Work out the meaning of the following words, then choose the correct form of one of them to complete the sentences which follow.

a) Complete the extract below by choosing the proper word from the list for each blank space.

FILIBUSTER IN CONGRESS

Filibusteris defined as organized obstructionist tactics in … 1 … bodies. It is a parliamentary device used in the United States … 2 … by which a minority of senators try to turn down a legislation favored by the … 3 … by delaying tactics which include prolonged debate and … 4 … on relevant and irrelevant topics and other … 5 … of the legislative game. Filibuster is a … 6 … of the freedom of … 7 … by literally “talking a bill to death”. The aim of the minority is to … 8 … action on the … 9 … until the majority is forced by the press of other business to withdraw it from consideration. Liberals and conservatives both used the technique, and it is … 10 … as a method of protecting minority rights, as well as attacked for being outmoded. Debate in the Senate may be … 11 … by a vote of two-thirds of those present.

b) Translate the completed extract into Russian in writing.

SPEAKING.

6.1 Define the following:

RESEARCH.

8.1 How is the legislature organized in your country?

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE QUIZ

1. The legislative process is the procedure of …

a) interpreting laws

b) making laws

2. A bill is a …

a) proposed law passed by a legislature and signed by the President

b) proposed law to be discussed by a legislature

3. Every bill must have … readings in each House to become law.

a) 3

b) 4

4. Most of the work on bills is done …

a) in committee meetings

b) on the floors

5. To become law a bill must be passed in both chambers and approved by …

a) the people

b) the President

6. When the President approves the bill he … it.

a) signs

b) vetoes

2.FIRST READING. Skim the text.

Sources of Legislation

The major responsibility of a member of Congress is to determine the public policies of the country through lawmaking or legislative process. The total sum of all measures enacted into law by 535 members of Congress constitutes American national policy. The idea of a new law may come from a constituent, a congressman, a pressure group, or the executive branch of government. The President is a major initiator of legislation; he sets forth a general program of legislation which he desires Congress to enact.

Introduction of Bills

Proposals introduced into Congress are called bills. Bills may originate in either House of Congress and must have three readings in each House. A bill originating in the House of Representatives is designated by the letters ‘HR’ followed by a number. A bill introduced in the Senate is designated by the letter ‘S’ plus its number.

Only members of Congress may introduce legislative proposals in their chambers. In the House of Representatives, this is done by placing a proposal in the ‘hopper’, a box at the side of the clerk’s desk in the House Chamber. In the Senate bills are introduced verbally. A Senator gains the recognition of the presiding officer, states that he is offering a bill for introduction, and presents it to the Secretary of the Senate.

Sometimes a member will introduce a bill drawn by a private person or organization. In such case, the words ‘by request’ are printed on the face of the bill and give notice that the member is serving as a channel, that the bill does not necessarily represent his own views. This stage of the legislative process is called the first reading of a bill.

Committee Action

After a bill has been introduced in either House the Speaker of the House, or the President of the Senate, refers it to the committee, which has jurisdiction over the bill’s subject matter. The most intensive consideration of a proposal takes place in the appropriate committee.

The committee has virtual life - or - death power over bills which are sent to it. It may (1) ‘pigeon - hole’ a bill; (2) start working on the bill ( hold hearings, amend or revise it); or (3) report the bill out of the committee to the floor without any substantial changes. In this case, it is transmitted together with a report describing its purpose and the reasons for its suggested approval.

As Congress usually accepts without major change those bills which are reported out of the committee to the floor, it is evident that committee work is the key point of the legislative process.

Floor Action

Once a committee reports a bill to the floor of the chamber in which it originated, the bill is debated and amended. Debate in the chamber is the occasion for the second reading. The clerk reads the bill sentence by sentence. Members may then debate it and offer amendments.

Debate in the House of Representatives is strictly limited because of the large numbers in the House. No member can address the House for more than one hour without unanimous consent. In the Senate, a tradition exists of unlimited debate. This permits use of the filibuster, a device to literally ‘talk a bill to death’ by preventing it from reaching a vote.

If there are no objections against the bill it is read in full and voted upon (the third reading). Passage requires a simple majority of members.

After a bill has been passed in one chamber it goes to the other chamber for the similar sequence of committee hearings and general debate.

Presidential Action

Once a proposal clears both congressional houses, the only further action is for the President to sign it into law. The President may (1) approve the bill by signing it; (2) allow it to become law (automatic after ten working days) without his signature; (3) ‘ pocket-veto ’ the bill by not acting on it if Congress adjourns withinthe ten-day period; or (4) veto it and return it to the House in which it originated with a message explaining the reasons for his disapproval. A presidential veto usually dooms a bill to failure, since it is hard to get the two-thirds majority of those present in each chamber to override the President.

WORD STUDY.

5.1 The verbs on the left show a typical way a bill becomes law . Match the English terms to their Russian equivalents.