Government in the United States, National, State and Local

by James Wilford Garner

Caucus Methods.—It is a common practice for the representatives of each party to hold a caucus before the beginning of the debate upon an important measure, especially one of a political character, for the purpose of deciding what shall be the policy of the party toward the measure. Sometimes a rule is adopted by the caucus binding the members of the party to vote for or against the bill on the floor. Thus in 1913 caucuses of Democratic and representatives declared the tariff and currency bills to be party measures and pledged the members to vote for the bills without amendment. This practice has been criticized on the ground that where members have bound themselves to vote for a bill before it has been discussed on the floor, debate is useless since their minds are no longer open to argument. Perhaps a better procedure would be to hold the caucus after the discussion has terminated but before the final vote is taken.

Final Stages of Procedure.—The rules of the house of representatives restrict the time which may be occupied by any member in debating a measure to one hour, and this cannot be exceeded except by unanimous consent. If he chooses, he may yield a portion of his time to some other member. The chairman who reports the bill usually opens the discussion. He is followed by the ranking member of the minority on the committee, and these are followed by other members of the committee in their turn.

The Previous Question.—After the discussion has proceeded for a time, debate may be terminated and the house brought to a vote by means of the previous question, which is moved in the form, "Shall the main question now be put?" When ordered by the house it ends debate and brings the house directly to a vote. This is an effective method for putting an end to useless discussion of a measure and taking the sense of the house on its passage. It is a common form of procedure in legislative bodies, though the senate, until 1917, had no way of limiting debate.

Voting on Bills.—Questions on the passage of bills are put by the speaker as follows: "As many as are in favor say aye"; "As many as are opposed say no"; the speaker determining the result by the sound of the voices. If there is a doubt as to which side has prevailed, a "division" is called for, in which case those in favor rise and are counted after which those who are opposed rise and are counted. If there is still doubt as to the result, "tellers" may be appointed to determine the vote, in which case those in favor of the measure file between the two tellers, who make a careful count, after which those opposed pass between them and are similarly counted. If one fifth of the members demand that a yea and nay vote be taken, the clerk must call the roll and record each member's vote, and the result is published in the journal so that the way in which a member votes may be known to his constituents and all others who may be interested.

Passage by the Second House.—When a bill is passed by one house, it is signed by the presiding officer, after which it is transmitted to the other house, where it goes through practically the same stages of procedure as described above. If the bill is passed by the other house without amendment it is "enrolled," after which it is ready for the signature of the President. If, however, a bill as passed by one house is amended by the other, it is customary to appoint a conference committee, consisting usually of three members from each house, to discuss the differences and suggest a basis of compromise. The committee usually recommends that each house recede from its position on certain points, and the result is reported to each house, which usually accepts the agreement and the bill is passed. Many important bills are finally passed in this way, though occasionally the two houses fail to reach an agreement and the bill fails.

Approval of the President.—When the bill is presented to the President he is allowed ten days to make up his mind as to whether he will sign or disapprove it. If he refuses to sign it, he usually returns it to the house in which it originated, with a statement of his objections, after which the house must proceed to reconsider it, and if it is passed by a two-thirds vote it is sent to the other chamber and if repassed by it by a two-thirds vote it becomes a law notwithstanding the veto of the President. But in such cases the yeas and nays must be entered on the journal of each house so that the record may show that the bill was properly passed. In case the President does not approve the bill and neglects to return it within ten days to the house in which it originated, it becomes law in the same manner as if he had signed it, unless Congress should adjourn in the meantime so that it cannot be returned, in which case it does not become law. As a large number of bills are usually sent to the President during the last ten days of the session, an opportunity is thus afforded him for defeating bills by neither signing nor vetoing them. This method of defeating bills is popularly described by the term "pocket veto," a procedure sometimes resorted to where the President does not approve a bill and yet does not wish to take the responsibility for positively vetoing it.

Procedure in the Senate.—In the senate, partly by reason of its small size, partly by reason of its permanence, and partly by reason of the tradition of senatorial courtesy, the procedure is somewhat different from that of the house of representatives. For example, the senate rules are permanent, that is, they continue from one Congress to another and do not have to be adopted anew every two years.

The President of the Senate is little more than a moderator; indeed, he may belong to a different political party from that which is in control of the chamber—a situation that never happens in the house. He does not appoint the committees of the senate, and so has no power of predetermining the character of legislation. Moreover, he has no power to control debate through the power of recognition. The traditions of the senate require that he shall recognize the first senator who rises to speak, and that he shall treat the members of both parties impartially in according recognition for purposes of debate.

Unlimited Debate.—Until 1917 one of the usages of the senate was the right of unlimited debate. Owing to the small size of the senate, much greater freedom of discussion is possible than in the house of representatives, where there are more than four times as many members. Debate can also be conducted with much more ease and is much more effective, since the size of the hall is smaller and members are not under the necessity of speaking at the top of their voices. While a member of the house can rarely get an opportunity to deliver a speech and then only for a few minutes, a senator may usually speak as long as he pleases. Advantage of this privilege is frequently taken by senators to deliver long speeches, not so much to convince their colleagues, as to get their views before the country at large or to make an impression on their constituents at home. Under the rules as they were before 1917, there was no limit to a senator's right to debate. The privilege was made use of occasionally near the close of a session for "filibustering" purposes. Thus a few senators with strong lungs, large vocabularies, and a liberal supply of documents from which to read, might consume the time of the senate for weeks and prevent it from acting on measures to which they were opposed. Many times in our history a single senator has forced the senate to abandon the consideration of important measures, by threatening to consume the remaining time of the session by speech making. In the last days of one session of Congress, a senator from Wisconsin spoke continuously for more than seventeen hours in an effort to prevent action on a currency bill. Near the end of the 64th Congress (March, 1917) a small group of senators filibustered to prevent the senate from taking a vote on a bill to give the President authority to arm American merchant vessels for defensive purposes, notwithstanding the fact that nearly all the other senators desired to pass the bill. Shortly thereafter the senate adopted a new rule which makes it possible, by a two-thirds vote, to limit the debate on any measure to one hour for each senator. The rule was applied in November, 1919, to bring to an end protracted discussion of the treaty of peace with Germany.

References.—Beard, American Government and Politics, ch. xiv. Bryce, The American Commonwealth (abridged edition), chs. xiii-xv. Hart, Actual Government, ch. xiv. Harrison, This Country of Ours, ch. iii. Reinsch, American Legislatures and Legislative Methods, ch. i.

Documentary and Illustrative Material.—1. The Congressional Directory. 2. The House and Senate Rules. 3. Precedents of the House of Representatives, published as a public document in 1909. 4. The Congressional Record. 5. Specimen copies of bills and resolutions. 6. The last annual message of the President. 7. Copies of committee reports. 8. Veto messages of the President. 9. Diagrams of the house and senate chambers.