The Need to Improve the Legislative Process
Dennis AuBuchon
April 21, 2009
The legislative process is one that is not complicated but often is misunderstood by the public. Our Congress must make decisions on thousands of bills each year. Granted there are hundreds of issues which need to be addressed each year and funds appropriately allocated for them. The legislative process begins with an idea to address specific requirements. If no need exist then legislation would not be needed. There seems to be countless issues facing our representatives and senators on a daily basis each day and their time is stretched to the utmost. This is not a good thing when they must decide to either support or vote against particular bills being processed.
There is one basic principle in place whether it is at the state or federal level. This principle is to provide for the basic necessities of specific state residents or the citizens of the country. I do not envy those who have decided to serve their state or country by being a senator or representative. I hold these positions in high regard though in some cases the public and I are not necessarily happy with the choices and methods utilized in the respective legislatures. As stated earlier in this article the process of arriving at a piece of legislation ready for signature by a Governor or the President needs to become more efficient and cost effective.
Once the need is determined either by a single individual or group of individuals it requires the necessity of creating the details of the legislation to be presented for a vote. While it may not be well known private individuals can propose legislation for congressional action but it will not go anywhere unless there is support in Congress for topic. Any legislation proposed by anyone must have a sponsor in Congress that will present it for consideration. This basic beginning is not the problem it is the process upon which legislation must pass and the changes that take place to it that is the issue. We have heard many times about earmarks and how much money is appropriated for many projects which do not make sense to the public. I do believe there are valid needs which may be typically referred to as earmarks. These are issues which can stand on their own for the necessity and cost to make them happen. An earmark is typically funds requested by a senator or representative and allocated through legislation. The purpose is to provide some benefits to their respective districts.
After legislation is created it must be assigned to a committee which has jurisdiction on the topic of the legislation. Sometimes this causes legislation to be assigned to a subcommittee for further review and action. This process seems to be cumbersome in that there are layers of bureaucratic activity which slows the process of legislation getting to the floor of the respective congressional house for a vote. Along the way amendments get added to legislation which may provide additional details originally overlooked. Other amendments are often added which may not have any relationship to the original legislation. This sometimes occurs to gain support for the legislation. Without support or a high necessity for the legislation such as homeland security, defense or other activity legislation even though written may not make it out of committee. Many legislative acts die in committee and never get to the full floor of the legislature for a vote.
Another level of activity is creating the language that provides the details of how the requirements will be implemented. This part is a key element in the legislative process. Simply creating a piece of legislation without the details of how it is to be implemented either through the act itself or regulation it is in my opinion worthless. An example may involve additional funding for specific needs but if it is not identified how the funding will be distributed it will have problems getting disbursed.
Part of the problem with creating legislation is that there are so many acts of legislation that are created by senators and representatives. As mentioned in this article there are thousands of pieces of legislation which are processed in the legislatures each session. Many address the same topics with different approaches. Reducing the numbers would greatly enhance the process and reduce inefficiency. This I believe can be accomplished by combining various legislative proposals with the same topic or focus into one document. This would enhance the action and gain greater support by having all parties have a say in the content. This should be accomplished regardless of party affiliation.
Another problem with the current legislative environment is the willingness of legislative leaders to stifle the creative aspect of legislators. What is meant by this statement is that the perception is that legislative leaders hamper the processing of legislation of which they do not approve. While this may not necessarily be the case it is the perception that much of the public receives through the news that is reported. Much has been said about the existence of gridlock in Congress where both parties do not appear to work together except for critical necessity.
I am proud of our legislative process that we have today but it needs to become more efficient and reduce the number of legislative actions so more focus can be placed on the details of each as they are presented. This would potentially add integrity to the process and have more viable legislative content that does what it is intended to do. With the thousands of legislative acts created each year legislators´ time is stretched. Creating an environment where legislation proposals will be reduced will not be easy but it is something that Congress needs to address.
It is the right of each legislator to create a proposal they feel is needed. The key which appears to be missing is the communication between various legislators with ideas on the same topic. Granted there are times when several individuals jointly sponsor legislation. This is a good thing. Other times there are only one or two sponsors and there lies the problem. This can be accomplished simply by combining several legislative acts on the same topic into one document. With the input from all originators of legislation the content for each topic has the potential to be better defined, have better direction and have better defined processes to implement the requirements.
In summary our legislative process is overloaded with proposals each year. We as the public are for the most part uninformed as to the quantity to which our senators and representatives must deal. Streamlining legislation by combining topics together into one document rather than several would greatly improve the chance for passing through the layers for a full vote. Getting the details in one legislative body complete is only half the battle. Conference committees between the Senate and House of Representatives must combine their two documents into one which both legislative bodies would support. It is important for the public to be aware what legislation is being processed for their areas of interest and to contact their senators and representatives and provide their opinion on the content of the legislation.
Communicating with senators and representatives is not difficult. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives offer a means to communicate with your senator and representative. There is even opportunity to identify who your senator or representative is by putting location details through the governmental sites for each house of Congress. The web address for the Senate is www.senate.gov and the House of Representatives is www.house.gov. There is also a site www.govtrack.us which provides access to legislation by bill or topic and the current status to stay abreast of issues important to us personally. I have used all these resources and they are great. There are also others available which may also provide additional resources. Let us keep in contact with our government officials and the legislation being processed. It is up to us to voice our opinion on the issues of the day and how our government representatives at the state and federal level are addressing them. The link to contact and track information in state legislatures is: http://www.ncsl.org/public/leglinks.cfm
There is one basic principle in place whether it is at the state or federal level. This principle is to provide for the basic necessities of specific state residents or the citizens of the country. I do not envy those who have decided to serve their state or country by being a senator or representative. I hold these positions in high regard though in some cases the public and I are not necessarily happy with the choices and methods utilized in the respective legislatures. As stated earlier in this article the process of arriving at a piece of legislation ready for signature by a Governor or the President needs to become more efficient and cost effective.
Once the need is determined either by a single individual or group of individuals it requires the necessity of creating the details of the legislation to be presented for a vote. While it may not be well known private individuals can propose legislation for congressional action but it will not go anywhere unless there is support in Congress for topic. Any legislation proposed by anyone must have a sponsor in Congress that will present it for consideration. This basic beginning is not the problem it is the process upon which legislation must pass and the changes that take place to it that is the issue. We have heard many times about earmarks and how much money is appropriated for many projects which do not make sense to the public. I do believe there are valid needs which may be typically referred to as earmarks. These are issues which can stand on their own for the necessity and cost to make them happen. An earmark is typically funds requested by a senator or representative and allocated through legislation. The purpose is to provide some benefits to their respective districts.
After legislation is created it must be assigned to a committee which has jurisdiction on the topic of the legislation. Sometimes this causes legislation to be assigned to a subcommittee for further review and action. This process seems to be cumbersome in that there are layers of bureaucratic activity which slows the process of legislation getting to the floor of the respective congressional house for a vote. Along the way amendments get added to legislation which may provide additional details originally overlooked. Other amendments are often added which may not have any relationship to the original legislation. This sometimes occurs to gain support for the legislation. Without support or a high necessity for the legislation such as homeland security, defense or other activity legislation even though written may not make it out of committee. Many legislative acts die in committee and never get to the full floor of the legislature for a vote.
Another level of activity is creating the language that provides the details of how the requirements will be implemented. This part is a key element in the legislative process. Simply creating a piece of legislation without the details of how it is to be implemented either through the act itself or regulation it is in my opinion worthless. An example may involve additional funding for specific needs but if it is not identified how the funding will be distributed it will have problems getting disbursed.
Part of the problem with creating legislation is that there are so many acts of legislation that are created by senators and representatives. As mentioned in this article there are thousands of pieces of legislation which are processed in the legislatures each session. Many address the same topics with different approaches. Reducing the numbers would greatly enhance the process and reduce inefficiency. This I believe can be accomplished by combining various legislative proposals with the same topic or focus into one document. This would enhance the action and gain greater support by having all parties have a say in the content. This should be accomplished regardless of party affiliation.
Another problem with the current legislative environment is the willingness of legislative leaders to stifle the creative aspect of legislators. What is meant by this statement is that the perception is that legislative leaders hamper the processing of legislation of which they do not approve. While this may not necessarily be the case it is the perception that much of the public receives through the news that is reported. Much has been said about the existence of gridlock in Congress where both parties do not appear to work together except for critical necessity.
I am proud of our legislative process that we have today but it needs to become more efficient and reduce the number of legislative actions so more focus can be placed on the details of each as they are presented. This would potentially add integrity to the process and have more viable legislative content that does what it is intended to do. With the thousands of legislative acts created each year legislators´ time is stretched. Creating an environment where legislation proposals will be reduced will not be easy but it is something that Congress needs to address.
It is the right of each legislator to create a proposal they feel is needed. The key which appears to be missing is the communication between various legislators with ideas on the same topic. Granted there are times when several individuals jointly sponsor legislation. This is a good thing. Other times there are only one or two sponsors and there lies the problem. This can be accomplished simply by combining several legislative acts on the same topic into one document. With the input from all originators of legislation the content for each topic has the potential to be better defined, have better direction and have better defined processes to implement the requirements.
In summary our legislative process is overloaded with proposals each year. We as the public are for the most part uninformed as to the quantity to which our senators and representatives must deal. Streamlining legislation by combining topics together into one document rather than several would greatly improve the chance for passing through the layers for a full vote. Getting the details in one legislative body complete is only half the battle. Conference committees between the Senate and House of Representatives must combine their two documents into one which both legislative bodies would support. It is important for the public to be aware what legislation is being processed for their areas of interest and to contact their senators and representatives and provide their opinion on the content of the legislation.
Communicating with senators and representatives is not difficult. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives offer a means to communicate with your senator and representative. There is even opportunity to identify who your senator or representative is by putting location details through the governmental sites for each house of Congress. The web address for the Senate is www.senate.gov and the House of Representatives is www.house.gov. There is also a site www.govtrack.us which provides access to legislation by bill or topic and the current status to stay abreast of issues important to us personally. I have used all these resources and they are great. There are also others available which may also provide additional resources. Let us keep in contact with our government officials and the legislation being processed. It is up to us to voice our opinion on the issues of the day and how our government representatives at the state and federal level are addressing them. The link to contact and track information in state legislatures is: http://www.ncsl.org/public/leglinks.cfm
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