a law that has been passed in the past 5 years. Trace its process through Congress as that bill came to be a law.

Answer 1

One of the most significant pieces of legislation that became law within the past five years was the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. This bill changed a 30 year long tax code system by reducing the individual and corporate tax rates, with the intention of expanding the American economy. The first provisions of the bill was introduced in the House of Representatives in the Summer of 2017, which led to a series of other provisions and amendments that were either approved or rejected throughout the process. There were months of debate between the two parties and ideas that were introduced to expand the bill and simplify the tax code for every American. After months of debate, the final law was passed in December 2017 by President Trump and a Republican Congress that reduced the tax brackets for every individual and reduced the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%.

Answer 2

Hi Cristin,

I cannot do your homework for you, but I can show you HOW to complete your assignment.

You can find a law here: https://www.congress.gov/search?q={%22source%22:%22legislation%22}&searchResultViewType=expanded&KWICView=false

Click on the bill number ("H.R. ####") and you can see the history of the bill, including its sponsor.

Good luck!

Jessica

Answer 3

As I understand your question you need to write about how a specific law began, the process it took to completion and signing into law. First, you would have to locate an already existing law and it will begin either in one of the the two parts of Congress (Senate or House). Find where it began and it will be given a number, this way you can track its progress. You will then look what original committee it was assigned to, what they debated (this is public), and how it was voted in the full committee. Next, you have to find how it was voted by the entire respective legislative body. From there it will be submitted to the other legislative body, where the process will be roughly the same, except that it might be altered or changed from the original version. Next, you will see the vote of the 2nd entire legislative body. From there it will probably have gone to conference committee that has members from both parts of Congress where they will compose one final version agreeing to any changes. From here it will proceed to the President who would have signed it into law, since you are researching an existing law. Your challenge is now to find one existing law and work backwards to findings the pertinent information. Hope this helps. Use this website to assist in your search: https://www.house.gov/the-house-explained/the-legislative-process/resources

Answer 4

A great place to search for bills that have been passed is Congress.gov! You can search for something specific, a topic area you are interested in, or the Top 10 most viewed bills.

For example, today the CARES Act is the most viewed bill. If you click on it, you can see the timeline it has gone through the House - https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/748/actions?KWICView=false. Keep in mind, though, that since a bill needs to be passed by both the House and the Senate, you will also have to look at the corresponding Senate bill - https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3548. As you can see, the Senate has not passed the bill yet, so it is not yet law.

I therefore recommend searching for an older bill by either year and/or subject and then filtering in "status of legislation" to "became law." I like sharks, so I searched for sharks and found the Shark Conservation Act of 2009 - https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/house-bill/81?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22shark%22%5D%7D&s=3&r=5. I can trace its process through Congress by looking at the timeline they have, or the "Actions" tab!

2009 was more than 5 years ago, though, so you will need to find your own bill. Make sure to filter for Congress terms in the past 5 years (116th Congress, 115th Congress, or 114th Congress), and for "status of legislation" as "became law"! Have fun!