Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1923-01-12
Looking In on Congress From
the House Gallery
TIE STORY OF A BILL
By CONGRESSMAN u U. HARDY
By CONGRESSMAN GUY U. HARDY
Copyright. 1872. Western Newspaper Union.
TIE STORY OF A BILL

COpyrisnt, 1879. WEI
About the easiest thing in the world
for q member of congress to do is to
Introduce a bill.
All n needs to do is to write the
bill out on a piece of paper and put 1t
In the basket on the clerks desk. Then
it has been introduced.
Many bills are introduced, but few
are passed. In the last congress 1910
bills and $50 joint and concurrent res
olutions were introduced in the house
and 5,052 bills and 304 joint and con-
current resolutions in the senate.
Out of all of these, 60 public resolu-
tiOns and 521 bills passed and became
laws of the land. The record for the
greatest number of bills introduced
was made in the Sixty-frst congress,
when 34,3S3 bills and resolutions were
introduced in the house alone, out Of
which $40 became law.
When the clerk gets hold of the bill
he refers 1t to the appropriate commit
tee. And there it may rest in peaceful
slumber forever more, or it may be
heard from again if enough pressure
is eXterted in It's favor.
Out home a good friend of mine sug-
gested once that he didn't like this
committee system; he thought that
each member should give individual
consideration to every bill introduced.
Imagine 1t, If you can.
No man can read fast enough to
keep up with all bills introduced.
Most aOmnoiffaac Oof D1nra hills rn-
ferred to them than can be given in
telligent consideration. So, naturally,
the bills which have the greatest sup
port in the country get first considera-
ton. Congress gives first considera-
ton to the appropriation and revenue
bills. These and some other bills of
nationwide Importance come along
automatically.
Hearings on Bills.
When a committee decides to give
consideration to a bill, if 1t concerns
many people or interests, hearings are
held. That is, people interested are
invited to come in and tell the COM
mittee why they think the bill should
or should not become a law.
Sometimes these hearings are quite
elaborate affairs. Some last several
weeks and hundreds of people come
from all over the country to testify for
or against the bill. The tariff bill
hearing brought experts and prominent
representatives Of every line of indus
try to Washington.
The appropriations committee has
80 members, the ways and means %
members and other important commit
tees have p members each. The mem
bers sit around a long table and the
witness addresses them. The witness
must know what he is talking about
if he would make a good impression.
Any member may interrupt him at any
time with any question, and before he
gets through the committee is likely
to find out all he knows and some he
doesn't know about his subject. The
hearings are open to the public.
An official reporter takes down ev-
erything that is said, and later the
hearings are printed In paper-bound
book form. Some of these hearings,
like that on the tariff, for instance,
run into thousands of pages. They
bring out q vast amount of useful In
formation, and some of the printed
hearings are practically textbooks on
the subject discussed. The printed
hearings are given to all members, SO
that they may become posted on any
proposed legislation. Others who are
interested may, at times, get copies.
After the hearings are closed the
committee holds executive sessions
and discusses the bill. 1t may decide
not to report it out. This practically
kills a bill. 1t may decide on some
or many amendments to the bill, or
it may rewrite the bill in another form,
or it may report it out as 1t was in
troduced.
When the bill IS reported out 1t
goes on the calendar. There are sew
eral kinds of calendars, operating for
different classes of bills under differ
ent rules.
Debating the Measure.
The big bills come up In the COM
mittee ofsthe whole house on the state
of the Union. Debate is usually two
or four hours, though any amount of
time may be agreed upon. Sometimes
u or IA hours has been agreed on.
The time is equally divided between
the majority and minority sides. The