In the assigned chapters from Unorthodox Lawmaking (pages 1-72), Barbara Sinclair explains the ways in which the "textbook" account of a how a bill becomes a law no longer describes the process by which major legislation is typically enacted in the U.S. Congress. In your paper, present and explain the "unorthodox" and "textbook" elements of today's legislative process through an analysis of one bill's journey from its introduction to consideration on the House and/or Senate floor.
Your paper should be 8-9 pages (double spaced, 12 point font, 1 inch margins).It should also include a bibliography and a legislative chronology (not included in the required page count). Your analysis should draw upon lectures, readings, and legislative research. Cite your sources using the Chicago Manual of Style Author-Date System (see Moodle for examples) and attach a bibliography. The paper is due at the beginning of class, Tuesday December 8. Late papers will be penalized by 5 points per day. Keep a backup copy.
Select a piece of major legislation (not a resolution) that has been voted on in at least one chamber of Congress in the 113th Congress (2013-2014) or the 114th Congress (2015). It must have reached the House or Senate floor for a vote (or both), but it need not have been enacted into law. Be sure to choose legislation that is significant enough to have received ample press coverage. Do notselect legislation passed under Suspension of the Rules in the House.
The focus of your paper is your analysis of a bill's legislative history andhow that compares toboth the textbookprocess and the unorthodox processes summarized by Sinclair. You should only briefly summarize the substantive issue (i.e., the problem the bill was designed to address and the approach taken by the bill's authors). Do not provide your opinion regarding whether or not the bill is good policy. Your paper should:
• Have an introduction briefly describing your main arguments and findings
• Include at least two paragraphs explaining "textbook" and "unorthodox" lawmaking
• Analyze the your bill's journey/process and explain whether each step was textbook or unorthodox:
o Describe what happened in committee(s) at the hearing(s) and markup(s)
o Explain what happened in the House Rules Committee (if relevant)
o Analyze the activities and strategies of party leaders. At what stages in the process were party leaders active? What impact did leaders have on the bill's content and the outcome?
o Explain what happened on the House and/or Senate floor (e.g, debate on the bill, rule, amendments, votes). If your bill made it to the floor in both chambers, you can focus most of your analysis on one chamber, but you must include information about what happened in both chambers.
o Analyze how the rules of the House and/or Senate affectedthe bill's fate
• Describe major changes to the bill's content during its journey
• Detail who supported the bill and who opposed it and why (inside Congress, the Executive branch, and interest groups). What were the strategies and tactics used by proponents and opponents?
• Explain what ultimately happened to the bill and why
• Summarize your findings of the textbook and unorthodox processes involved in your bill's journey, assessing whether the bill's path was mainly textbook, mainly unorthodox, or a mix
• Include a one-page legislative chronology that lists the important stages of the bill's journey and their dates
• Include a bibliography. It must include at least one article from CQ Weekly.
• Use secondary and primary sources (see below) and CITE YOUR SOURCES using Chicago Style Author-Date System.