US Government

GOVT 2302 Assignment 1: Research a proposed Bill in the US Congress Dr. Steven N. Tran Maximum Points Earned: 30 Points Deadline: June 14, 2013 Go to Thomas, the Library of Congress' website for congressional research: [login to view URL] Select a specific subject that interests you. Airport baggage screening, gun control, gay marriage, etc... (Usually, the more specific the subject, the better). Run a subject or two through the search engine and examine the bills filed during the current legislative session on that subject. Each bill has a brief description, such as: 15 . To prohibit the possession or transfer of junk guns, also known as Saturday Night Specials. (Introduced in House)[[login to view URL]]. CAUTION: Students should pick bills (i.e. [login to view URL]) rather than resolutions (i.e. [login to view URL]) as it is much easier to adequately complete the assignment with a proposed bill. The parentheses identify the bill’s stage in the legislative process. Find a bill that moved past the "Introduced..." stage. (Consult your textbook and class notes for the stages of a bill.) Click on that bill, read it and use the information from the links at the top of the page to write a brief essay about that bill. Your essay must answer the following questions USING YOUR OWN WORDS!! 1) What is the bill number and title, and what does the bill propose to do? Is there anything interesting about this proposed bill that made you choose this bill? Explain your answer and in doing so, be sure to tell me a little bit about the main author/representative who sponsored the bill, his party affiliation and what you can infer out of the other bills he/she authored or sponsored. (110 points) 2) What committee(s) has your chosen bill been referred to? Has it been referred to a subcommittee? Which committee(s) and what type of legislation does this committee typically consider? Where in the law-making process is the bill now? (10 points) 3) Do you believe the bill will pass? Explain your answer and in doing so, be sure to provide clear, thoughtful, and substantive explanations as to why you believe the bill will/will not pass out of Congress, let alone reach the President for him to decide whether or not to sign into law. (10 points) Helpful Hint: Having trouble finding interesting bills? Here are a couple of sites that might help. Roll Call is an online, insider’s newsletter about Congress: [login to view URL] The Hill is another Congress insiders newsletter geared more for Congressional staffers so there is a little more humor: [login to view URL] Additional Instructions 1) Paper Format: Microsoft Word, Times New Roman and 12 point fonts, double- spaced. Papers that are submitted with incorrect formatting MAY not be graded. 2) Length: 3-4 pages excluding a “References” page; Reference page should follow MLA style.* 3) Submission: Electronic copy of your paper must be uploaded to Eagle Online by the stated deadline. Papers not submitted electronically WILL NOT be graded. NO EXCEPTIONS!** 4) MOST IMPORTANTLY, make sure your paper is topical and written clearly, concisely, and proofread thoroughly. The more grammatical and punctuation errors found in your papers, the harder it is for me to read the content in your paper thus, resulting in a lower paper grade. *Refer to this link as a refresher on how to write and cite sources in MLA Format: [login to view URL] **Refer to your syllabus on How to submit an assignment to Eagle Online.