Guide to Legislative Process in the House

III. SOURCES OF LEGISLATION

Sources of ideas for legislation are unlimited, and proposed drafts of bills originate in many diverse quarters. First of these is, of course, the idea and draft conceived by a Member. This may emanate from the election campaign during which the Member had promised to introduce legislation on a particular subject, if elected. The entire campaign may have been based upon one or more such proposals. Or, through experience after taking office, the Member may have become aware of the need for amendment or repeal of existing laws or the enactment of a statute in an entirely new field.

In addition, the Member's constituents--either as individuals or by corporate activity such as citizen groups or associations, bar associations, labor unions, manufacturers' associations, and chambers of commerce--may avail themselves of the right to petition, which is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution, and transmit their proposals to the Member. Many excellent laws have originated in this way, as some of those organizations, because of their vital concern with various areas of legislation, have considerable knowledge regarding the laws affecting their interests and have the services of legislative draftspersons at their disposal for this purpose. Similarly, state legislatures may "memorialize" Congress to enact specified Federal laws by passing resolutions to be transmitted to the House and the Senate as memorials. If favorably impressed by the idea, the Member may introduce the proposal in the form in which it has been submitted or may first redraft it. In all events, the Member may consult with the Legislative Counsel of the House or the Senate, as the case may be, to frame the ideas in suitable legislative language and form for introduction.

In modern times the "executive communication" has become a prolific source of legislative proposals. This is usually in the form of a letter from a member of the President's Cabinet or the head of an independent agency--or even from the President--transmitting a draft of a proposed bill to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate. Despite the system of separation of powers, Article II, Section 3, of the Constitution imposes an obligation on the President to report to Congress from time to time on the "State of the Union" and to recommend for consideration such measures as the President considers necessary and expedient. Many of these executive communications follow on the President's message to Congress on the state of the Union. The communication is then referred to the standing committee or committees having jurisdiction of the subject matter embraced in the proposal because a bill may be introduced only by a Member of Congress. The Chairman of that committee usually introduces the bill promptly either in the form in which it was received or with changes the Chairman considers necessary or desirable. This practice prevails even when the majority of the House and the President are not of the same political party, although there is no constitutional or statutory requirement that a bill be introduced to effectuate the recommendations. Otherwise, the message may be considered by the committee or one of its subcommittees to determine whether a bill should be introduced. The most important of the regular executive communications is the annual message from the President transmitting the proposed budget to Congress. The President's buget proposal, together with testimony by officials of the various branches of the Government before the Appropriations Committees of the House and Senate, is the basis of the several appropriation bills that are drafted by the Committee on Appropriations of the House.

Several of the executive departments and independent agencies have staffs of trained legislative counsels whose functions include the drafting of bills to be forwarded to Congress with a request for their enactment.

The drafting of statutes is an art that requires great skill, knowledge, and experience. In some instances a draft is the result of a study covering a period of a year or more by a commission or committee designated by the President or one of the Cabinet officers. The Administrative Procedure Act and the Uniform Code of Military Justice are only two of many examples of enactments resulting from such studies. In addition, Congressional committees sometimes draft bills after studies and hearings covering periods of a year or more. Bills to codify the laws relating to crimes and criminal procedure, the judiciary and judicial procedure, the armed forces, and other subjects, have each required several years of preparation.