College Of Political Knowledge
Civics 101
These days few people seem to have no knowledge of how our Congress works (granted the term ‘work’ may be a stretch)….so I thought that a quick short civics lesson is called for…..
The House of Representatives is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. Each state receives representation in the House in proportion to its population (there is a minimum of one Representative per state). Rhode Island currently has 2 representatives, David Cicilline and myself. Below are answers to some common questions about Congress and links to additional information related to the legislative process. Click on the questions to jump to the answers.
How are laws made?
How many members of Congress are there?
How long do members of Congress’s terms last?
What does a member of Congress do?
How can I tell what is currently happening on the House floor?
How can I watch the proceedings on the House floor?
How does a Representative introduce a bill?
How do I find out the status of a particular bill in the House of Representatives or the Senate?
What is the Congressional Record?
What is a roll call vote?
What is a Congressional recess?
What is the 115th Congress?
This is by no means a complete education on the functioning of our Congress but I will give the reader an understanding of the workings (when they actually do some work)….
If you want this country to survive then I suggest you read and re-read this and all others.
Do not let stupidity destroy this country…you can be the solution….now take it!
More civics lessons to come……
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In Saner Thought 
I think I will skip this class, on the grounds of living in England. 🙂
Best ishes, Pete.
No worries most Americans are skipping it as well….but I have to try chuq
Still, it’s interesting to understand how people don’t get things done in other countries. I personally think your system of government has some merits that outweigh the US system, specifically, multiple parties that share smaller parts of the pie and have to work with strange bedfellows sometimes to get a chance to have their agendas represented in proposed and passed laws. It’s “either/or” here, with two major parties. Many people – me for example – don’t feel kinship with either party and form a vast middle ground that is sort of slightly middle-conservative or slightly middle-liberal. It seems I read once those of us with no party affiliation are something like the middle third of the voters. I repeat, it isn’t that we don’t have agendas, it’s that neither major party has enough to offer to claim our loyalty.
It is interesting to know, I agree. I just feel your system fails because any progressive ideas from one party in power are so easily blocked by the process. In the UK, if the government has a majority of seats in parliament, say more than 25, they can almost always get their policies through. Regards, Pete.
You are exactly right there, Pete. I mean, when all the children were murdered in Connecticut, in 2012, you’d think any rational society would have seriously dealt with gun control. Nothing happened. The rebuilding of an aging infrastructure has been a talking item in the Congress for so many years, it’s a joke that finally got dealt with (sort of) in Biden’s first year. Anything that would benefit the most people hasn’t happened, but damn if the upper 1% of Americans by wealth didn’t make out like bandits during the corrupt administration of Donald J. Trump!
Thanks, Doug. I am only a ‘foreigner’, but we have to watch what America does, as the UK tends to tag along.
Best wishes, Pete.
A Dutch friend once noted everyone in the world should have a vote in American presidential elections because everyone in the world is affected by who Americans put in the White House. He was joking, of course, but there is sufficient truth in it.
I reposted this on Facebook, chuq. As you must be aware, that’s a vast pity of ignorance that needs some light.