ASSIGNMENT: We have been discussing the "Bill to Law" Process in class and how bills can be amended in committee.  To see this in action, students will be researching a bill passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law by President Obama on July 29th, 2010.

Here is a summary link to the ORIGINAL BILL as introduced to the House of Representatives.

Here is a link to the signed final version of this bill from govtrack.us, a website that publishes all bills from the United States Congress.  Students will be reviewing this bill and answering the questions below on a separate piece of paper to be turned in before the end of class today.

QUESTION ONE:  From the summary webpage of the original bill, what is the FULL TITLE of the original bill? (this is found at the very top of the page in BOLD LETTERS.)

QUESTION TWO:  This bill was introduced in the House and passed to committee and then to floor vote. From the summary webpage of the original bill, in a short paragraph, summarize the original purpose of this bill (If it helps, you ARE allowed to use ChatGPT to summarize this bill, but you SHOULD understand what the original bill was for!). Does this seem like a bill that is easy to support and hard to criticize? Explain. (Bills that are easy to support and hard to criticize are prime targets for riders and pork-barrelling.)

QUESTION THREE:  From the FINAL SIGNED BILL, review the sections of the final bill with all of its additional amendments, riders, etc. Answer the questions below:

1. Go down to Section 232 of the amended bill (hint- this is on page 21 of the final bill). What does this section pertain to?
2. Go down to Section 236. (this is on page 29) What does this section pertain to?
3. Go down to Section 244. (this is on page 37) What does this section pertain to?
4. Go down to Subtitle F, Section 262. (page 42) What does this section pertain to?
5. Count the additional Sections to this bill (each one represents a likely rider or pork-barrel deal for a Congressman). How many are there total in the bill?
6. We discussed the concept of a "Christmas Tree Bill" in class. Do you feel that this bill might qualify as a Christmas Tree Bill? Why?

QUESTION FOUR:  The original bill was about two pages long when introduced. How long is the final bill?  How would you say that the bill changed from when it was introduced to when it was signed into law by the President? (Give details.)

QUESTION FIVE: This is likely one of the first opportunities that you have had to actually analyze a bill and its amendments and riders as it proceeded through the BILL TO LAW process. Considering your findings, answer the following question with a PARAGRAPH- Do you feel that the BILL TO LAW PROCESS in America is BROKEN? Describe why or why not.

GRADING: This will be a 25 point assignment and will be graded as follows:

• Thorough and thoughtful answers to all questions= 25 points.
• Answers completed, but showing a lack of effort or understanding= 12.5 points
• Assignment not completed= 0 points.