- What elements of the mock Congress exercise were similar to the actual process?
- In what ways is the actual process far more complex?
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Mock Congress Blog #2
Complete the two modules at the Center for Congress website (How a Member Decides to Vote, The Many Roles...). Respond to the following:
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As far as the similarities between the Mock Congress and real Congress, I am sure they follow Robert's Rules like we did so that their debates are orderly, and move as quickly and respectfully as possible. The leader reads the background on the bill, it's purpose, and the short title it will be referred to as. I think there are probably more differences between the Mock Congress and the real Congress than there are similarities. I am sure they spend several hours in debates on the good and bad points of bills, instead of several minutes. They probably get more information on the bills, and have knowledge about the laws they are amending, or that certain bills will be affecting with their passage. I am sure they follow Robert's Rules even more closely than we did, and I KNOW their packets of bills for consideration are much larger than ours! There is also more weight on their decisions, because their decisions can affect the nation. Our decisions were simply fake, but if they decided to allow lawnmowers on the highways, they would have to invest the money in a large project and find the time and the ways to allow such a thing. In conclusion, there are similarities between Mock and Real Congress, but more differences to be sure. However, I think the simulation was a good one to get the idea of just how difficult it is for a bill to pass, and the jobs of Congressmen. and women.
I think our mock congress was very similar to the actual thing with regards to hearing a variety of opinions on matters. A real congressmen, like in the How a Member Decides to Vote video, heard other peoples opinions on the same topic to get a more complete view of what they would be voting for and against. The same thing went with our mock congress. Each person had time to hear everyone in their groups opinion before they made their final decisions. Aside from that i think the real congress is far more complex. They have far more to deal with then we did. They have to consider what is best for the greater good, not just what they wanted. Also, from what i learned in The Many Roles... video, they go through a jam packed day of meetings. We as students were just going in to one 50min class and voting on bills we liked. Their schedules are packed with events and meetings. That is far much more then we had to do. The job of a congressman is much more complex then i imagined it could have been.
Our in class mock congress had many aspects that were similar to an actual congress, but there were many differences. Like an accrual congress we had a speaker who ran the debate. The debate was organized similarly to those of the actual congress, as Robert’s rules governed the debate. Unlike the actual congress though, our process for deciding on a vote was much different. Each bill was debated for a very short amount of time and we were given only a few minutes to make a decision. Our votes were also only influenced by our own beliefs, there were no lobbyists or constituents attempting to sway our votes, and we knew that our votes would not affect any possibility of a reelection. I learned that being a congressperson really is a full time job. They don’t just listen to people talk and then blindly vote. If they’re not in session, they’re talking with constituents or meeting with somebody who will be affected by their decision. We cannot possibly appreciate the job of a congressperson with our two hour long simulation.
The mock Congress exercise was similar to the actual process. In our mock Congress, Representatives introduced bills. The bills then went to committee, where they were reviewed, voted on, and amended. Like in the actual process, not all of the bills made it out of committee. Then the bills went to our mock Congress where we debated the bills. Both parties compromised and made amendments to the bill if it was needed. The final step of our mock trial was the final vote on each bill. All of these steps are very similar to the textbook legislative process. Today, the actual process is far more complex. Unorthodox lawmaking has become standard procedure in the US Congress. There are so many steps to this unorthodox lawmaking process that it does not follow one set process. Our current lawmaking process is not uniform, and tends to vary from bill to bill.
The general structure of our mock congress was very much alike the actual one. We followed Robert’s rules (although they would’ve been much stricter), the speaker running the debate read an overview of the bill before beginning discussion and we listen to each others opinions, made amendments and voted. However, the detail and the depth of this process are far greater in actual congress. They would discuss/debate each bill for longer, consider the president’s view on the matter as well as how it would affect the majority, and listen to numerous outside sources before settling on a position and voting. In the how a member decides to vote video I was able to get an idea of how congressmen/women chose their position. They go to meetings and answer phone calls where everyone is trying to persuade them to be on their side. Their schedules are hectic and their job demanding.
I believe that our mock Congress was very similar to the actual process of passing or vetoing a bill. In our mock Congress, the bills were introduced, and then were sent to committees where they were review by the people and then voted on. As in the actual process, some of the bills did not make their way out of the committees. During the floor sessions, the bills that made it out of committee were discussed over by each of the parties and everyone was able to get a say whether they liked the bill or not. Also during our mock Congress, we followed some of the important Roberts Rule, all though, in the actual floor session, these rules would be much stricter. And in the end, we were able to vote on each of the bills, like what the real Congress would do. Even though there were similarity between our mock Congress and the real Congress, there are plenty of differences. Like for example, the packets of bills we receive in our committees. We probably got maybe between 20-25 bills. In the actual process of passing or vetoing a bill, committees get thousands and thousands of bills each year! Also, since we don’t have all the time we want for reviewing and voting on bills in the committee and on the floor, we were on a strict time schedule and for the real process, there isn’t usually a time limit they need to follow, they can usually get all the time they want instead of the 50 minutes our mock congress had. I think that the most difficult and complex thing in the actual process is to actually review and debate on the bills. Each year, Congress goes through so many bills, it seems very hectic for each of the congressmen or women to sit and listen to each and every person who wishes to speak about the bill. This is far much more than what we had to do and I can see how complex this process really is for them. In the how a member decides to vote simulation, it really gave me the idea on how complex this actual process really is. The people have to go through many different meetings with different people and get their opinion about the bill and they just have a really hectic schedule. Its just a really tough and complex process they go through and it really gives me the idea on how difficult passing a bill really is.
When we did our mock Congress, many aspects were similar to the actual process. In our debates, we used Robert's Rules, which helped the debates stay respectful and move along quickly, just like actual congressmen do. The debates on bills started off the same way, with the majority leader reading off the bill and opening up debate. Then we debated. During the debate, one thing that was very similar was that many of us would form opinions based on our initial ideas and then perhaps modify them based on how the discussion was going to help move things along. Also, a lot of amendments were proposed. On bills like the lawnmower one, lots of amendments were proposed. We debated such things as the speed of the lawnmowers and which roads they could go on, and at times it got really nitpicky. This was because people wanted to make the bills as perfect as possible, but this might not be as realistic in an actual congress, when there is so much more to get through. After all, the actual process is far more complex. In the actual Congress, congressmen have an incredibly full schedule filled with votes and debates and meetings with constituents or lobbyists. They spend a lot of time researching bills and speaking with fellow congressmen to find out other views on bills and to count votes. On the contrary, we just had to sit in a debate for one period and discuss bills without having to go through all of that. We voted according to how we felt about it, without worrying about others views or counting votes. For example, I voted for the Super bowl bill as a matter of principle, because I knew I would want that day off if it ever were to happen. This would not have been the same in Congress, however, where the congressmen have to consider the wishes of their lobbyists and constituents. Thus, our congress was a lot simpler than the real deal.
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We exercised some of the actual bill passing process, committee, subcommittee, voting, and so on. But I think that there is more that congress actually does when they pass bills. I also think that when they do it, it is more formal and follows a ceremonial trend if you will. Or something of that nature.
The actual process is more complex because they can have subcommittees of subcommittees of subcommittees, and then relaying that initial feeling on the fate of the bill might be hard to do. They also have some where upward of a crap-ton of bills that need to be examined and voted on, we only had somewhere like 20. I think that if we tried to simulate the actual process we would still be sitting in class.
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