Welcome to my web page which is especially designed for younger
citizens. Here you will find lots of information, games, and fun
sites that will guide you through the Federal government.
Start
your adventure with some of these sites featuring general
information:
Ben's Guide to Government
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 Get to know Ben Franklin while he takes you on a tour of the U.S.
Government!
Courtesy of the United States Government Printing Office |
White House for Kids
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 Learn all about the White House and the American presidency. Be
sure to check out the pages on kids and pets that have lived in the
White House over the years!
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First Gov for Kids
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 Visit the U.S. Government interagency Kids’ Portal. |
Kids in the House
|
 The Clerk is an officer in the United States House of
Representatives, and Kids in the House is the Office of the Clerk's
official website for parents, teachers and kids to learn about
Congress. |
Find
out about programs administered by departments & agencies of the
Federal Government:
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US Department of Agriculture for Kids |
 Find cool info and activities about food,
farming, animals, and agriculture on the U.S. Department
of Agriculture's page just for kids! |
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Central Intelligence Agency for Kids |
 The CIA is the agency in charge of protecting
America by gathering the critical information and
intelligence to keep us safe. Learn more about this
agency through cool interactive games; find out what
it's like to be a spy, or try cracking a secret code! |
Federal Bureau of Investigation Kids Page
(K-5) or
(6-12)
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Find out what it's really like to be an FBI
agent, learn about how the Federal Bureau of
Investigation helps to keep us safe, and have fun with
lots of great games and info! |
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Federal Trade Commission |
 The FTC website will help you stay safe online…
join team Dewie and learn how to become a “safe cyber
surfer.” |
Federal Emergency Management Agency for Kids
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 This site teaches you how to be prepared for disasters and
how you can prevent disaster damage. You can also learn
what causes disasters, play games, read stories and
become a Disaster Action Kid. |
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Department of Energy
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Enjoy the games, information and interactive tools while
learning about energy and science. |
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Environmental Protection Agency |
 Get ready to explore your environment and learn about neat
things you can do to protect it. There are games,
pictures, and stories and other fun things. |
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Department of Health and Human Services |
The US Department of Health and Human Services offers a
variety of specialized sites which address issues
relating to your health and happiness. These include
sites which provide information on cosmetics, drug
prevention, disease prevention, stress management, how
to care for your teeth, food safety, and much much
more!! |
Department of the Interior
|
Want to know about National Parks, US Fish and Wildlife,
minerals, mining, or land management? The Department of
the Interior will answer all your questions on these and
other issues. |
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Department of Justice
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The Department of Justice works to enforce the law and
defend the interests of the United States; ensure public
safety against threats foreign and domestic; provide
Federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime;
seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful
behavior; administer and enforce the Nation's
immigration laws fairly and effectively; and to ensure
fair and impartial administration of justice for all
Americans. Learn how you can help solve crime. |
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) |
 Learn more about outer space and American space
travel on the NASA site just for kids! |
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Social Security Administration |
What every kid, teen, parent, and teacher should know about
Social Security. This site provides materials for
parents, children, young adults and teachers to learn
about Social Security and what it means to you. |
|
Department of State |
The U.S. Department of State is led by the Secretary of
State. Although headquartered in Washington, DC, the
Department's embassies span the world in more than 190
countries. The diplomats who work in these embassies
come from all over the United States and represent a
variety of backgrounds. Can you see yourself as a
diplomat someday? |
|
Department of the Treasury |
Discover all the places for kids to learn about the
Treasury Department on the Internet! |
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US Mint |
 The H.I.P. Pocket Change (HPC) Web site is a
fun, educational tool -- for students and teachers
-- that generates interest in coins, the Mint, and U.S.
history. |
Learn about how America was founded:
Other
fun links:
McGruff.org
Explore the crime prevention activities, tips,
and games from the National Crime Prevention Council. |
Smokey Bear
Check out these games and activities that will
help you learn about America's forests and how you can protect them! |
Friends of the National Zoo
Take a virtual visit to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. and
become a member of the Super Zoodle Kids' Club. |
Coalition for a Healthy and Active America
Learn more about nutrition and physical fitness and how important
they are to living a healthy, happy life! |
Links
for parents and teachers:
The U.S. House of
Representatives --
The Legislative Process
"All Legislative Powers herein granted shall be
vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall
consist of a Senate and House of Representatives."
(Article I, Section 1, of the
United
States Constitution)
The chief function of Congress is the making of laws. The
legislative process comprises a number of steps, and much
information is available from this page concerning the
legislation introduced and considered in the 105th Congress.
To help you understand the information and how it
interrelates, a very brief overview of the legislative process
within the House of Representatives is presented below. There
are many aspects and variations of the process which are not
addressed here. A much more in-depth discussion and
presentation of the overall process is available in
How
Our Laws Are Made. Most of the information
presented below was excerpted from that Congressional document.
Forms of Congressional Action
The work of Congress is initiated by the introduction of a
proposal in one of four principal forms: the bill, the joint
resolution, the concurrent resolution, and the simple
resolution.
- Bills
-
A bill is the form used for most legislation, whether
permanent or temporary, general or special, public or
private. A bill originating in the House of
Representatives is designated by the letters
"H.R.", signifying "House of
Representatives", followed by a number that it
retains throughout all its parliamentary stages. Bills
are presented to the President for action when approved
in identical form by both the House of Representatives
and the Senate.
Joint Resolutions
Joint resolutions may originate either in the House of
Representatives or in the Senate. There is little
practical difference between a bill and a joint
resolution. Both are subject to the same procedure,
except for a joint resolution proposing an amendment to
the Constitution. On approval of such a resolution by
two-thirds of both the House and Senate, it is sent
directly to the Administrator of General Services for
submission to the individual states for ratification. It
is not presented to the President for approval. A joint
resolution originating in the House of Representatives
is designated "H.J.Res." followed by its
individual number. Joint resolutions become law in the
same manner as bills.
Concurrent Resolutions
Matters affecting the operations of both the House of
Representatives and Senate are usually initiated by
means of concurrent resolutions. A concurrent resolution
originating in the House of Representatives is
designated "H.Con.Res." followed by its
individual number. On approval by both the House of
Representatives and Senate, they are signed by the Clerk
of the House and the Secretary of the Senate. They are
not presented to the President for action.
Simple Resolutions
A matter concerning the operation of either the House
of Representatives or Senate alone is initiated by a
simple resolution. A resolution affecting the House of
Representatives is designated "H.Res."
followed by its number. They are not presented to the
President for action.
For more information on bills and resolutions see
Forms
of Congressional Action in
How
Our Laws Are Made.
Introduction and Referral to Committee
Any Member in the House of Representatives may introduce a
bill at any time while the House is in session by simply
placing it in the "hopper" provided for the purpose
at the side of the Clerk's desk in the House Chamber. The
sponsor's signature must appear on the bill. A public bill may
have an unlimited number of co-sponsoring Members. The bill is
assigned its legislative number by the Clerk and referred to
the appropriate committee by the Speaker, with the assistance
of the Parliamentarian. The bill is then printed in its
introduced form, which you can read in
Bill
Text.
If a bill was introduced today, summary information
about it can be found in
Bill
Status Today
An important phase of the legislative process is the action
taken by committees. It is during committee action that the
most intense consideration is given to the proposed measures;
this is also the time when the people are given their
opportunity to be heard. Each piece of legislation is referred
to the committee that has jurisdiction over the area affected
by the measure.
For more information on this step of the legislative
process see
Introduction
and Reference to Committee of
How
Our Laws Are Made.
Consideration by Committee
- Public Hearings and Markup Sessions
-
Usually the first step in this process is a public
hearing, where the committee members hear witnesses
representing various viewpoints on the measure. Each
committee makes public the date, place and subject of
any hearing it conducts. The
Committee
Meetings scheduled for today are available along
with other
House
Schedules . Public announcements are also published
in the Daily Digest portion of the
Congressional
Record.
A transcript of the testimony taken at a hearing is
made available for inspection in the committee office,
and frequently the complete transcript is printed and
distributed by the committee.
After hearings are completed, the bill is considered
in a session that is popularly known as the
"mark-up" session. Members of the committee
study the viewpoints presented in detail. Amendments may
be offered to the bill, and the committee members vote
to accept or reject these changes.
This process can take place at either the
subcommittee level or the full committee level, or at
both. Hearings and markup sessions are status steps
noted in the Legislative Action portion of
Bill
Status.
Committee Action
At the conclusion of deliberation, a vote of committee
or subcommittee Members is taken to determine what
action to take on the measure. It can be reported, with
or without amendment, or tabled, which means no further
action on it will occur. If the committee has approved
extensive amendments, they may decide to report a new
bill incorporating all the amendments. This is known as
a "clean bill," which will have a new number.
Votes in committee can be found in Committee Votes.
If the committee votes to report a bill, the
Committee
Report is written. This report describes the purpose
and scope of the measure and the reasons for recommended
approval. House Report numbers are prefixed with "H.Rpt."
and then a number indicating the Congress (currently
105).
For more information on bills and resolutions see
Consideration
by Committee in
How
Our Laws Are Made.
House Floor Consideration
- Consideration of a measure by the full House can be a
simple or very complex operation. In general a measure
is ready for consideration by the full House after it
has been reported by a committee. Under certain
circumstances, it may be brought to the Floor directly. The consideration of a measure may be governed by a
"rule." A rule is itself a simple resolution,
which must be passed by the House, that sets out the
particulars of debate for a specific bill -- how much
time will allowed for debate, whether amendments can be
offered, and other matters.
Debate time for a measure is normally divided between
proponents and opponents. Each side yields time to those
Members who wish to speak on the bill. When amendments
are offered, these are also debated and voted upon. If
the House is in session today, you can see a summary of
Current
House Floor Proceedings.
After all debate is concluded and amendments decided
upon, the House is ready to vote on final passage. In
some cases, a vote to "recommit" the bill to
committee is requested. This is usually an effort by
opponents to change some portion or table the measure.
If the attempt to recommit fails, a vote on final
passage is ordered.
Resolving Differences
- After a measure passes in the House, it goes to the
Senate for consideration. A bill must pass both bodies
in the same form before it can be presented to the
President for signature into law.
If the Senate changes the language of the measure, it
must return to the House for concurrence or additional
changes. This back-and-forth negotiation may occur on
the House floor, with the House accepting or rejecting
Senate amendments or complete Senate text. Often a
conference committee will be appointed with both House
and Senate members. This group will resolve the
differences in committee and report the identical
measure back to both bodies for a vote. Conference
committees also issue reports outlining the final
version of the bill.
Final Step
- Votes on final passage, as well as all other votes in
the House, may be taken by the electronic voting system
which registers each individual Member's response. These
votes are referred to as Yea/Nay votes or recorded
votes, and are available in House Votes by Bill number,
roll call vote number or words describing the reason for
the vote. Votes in the House may also be by voice vote, and no
record of individual responses is available. After a measure has been passed in identical form by
both the House and Senate, it is considered
"enrolled." It is sent to the President who
may sign the measure into law, veto it and return it to
Congress, let it become law without signature, or at the
end of a session, pocket-veto it.
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