Overview | How does the way Congress was designed to function differ from how it actually operates? How do bills really become laws? What factors contribute to congressional gridlock? In this lesson, students chart the basic process of how a bill becomes a law, and then consider Senator Evan Bayh’s criticisms of the Senate. They then dig into a current piece of legislation, and create a detailed flow chart showing the complexity of the real process. Finally, they create “political trees” for members of Congress, showing key relationships, connections and interests.
Materials | Computers with Internet connection, projector, poster board or oversized paper sheets, markers, research materials
Warm-up | Show “I’m Just a Bill” from the Schoolhouse Rock series, and/or hand out copies of the lyrics (you might even lead a sing-a-long).
Then hang a piece of poster board or large sheet of paper on the board (or use a SmartBoard), and tell students to draw on “I’m Just a Bill” and their prior learning so that the class can work together to create a flow chart of how a bill becomes a law. This flow chart should show the basic process in which bills are developed, written, voted upon and enacted. Invite students to call out ideas, and act as the scribe to create the flow chart.
Here is an example of what the completed flow chart might look like (note that you can click on each step to reveal an explanation). You may even wish to briefly compare the completed class chart with this one.
When the basic flow chart is complete, ask students: Do all bills follow these steps exactly to get considered, voted on and, potentially, enacted? What other factors are at play in the legislative process? Have you heard anyone say that Congress is “broken” or “dysfunctional” or suffering from “gridlock”? What do you think that means? What recent legislation have you heard about? Have news reports about the status of that legislation reflected the basic lawmaking process?
Related | In the Op-Ed “Why I’m Leaving the Senate,” Senator Evan Bayh explains his recent announcement that he would not seek re-election after 12 years of serving as a U.S. senator from Indiana. In the piece, Mr. Bayh characterizes the Senate as dysfunctional:
