BILL WRITING PROJECT
For this project, you are going to write your own bill as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
This should be a bill that you would want to become a law.
Follow the steps below to guide you through this process:
This should be a bill that you would want to become a law.
Follow the steps below to guide you through this process:
1. The Idea
Your first step is to decide what to try and write a bill about. Every bill begins with an idea. Is there a problem that you would like to see addressed by the government? Or perhaps there is an issue you feel the government should not be involved in that they currently are. Whatever you choose, remember that your bill must be constitutional. This means that...
- Your bill must fall within, or relate to the POWERS OF CONGRESS.
- Your bill must not violate any LIMITS ON GOVERNMENT POWER, including the Bill of Rights.
2. Writing The Bill
Once you've found an interesting and relevant topic on which to write your bill and have done the necessary research, the next step is actually getting your bill ready for discussion in committee. A bill should have three parts:
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Stuck? Here are some suggested bill topics...
- A bill that authorizes or prohibits drilling for oil on public lands (national parks, wildlife reserves, etc.) and/or off the shores of the United States, including in deep water.
- A bill establishing an interstate high-speed rail transport system. Suggestion – paid for by an increase in the national gas tax.
- A bill enabling undocumented/illegal immigrants to pursue legal citizenship through a set process.
- A bill closing loopholes for individuals with extremely high incomes, requiring them to pay a minimum percentage of their wealth in taxes.
- A bill creating a flat (everyone pays the same %) or “fair” (national % sales tax, with exceptions for basic necessities) tax to replace the progressive income tax (where people pay more the higher their income is).
- A bill requiring a drug test for individuals seeking federal government benefits (welfare, Medicaid, “food stamps,” etc.), denying benefits to those testing positive for illegal substances. (If chosen, how would you deal with those who were denied?
- A bill requiring (or prohibiting) mandatory conscription (the “draft”) for all Americans of a certain age range. (Countries like Switzerland and Israel already require military service for all young adults.)
- A bill authorizing funds for the research and development of a space-based defense network to defeat intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
3. Committee Assignment
Once you have written the bill itself, you will want to determine which House of Representatives committee your bill should be redirected to. Below is a brief list, while a link is provided for a more detailed list of committees and sub-committees.
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For a more complete list - including sub-committees under the broad committees listed above, click HERE.
4. finishing AND submitting
When you are finished with the template, having typed up your bill, given it a title, made sure your name is listed, etc., then print it out and hand it in to Mr. Peyton. If you are absent and making this up, you may also save your bill project as a Microsoft Word document and send the file to Mr. Peyton using the dropbox link at the top of the website.