TERMS: http://www.votesmart.org/resource_govt101_02.php

[DURHAM D]

1. All new rules -

(1) Ask Big 12 (Catfood II) for permission to submit.

(2) Take a vacation until December of 2012.

[FrenchieCat]

2. What happens after December 2012?

But I would venture to say that the big 12 may be a better bet than the overwhelming Republican majorities in the congress, and in the White House....that some here are working so hard towards.

[FrenchieCat]

3. The question was....

JOBS, JOBS, JOBs, and what kind of Jobs Bill do we want .....???

[Lifelong Protester]

4. I'm with Robert Reich on the public jobs, like the CCC and WPA

take the money out of defense!

[FrenchieCat]

5. How does that get done in terms of process?

[jwirr]

10. The idea of jobs through defense is not new. Eisenhower built our

roads and bridges as a part of a national defenses system. Redo it under those terms.

On the idea of a program similar to CCC or WPA the things they did do not need doing over - the trees are still here as well as the parks system trails and shelter houses. But it could be done with the same system with other needed changes such as alternative energy systems, rebuilding inner cities to fit the future, local farming as opposed to today. Just a few thoughts. How to get the money? Get more good Democrats into the congress. I do not think it can be done any other way.

The rethugs and Tbaggers are out to destroy the USA and they are not going to change their minds. There is not question that Krugman and Reich are correct about what is needed to fix this mess we are in but I don't know if that is what the president thinks or not. His advices do not seem to think that way.

[FrenchieCat]

14. was the CCC and the WPC established via executive order?

[former9thward]

16. The WPA was established by executive order.

It was then funded by an act of Congress. The CCC was established through legislation in Congress.

[jwirr]

21. I do not remember. That would be something to find out - it could

help today.

[sad sally]

6. I thought tax cuts for corporations and wealthy individuals were the job

creators? Isn't government supposed to stand back and let free enterprise and capitalism work? Won't new trade deals with South Korea who will outsource the work to North Korea create more jobs in America? Won't changes in the patent laws allow entrepreneurs to create jobs in America?

John Boehner said: "I believe raising taxes on the very people that we expect to reinvest in our economy and to hire people is the wrong idea.” “For those people to give that money to the government…means it wont get reinvested in our economy at a time when we’re trying to create jobs.”

President Obama said: “As a country that values fairness, wealthier individual have traditionally born a greater share of this burden than the middle class or those less fortunate. This is not because we begrudge those who’ve done well — we rightly celebrate their success. Rather, it is a basic reflection of our belief that those who have benefited most from our way of life can afford to give a bit more back.”

Why would jobs bills be needed? :sarcasm:

[FrenchieCat]

7. So how do you get a jobs bill that you want passed?

What the President stated is true....traditionally, until 2001, wealthier individuals had traditionally born a greater share of the tax burden than the middle class or those less fortunate.
It is just no longer true....and they have profited, and now they need to give a little more.

[FrenchieCat]

8. But do you care about jobs or not....barring the sarcasm?

[sad sally]

17. Of course I care about jobs. The sarcasm is because it's unlikely that

no matter how concerned both the President and most congressional members might be about the lack of jobs in America, with the draconian cuts on their way, the hope of jobs bill of any size making its way into work for the 15,000,000 unemployed Americans is dim or non-existent.

If corporations sitting on billions could be shamed into investing in job IN America, rather than places that exploit workers by paying them unlivable wages, perhaps this country could work its way out the lack of jobs mess we're in. I wish the President would remind them every day...

Sorry, but I don't think government funded jobs have a chance.

[LonePirate]

9. The employers SS tax cut is the only "jobs" bill with any chance of passage

Everything else requires a tax increase, cuts from another program or increased deficit spending. None of those things will happen with this Congress led by the economic terrorists of the right wing.

[FrenchieCat]

11. I agree....and it appears because Obama supports such a bill (ss cuts for employers)

it won't happen anytime soon. :(

[ClarkUSA]

12. Wow, but all I hear is how it's Pres. Obama's fault. Don't people know about Congress' role?

;)

[killbotfactory]

13. According to his critics, all Obama has to do is raise a fuss about it

like Jesus throwing the money changers out of the temple, and then everyone in Congress will magically bend to his will and progressive legislation will flow nonstop onto his desk.

But he's a super not so secret-secret disaster corporatist republican, so he blatantly REFUSES, and any hint in a speech of him supporting progressive legislation is really a trick to cut (insert valued gov't program here).

[ClarkUSA]

15. Bull's-eye on their bullshit!!!

:rofl:

[Whisp]

18. wow, I didn't know Obama can do all THAT!

why that lazy ne'erdowell.

:sarcasm:

[woolldog]

19. No jobs bill is going to get out of the house.

[Bake]

20. Doesn't matter what we want. We're not going to get it.

The Pukes are determined to drive the economy over the cliff, and President Ben Dover is all too willing to ride in the back seat with them.

Jobs? Fuck it. Nobody in Washington gives a shit about jobs. They've GOT jobs. It's US who don't.

Bake