Legislative Process

What Is the Right of First Recognition in the Senate and Why Does It Matter?
What Is the Right of First Recognition in the Senate and Why Does It Matter?

Sen. Alben W. Barkley (D-KY), who stumbled then succeded in gaining the right of first recogniton in 1937. Source: Library ...

May 9, 2024
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The Discharge Petition: Its History and Role in the 118th Congress
The Discharge Petition: Its History and Role in the 118th Congress

Discharge Petition to Move the Civil Rights Bill Out of the Rules Committee, December 12, 1963. This petition failed to ...

April 29, 2024
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What is the Motion to Vacate the Speaker of the House of Representatives?
What is the Motion to Vacate the Speaker of the House of Representatives?

A Speaker of the House vacated as imagined by DALL-E. The motion to vacate, as it is commonly called, is a ...

March 29, 2024
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What Does It Mean to “Move the Previous Question”?

Source: C-SPAN. According to House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures of the House, "The motion for the ...

February 13, 2024
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What Does the House Parliamentarian’s Office Do?
What Does the House Parliamentarian’s Office Do?

You'll find the answer in this video. The Sunwater Institute's Matt Chervenak interviews Former House Parliamentarian, Tom Wickham. The answer ...

January 3, 2024
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How Can I Find a Bill or Law?
How Can I Find a Bill or Law?

Congress.gov is the go-to source for official information on the legislative process. There you can find bills in the current ...

January 2, 2024
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A Primer Course on Legislative Procedure
A Primer Course on Legislative Procedure

The Congressional Research Service created a video series on legislative procedure in Congress. It is an easy-to-follow and authoritative explainer ...

January 2, 2024
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How Unorthodox Lawmaking Was Used to Raise the Debt Limit
How Unorthodox Lawmaking Was Used to Raise the Debt Limit

Source: Congress.gov. Democrats held the presidency and Senate, Republicans had a narrow Hosue majority. The nation's debt limit needed raised lest ...

January 2, 2024
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Why Reforming Senate Holds Can Benefit the Democratic Process
Why Reforming Senate Holds Can Benefit the Democratic Process

Source: Senate.gov. "While the Senate is often bound in arcane procedural knots, Senate holds are relatively straightforward. The Senate often does ...

January 1, 2024
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How a Bill Becomes a Law in the 21st Century
How a Bill Becomes a Law in the 21st Century

Source: YouTube.com Rep. Jeff Jackson (D-NC) has a short and illuminating post on how he got a law enacted to create parental leave ...

January 1, 2024
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Could the Modern Senate Manage an Open-Amendment Process?
Could the Modern Senate Manage an Open-Amendment Process?

Americans who tune into C-SPAN to see the Senate at work may well be surprised by what they do not ...

January 1, 2024
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