The Legislative Process

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THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS The Legislative Process The legislative process is a procedure through which a bill is passed into law. To fully understand the legislative process, one must start with the Constitution of the United States, which is the document that organizes legislative. The constitution established the parameters of congressional power and outlined not only how the other branches would relate to it but how the two houses would interact with each other and American society (Gershman, 2008). In order for one to fully grasp this modern day legislative process, it is important to understand its roots. The Continental Congress met in York, Pennsylvania in the fall of 1777 to establish a confederation. The results of this meeting are contained in Article V of the Articles of Confederation- our first national constitution (Jones pg 1) Jones (1982) states that Article V stated that for the more convenient management of the general interests of the United States, delegates shall be annually appointed in such manner as the legislature of each state shall direct…No state shall be represented in Congress by less than two, nor by more than seven Members; and no person shall be capable of being a delegate for more than three years in any term of six years…(p. 1) The question now would be why the Articles of Confederation failed in properly governing the country. Firstly, the Article of Confederation placed all national power in the hands of the Congress. During those times, there was no national court system, no president, and the heads of executive branch where either members of the congress or chosen by it (Gershman, 2008). Secondly, the Articles of Confederation specified that delegates, elected by state legislatures, would meet annually. Gershman (2008) states despites the establishment of such a national government, the second section of the
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