Creating a Bill

This Web Quest allows students to follow the process of creating a Bill which might make a difference in our governmental system. 

Introduction

Special interest groups write nearly half of the 10,000 bills that the House of Representatives and the Senate consider passing into law each congressional term.  Interest groups cannot, however, actually introduce bills into Congress themselves.  Instead, they must convince one or more lawmakers to sponsor and introduce the bills that they developed and wrote. This is significant, as only 5% of all bills introduced actually become a law!

The Task

In this activity, you and your partner are lawyers for a major special interest group in the United States. You will be working to answer the following two questions:     

1.    What bill could we write that would promote the beliefs of this interest group? 

2.    What could we say in a letter to a lawmaker that would convince them to introduce this bill into Congress?

There are two tasks to complete:

1.    Choose an interest group to represent.  Research the mission, goals and objectives of this interest group. These notes will be submitted with the final copy of your bill.

2.    Develop and write a bill that would help to promote the causes and beliefs of the interest group.

Process & Resources

Step One: Choose an Interest Group

Choose an existing interest group.  Several examples are listed below. You are not obligated to choose one of the following organizations as long as your choice is cleared with me before proceeding.  You will be lobbying on behalf of the interest group you choose.

Go to the website of your interest group.  Do research on the basic beliefs and causes of the organization.  Take notes on their mission, objectives, goals, current bills/legislation they are working on, programs, etc.

• American Civil Liberties Union
  protects people’s civil liberties from being violated by the government, promotes free speech, freedom of religion, etc.
• Brady Campaign
  promotes gun control, registration, safety-locks, and background checks
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
  promotes the interests of African Americans, including affirmative action
• National Association of Manufacturers
  fights against government regulation of businesses, favors lower corporate taxes
• National Education Association (NEA)
  supports public schools, fights against vouchers, promotes raises in teacher’s salaries
• National Organization for Women  (NOW)
  promotes women’s interests, including the right to have an abortion
• National Rifle Association (NRA)
  supports people’s 2nd amendment right to own and carry a gun
• Sierra Club
  supports environmental protection, including the endangered species list
• American Federation of Labor (AFL-CIO)
  voluntary federation of 56 national and international labor unions (you may choose one of these 56 unions to represent)

Process & Resources

Step Two:  Write the Bill

Discuss a law you think this interest group might want Congress to pass.  Decide on the topic of just ONE law. This law must relate to the interest group's goals.

1) Before you begin writing your bill, review the process of how a bill becomes law.  http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/bil2lawd.html

2)  Work with your partner to write a bill that your interest group would like Congress to pass.  Make sure your bill suggests a clear, simple action or policy that would be easy for the government to implement.  This suggested action must match the goals of your interest group.  Use Microsoft Word to type your bill in the appropriate format.

3)  Click on the following website for instructions on how to write a bill. 

http://pmc.princeton.edu/writeabill.php

4) It would also be helpful to look at sample of bills that have already been written to serve as a model for your bill.  Go to the Thomas Search Engine

Evaluation

Each pair will be evaluated according to the following rubric.

Conclusion

Congratulations!

At the end of this activity, you should have learned about the goals and objectives of a major interest groups in the United States. You will also better understand how to search for copies of past and current legislation. By looking at examples of real bills, you will be able to suggest more realistic legislation to your Representative or Senator either as a private citizen or as a member of an interest group.

Web Quest Goal:

After this lesson, students will understand the process of how a bill is written and submitted to Congress for consideration.

 Web Quest Objectives:

Students will be able to:

1. Have a basic understanding of the mission and purpose of a current, active interest group.
2. Correctly draft a bill to submit to Congress.
3. Explain the process of how a bill becomes a law

   Extension Activities:

   As an extension of this activity, students may consider the following questions for reflection:

   
   

   1. Do lobbyists and special interest groups have too much influence over the government?
   2. Do you think you might want to join an interest group now or when you are an adult?

   
   

hawkscivicsandecon.weebly.com