"How a bill becomes a law"
- This is not a real, singular process because bills can become laws in
  many many ways
House side of process
    - Introduce (submit) legislation to get a "house resolution number"
    - Committee Stage - referred to appropriate Standing Committee
        - Speaker of House does this
        - Can refer to one or many committees
            - Multiple referral means it's more likely to die/change
    - Standing Commitee refers to subcommittee
        - Marked up for changes, can die (get buried)
    - Full Committee discusses and votes on marked up version
    - Rules Committee -- sets rules for debate on bill
    - Floor Action - scheduled by Speaker (time limit, agenda position)
        - (Germane) amendments can get added and get debated separately
        - *After* amendments, the amended bill is voted on
            - Amendments can remove support for the bill
            - Simple majority to pass
Senate side of process (often introduced concurrently, sometimes
multiple bills on either side correspond on one issue, sometimes
consecutive)
    - Introduction: senate resolution number
    - President pro temp (maybe multiple) refers to standing committees,
    - Committee Stage: passes through the subcommittee, full committee
      landmines; often longer timeframes in the Senate
    - NO Rules Committee
    - Scheduled by "majority leader" (not president pro temp, who is the
      most senior member of the majority party)
        - Power to improve/worsen chance of passing
        - Majority leader, like speaker, chooses Joint Committee members
            - Appointment power
    - Floor action - much less formal rule system
        - Any (non-germane) amendments can be added
            - Can allow some "pork barrel politics"
        - No time limit
            - Allows filibusters
                - Originally 60 votes "Vote of Closure" stops
                - Now simple majority (50)
                    - No sitting down, leaning on podium
                        - But multi-person filibusters
        - Amendment vote (incl house amendments) and vote on finalized
          bill (needs majority)
Conference Committee
    - Bipartisan, bicameral Joint Committee
    - No compromise, no law
        - if passed identically, compromises don't need to happen
    - Then has to be passed by house and senate
    - Onto the president
Presidential Action
    - 10 business days to review legislation
    - Sign it --> law
    - Veto: requires written reasons
        - 2/3 in both chambers override
    - No action
        - Congress in session = unsigned law
        - Congress out of session = pocket veto (bill dies, can be
          reintroduced)

The Budget
- In theory, begins 18 months prior to fiscal year (Oct 1-Sep 30)
- HUGE piece of legislation, physically, importance, etc
- Executive budget, comes out in March
    - President saying what he wants: taxes, tax cuts, revenues, spend
- First Budget Resolution (meant to be passed middle of May)
    - "Congress's rebuttal"
- Second Budget Resolution
    - Passed by Sep 30
    - Final copy
    - Chosen by compromise in congress and with congress and pres.
    - Rarely actually passed (in time?)
- Continuing Resolutions
    - Temporary funding for a particular time frame
    - Originally only 30, 60 days
    - Now months, years at a time. De facto final res.
- Recent Budgets
    - 09 Budget $3.1T ($3.9T actual w/ fed bailout)
    - 10 Budget $3.72T
    - 11 Budget $3.83T (record $1.56T deficit)
    - 20 Budget $4.79T ($1.083T deficit estimate)