Forest Monitor Resource Center

For more information on what is happening in the Committees of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives which have jurisdiction over the natural resources that you care about and to get more detail regarding specific legislation and rule-making visit the following websites.

Senator Lisa Murkowski, Rep. AK, Chair

304 Dirksen Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone 202-224-4971

Senator John Barrasso, Rep. WY, Chair

456 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone 202-224-8832

Congressman Raul Grijalva, Dem. AZ, Chair

1324 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-6065
Fax: 202-225-1931

In the Spirit of Thomas Jefferson, Legislative information from the Library of Congress can be found at http://thomas.loc.gov/

Congress has directed the Library of Congress to make federal legislative information freely available to the public. This service allows the public to search for Legislative Bills, Resolutions, Committee Reports, Committee schedules, the Congressional Record and tons of other useful information.

The Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents. Published every morning, the Federal Register will tell you the about a proposed rule to list a species under the Endangered Species Act, or if the Forest Service is proposing a significant logging project in your area, or a specific date for a Federal Advisory Committee meeting plus much more…

1. A Bill is Introduced
The legislative process begins when one or several members of Congress introduce, or sponsor, a bill or resolution. The bill then receives a number preceded by "H.R." if it's a House bill, or "S" if it's a Senate bill.

2. Committee Assignment and Review
The House has 19 permanent committees and the Senate has 17. Each committee has jurisdiction over bills concerning particular issues. When a bill is referred to the appropriate House or Senate committee for consideration, the committee may choose to hold hearings on the bill, send the bill to a subcommittee for review, or conduct a vote on whether to send the bill directly to the full House or Senate.

3. Committee Action
Hearings are usually conducted by subcommittees, and allow experts, government officials, members of the public, and other interested parties to offer, on the record, their views either in support of or in opposition to a bill. Testimony may be given in person or submitted in writing.

After hearings are completed, the subcommittee may meet for a mark-up, where it can change or amend a bill before returning it to the full committee. The subcommittee can also choose not to send a bill back to the full committee, effectively killing the bill.

4. Reporting a Bill
After receiving a bill from a subcommittee, the full committee can conduct further study and hold additional hearings, or it can vote on the subcommittee's recommendations and proposed amendments. The full committee can then vote to recommend that the full House or Senate consider the bill. This procedure is called "ordering a bill reported."

After a committee votes to report a bill, the committee staff prepares a written report describing the intent and scope of the legislation, its impact on existing laws and programs, the administration's position on the bill, and the views of any dissenting committee members.

5. Scheduling Floor Action
After a bill is reported back to the chamber where it originated, it is placed in chronological order on the calendar for debate.

6. Floor Debate
When a bill reaches the House or Senate floor, the rules of the chamber determine the debate procedures and the amount of time allowed for debate. After debate and approval of any amendments, members vote. If a bill passes, (most bills need a simple majority to pass), it then moves to the other chamber for consideration.

7. Action in Other Chamber
When a bill is referred to the other chamber, it usually follows the same route through committee review and action on the floor. The second chamber can approve the bill, reject the bill, change it, or let it die.

8. Conference Committee
If the chamber that originates the bill approves it, and the other chamber makes only minor changes to it, the legislation often goes back to the first chamber for quick acceptance of the changes. If the actions of the second chamber change the bill significantly, however, a conference committee, made up of members of both the House and Senate, attempts to reconcile the differences between the two versions. If the members of the conference committee cannot agree on a final form of the bill, the legislation dies. If they reach agreement, they prepare a conference report describing the recommended changes. Both the House and the Senate must then approve the revised version of the bill.

9. Final Congressional Approval
Once both houses of Congress approve the same form of a bill, it is sent to the White House for action by the President.

10. Presidential Action
The President can act on the bill in one of three ways: approve the bill by signing it into law; veto the bill, returning it to Congress with an explanation of his or her objections; or take no action on the bill. If the President holds the bill for ten days while Congress is in session, the bill automatically becomes law without his or her signature. If Congress adjourns its second session within this ten-day period, however, the bill dies (this is called a "pocket veto").

11. Congressional Override of a Veto
A bill can become law despite a presidential veto if two-thirds of both houses of Congress vote to approve the bill over the president's objections.

Personal handwritten letters are still the most effective means of communicating with a member of Congress. But if you don't have the time to write and mail a letter, consider sending a fax or email instead. Whichever method you choose, the same suggestions apply for composing your message:

• State the reason that you're writing in the first paragraph. If you're writing about a particular bill, refer to the bill by its number, for example, S. 1020 or H.R. 1100.
• Make two or three strong factual points to support your position.
• Briefly state why this issue matters to you. If it affects you, a family member, or your community directly, say so.
• If applicable, make a brief connection to the member. For instance, if you voted for him or her, worked for his or her campaign, or would like to support this member of Congress in the future, include that information.
• Clearly state the outcome you expect, e.g., that you want your senator or representative to support a project in your state or district, or to vote a certain way on a bill.
• Be courteous (of course you knew that already).
• Above all, keep it short. Preferably no longer than one page. Members of Congress and their staffs are extremely busy, and lengthy messages are less likely to be completely read.

Don't expect to speak to your actual senator or representative on the phone; instead you'll most likely speak with a member of his or her staff. When you call:

• Ask to speak with the staff member who handles the issue or bill in which you have an interest.
• Identify yourself, and identify the issue with which you are concerned. If it's a specific bill, identify the bill by its S. or H.R. number.
• Briefly state your reason for calling. For instance, "I'd like to know Representative X's position on H.R. 1100." Or, "I'd like Senator Y to know that I strongly oppose S. 234 because ______."
• If you would like a reply from your congressperson, let the staff member know.
• Keep the call short and courteous. Remember to thank the staff member for his or her time.