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Hi, my name is Kate Witte and I am an incoming senior at Woodbury High School. Here is the story of how a bill that I proposed became a law.

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I wanted to pass the law that women caught drinking alcohol while pregnant should be fined.

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I wanted to pass the law that women caught drinking alcohol while pregnant should be fined.

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"My neighbors and I are worried about the damage to fetuses when women drink alcohol while pregnant.”

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So we wrote letters to our congressional representative, Betty McCollum, and to our senators Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar, telling them that we want them to introduce a bill to punish women who are found drinking while pregnant.

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Senator Franken and Congresswoman McCollum agreed to introduce the bill into the Senate and House. Senator Klobuchar declined the bill because she was afraid this would provoke the pro-life voters, and she will need their support if she wants to run for president.

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In the house, members of the “Ways and Means” committee assigned the bill to the “Energy and Commerce”

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The Senate Rules and Administration Committee assigned the bill to the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

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Each committee held hearings and ended up recommending the bill for passage along party lines. The Republicans saw the bill as a way to affirm the “personhood” of a fetus. The democrats voted against the bill out of similar concerns.

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The bill went to the floor of each chamber and was adopted again along party lines.

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The Senate Democrats threatened to filibuster. The Republicans threatened to eliminate the filibuster, so the democrats backed down.

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A committee of Representatives and Senators needed to reconcile the differences between the two bills. When they reached agreement, they referred the bills back to the House and Senate for reconsideration.

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The House and the Senate passed the revised bills.

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The bill then went to the Trump White House.

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Trump decided to veto the bill because it’s an example of additional government regulation.

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The House and the Senate had observed that Donald Trump has low approval ratings, so they decided to override his veto.

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The Republicans were able to get Democrats to support the bill by agreeing not to repeal from ObamaCare.

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And thus, the bill was passed! WOOOOOO!!!!

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Any Questions?

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1. The ruling committee has to assign the bill to the policy committee

2. The policy committee would have hearings, “markup” the text, and write a report.

3. They would vote whether to refer the bill for adoption.

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It doesn’t have to be. It usually isn't .

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Often in the House, bills pass by voice vote. Often in the Senate, the opposition objects to voice vote and asks for roll call votes.

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The Republicans vote to support the bill because it would emphasize the “personhood” of a fetus, the Democrats are reluctant to sign on because they think the bill will be used to talk about the “personhood” of a fetus.

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No, congressmen and senators do not have to vote. There is no law requiring them to vote.