Bill Writing Project
For this project, you and a partner 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. Build-A-Bill Outline [DOWNLOAD]
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...
Complete the Build-a-Bill Outline with your partner. This will help you assemble most of the necessary "pieces" you will need to produce a complete bill.
Stuck? Here are some suggested bill topics...
- 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.
Complete the Build-a-Bill Outline with your partner. This will help you assemble most of the necessary "pieces" you will need to produce a complete bill.
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).
2. Writing the Actual 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. Download the Bill Template (left) to your computer, then open it up in Word. Remember to click the "Enable Editing" button in Word once it opens, to be able to make changes to it. Follow the template to plug in the pieces from your Build-a-Bill Outline and complete the bulk of the template. Don't forget to include your names in the Bill Sponsor(s) section.
Refer to the EXAMPLE BILL passed out in class to see this in practice.
Refer to the EXAMPLE BILL passed out in class to see this in practice.
3. Committee Assignment
Once you have written the bill itself, you will need to determine which House of Representatives committee your bill should be redirected to and fill in that part of the template. Below is a brief list, while a link is provided for a more detailed list of committees and sub-committees.
- Agriculture
- Appropriations (Decides where tax dollars go)
- Armed Services
- Budget (Oversees the distribution of tax dollars)
- Education and the Workforce
- Energy and Commerce
- Ethics (Oversees lobbying behavior, campaign finance, etc.)
- Financial Services (Banking, Finance, Loans, etc.)
- Homeland Security
- House Administration (Oversees federal elections, etc.)
- Judiciary (Oversees federal courts, impeachments, etc.)
- Natural Resources
- Oversight and Government Reform
- Rules (Determines how the House functions, debates, etc.)
- Science, Space, and Technology
- Small Business
- Transportation and Infrastructure
- Veterans’ Affairs
- Ways and Means (House-only, writes and oversees taxes)
- Intelligence
4. Finishing and Submitting
When you are finished with the template, having typed up your bill, given it a title, made sure your names are listed, etc., save a copy for backup, 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