Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1933-05-25
UHrG0pernment
How 1t Operates
PASSING A BILL

that there are actually thousands of
them. In the ordinary session of con.
gress there Will be from 1900 to 5000
bills offered In the senate, and three
or four times that number presented
In the house. The number OF bills
that eventually become law Is quite
small.
So the fact that bill receives ap-
prevail OF the committee to which II
was referred and that 1t has been
given place on the calendar of busi.
ness, assures nothing of all insofar
as the average legislative proposal is
concerned. There always are certain
types of bills that will receive atten.
ton on the floor of the house and sen.
ate, but they are negligible In number.
To be sure, then, that the bill we
will discuss can have final action and
will not find Its way into pigeon
hole of committee room or be al
lowed to die on the calendar of busi.
ness with no record of having lived
creating the Reconstruction Finance
corporation, passed by the last CON.
gress. Legislation of that type was
recommended by the President. No
sooner had congress convened than
bills OF Identical language were In
PRODUCED In both the house and the
senate. This was done to enable rap
Id consideration, since 1t was recog-
nized that the legislation was urgent.
ly necessary.
1t received consideration In the
-aeHse after this manner following the
committee report. two whole days
we're given over to general discus
sion of the legislation. Representa-
tives were allowed considerable time
each In which to talk about it--and
tther things that came into their
minds. At the end Of that general
debate." theareadIng Of the bill began.
Although visitor In the gallery
sould hardly make out what was go
ne on. the reading clerk was read
ne every line Of the bill that was to
set up a gigantic. federal-owned cor
poration which could make loans to
#lefp out banks, railroads. insurance
companies, etcg who were sound but
whose assets were tied up as a re
suit OF the depression. Following TINT
reading the bib was 4open to amend
ment," and 1t was then that the house
membership individually began to
axert the power that reposes In them.
Eventually. amendments were accept
ed or rejected until a majority OF the
members were satisfied With the bill.
or at least enough of them were sat
isfled with 1t to constitute a control.
ling group. roll call was had and
the bill was passed.
Attendants of the house scurrled
around and made "trne copy" of
the bill. and one OF them carried II
over to the north end OF the Capitol
where the senate sits. This had to
be done while the senate was In ses-
sion.
Through the same routine of com
mittee procedure In the senate, 1t went.
1t was reported with recommends
tlon that 1t be passed but with amend
ments." for the senate committee had
other ideas. The senate voted to give
the bin Its immediate attention. and
debate began, a general talkfest. More
amendments were proposed and some
OF them were accepted by the senate.
and In the end the bill as II came from
the house was hard to recognize In
the language which the senate passed
MS the shape In which 1t wanted the
law to be-
A senate messenger then had the
duty OF advising the house that the
Reconstruction BILL" as 1t had come
to be known, had been passed By the
senate but that 1t had been amended,
or course, the concurrence of the
house was requested but everybody
knew that the house would not con.
cur just that way. Instead, the house
requested "a conference" with the sen
ate, and the senate agreed. Each
house then named five of Its mem
bers-they always are from the com
mlttee that handled the bill--and In
due time these ten individuals tried
to reach an accord on the terms of
the legislation In q meeting among
themselves.
This Is where the greatest game OF
horse trading In the world has Its be-
ginning. Each house wanted the bin
the way 1t was passed, but each house
obviously could not have 1t that way.
So these ten conferees began swap
ping. The senate group says, for ex-
ample, we will give up this amend
ment II the house will give up that |
proposition, and they work along, al
ways behind closed doors for that is
the only way possible for them 20
reach an agreement. The whole affair
is not unlike the story of the two boys
In the cemetery: You take this one
and I'll take that one" Except that
the frightened cplored man, who
thought the souls OF the departed were
beIng divided, is absent from the pro
ceedIngs-
Ordinarily. these groups Of con-
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