U.S. Congress Simulation 2.0 | Jeffrey Alan Johnson, Ph.D. | http://johnsonanalytical.com/education/congress-sim
The Legislative Process in the U.S. Congress
Passing laws isn't easy.
The process of passing legislation in the U.S. Congress is a complex one composed of multiple veto points: many different places where a small group can stop a bill in spite of a majority that supports it. This means that passing laws is a difficule process of negotiation, cooperation, and compromise across chambers, parties, and branches of the federal government.
The Simulation:
This simulation is based on a simplified version of the process of passing a law. At each stage of the legislative process, you will have to make decisions about how to move your bill through to the next stage. You will have to go through three stages:
- Consideration by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
- Consideration by the Full Senate
- Resolving Differences in a Conference Committee
After each stage, you'll see how other people respond to your action. This may move your bill forward, or it may result in your bill dying. If you get your bill through the Conference Committee it will then be passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and then presented to the President. If you craft your bill will, he will sign it. If not, he may veto it.
Your situation:
You are a member of the Senate from Missouri. One issue in St. Louis is that the two mightiest rivers in North America, the Missouri and the Mississippi, come together at the heart of the city, creating the threat of a catastrophic flood (as happened in 1993). You think something should be done: build more levees to hold back the water. You proposed, in your last campaign, a bill to provide $75m to enhance flood control in the state of Missouri. How are you going to get your bill passed?
In each stage of the simulation, you will have three options to choose from.
Select the option that you think is most likely to get your bill through that stage of the legislative process by clicking on the text of that option.