State of the Union Commentary

I like the fact that George Bush congratulated the Democrats for taking over the majority of the Congress. Even though there are differences between Democrats and Republicans, Bush recognizes that the goals are still the same. They only want the country to prosper.

“Some in this chamber are new to the House and the Senate -- and I congratulate the Democrat majority. (Applause.) Congress has changed, but not our responsibilities. Each of us is guided by our own convictions -- and to these we must stay faithful. Yet we're all held to the same standards, and called to serve the same good purposes: To extend this nation's prosperity; to spend the people's money wisely; to solve problems, not leave them to future generations; to guard America against all evil; and to keep faith with those we have sent forth to defend us.”


It is nice that the president is not saying that everything is nice and perfect in the country. He knows the country is not perfect and he points out some of the things that he and the government need to work on improving. A great example of this is when he was talking about Social Security. He said that it was a very weak spot in the country right now.
“Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid are commitments of conscience, and so it is our duty to keep them permanently sound. Yet, we're failing in that duty.”

I like the fact that the president is going to do his best to try to reduce illegal immigration. He says that he is going to do this by doubling Boarder Patrol, and funding new infrastructure and technology.

In these couple of sentences, it seems like Bush is saying that we should be producing more oil instead of having other countries do it for us:
“For too long our nation has been dependent on foreign oil. And this dependence leaves us more vulnerable to hostile regimes, and to terrorists -- who could cause huge disruptions of oil shipments, and raise the price of oil, and do great harm to our economy.”If this is what he is saying, then I would agree with him 100%. America should just start producing majority of its own oil because we do become vulnerable to different threats when we rely on other countries so much.

I think that this idea is nice and it may be a good goal to shoot for, but I do not ever see it happening. It is just too unrealistic for me to reach, especially with the growing population and economy in America.
“Let us build on the work we've done and reduce gasoline usage in the United States by 20 percent in the next 10 years. (Applause.)”

This could just be me, but I’m sorry, I do not buy into the whole “global warming” idea.
“and they will help us to confront the serious challenge of global climate change. (Applause.)”

I think that this would be a great idea. Many different view points will be heard and decisions will be made accordingly. In my eyes, this proposal makes a lot of sense.
“I propose to establish a special advisory council on the war on terror, made up of leaders in Congress from both political parties.”

In closing, I feel like this was a very well written speech. I really enjoyed the fact that he spent a good portion of his time talking about terrorism and the fact that it is still very real. Even though we have made progress in the war on terror, we still have a long way to go. I agree with him all the way when he talks about sending more troops to Iraq. Putting an end to terrorism is something that is high on his priority list. I like when he says, “to whom much is given, much is required”. If this is true, then America should be the police of the world. We should have a positive influence to where the direction of the country is headed.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

One day after Senator Hillary Clinton joined the 2008 presidential race, many other contenders came out of the wood-works and joined as well. Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico, announced his contention on Sunday, on ABC’s “This Week” He announced that he would form a presidential exploratory committee. Former US ambassador to the UN and energy secretary, Richardson, is looking to become the first Hispanic President that this country has ever had. His announcement was obviously heavily overshadowed by Clinton’s announcement. This presidential race should be exiting because many barriers have the potential to be broken. Senator Barrack Obama has the potential to become the first black president, Hilary Clinton to become the first female in office, and Richardson to become the first Hispanic. It should be one for the ages and be prepared for a Presidential barrier to be broken.

Bill Passing Process in the HOR

Many of the laws that we have today start out in one common place. They start in the Congress, but more specifically, the House of Representatives. This process that a bill goes through in order to become a law is very grueling and time consuming. Many thoughts and opinions are represented in order to make sure that this bill will have a positive impact on the life of Americans.

The first step for a bill to get passed the House of Representatives is it has to be thought of put on paper. This proposed bill has the potential to affect the whole country, so the language is chosen very carefully. Many times, the Representative will have an attorney who specializes in that legal issue look over the proposed bill and help with the word usage. These experts find flaws and strengths in the bill.

After the bill has been signed by the Representative, they must put it on “the hopper” for introduction. “The hopper” is the box where the newly drafted bills are placed. After the bill has been dropped, it will be assigned a number such as H.R. 1, or higher. If a bill was proposed from the Senate, then the number would look like this: S. 1. In such a case of a resolution of some sort, they will be titled H.Res. Or in the Senate’s case, S.Res.

Committee action is the next step in passing a bill. Hearings and Markups are the two steps in committee action. A hearing is when Congress invites people to come and listen to and give their opinion on the pending bill. After this, the markup takes place. The markup is when the committee writes the bill, line by line. The Chairman of the committee will start by making his critiques and this action is called the Chairman’s mark. During the markup session, the committee goes through the bill line by line, and the members propose amendments or ask the Committee to clarify something. The proposed amendments are voted on. Then finally the bill is voted on whether or not it will report to the House.

The bill will then go to the Rules Committee for a hearing. The Rules Committee has much power determining what kind of rules will be enforced on the floor in the House while the bill is being presented. Some examples of what kind of rules the Rule Committee makes is: how long the debate will last and what amendments will be offered. Non-controversial bills often go through a slightly different process and they are considered under the Suspension of Rules. These bills can only be considered for 40 minutes, require a 2/3 vote, and cannot be amended. However, for regular bills, once on the floor, the dill is debated and any amendments can be offered and voted on. The floor is open to any member of the House to come forth and speak of the bill. A final vote is taken whether or not to pass the bill.

Once the bill gets passed by the House of Representatives, then it is then passed over to the Senate. The Senate will continue the debates and see if there are any flaws in the bill. If the Senate chooses to pass this bill, then it will be handed over to the President. The President may choose to veto the bill or approve it. If the President signs it, then it becomes a law. If he chooses to veto it, then the bill will go back to Congress with the Presidents criticisms. Even though the President has vetoed it, the Congress may still enact the bill with a 2/3 vote or more, overriding the President’s veto.

This lengthy process of a bill getting passed can seem like a real hassle, but it is ultimately for the betterment of the country. It is a good thing that the proposed bill must be well researched and debated over before it even gets through the House. Any proposed bill must be debated over have good clear thoughts about the implications of the bill because if it does get passed, it could change someone’s life forever. This process protects us against irrational and poor laws. It helps protect our freedom as Americans and also ensures us that not one person or group in the government is to powerful.


Hodgson, Godfrey. The United States. Volume 2. New York. Round House Publishing, 1992.

Remini, Robert V. The House. New York: Harper Collins, 2006.