Abstract

Is the Schoolhouse Rock! cartoon version of the conventional legislative process really dead? According to some legal academics, traditional Congressional procedures, documented in the cartoon I’m Just a Bill, have been replaced by unorthodox lawmaking—frequent and significant procedural legislative deviations. In actuality, the iconic cartoon and the traditional process are not ready for the grave just yet.

This paper documents the many nuances in orthodox and unorthodox lawmaking by reviewing over 1,500 laws passed between the 111th to116th Congresses and the information sources produced for each to evaluate how pervasive unorthodox law-making really is. The results show the true balance between orthodoxy and unorthodoxy is very much tilted toward the former. They can even co-exist.

Ultimately, this study suggests unorthodox lawmaking’s entry into law needs a reboot. Instead of considering the concept as an all-encompassing and dominant phenomenon, such procedures should be viewed as some of many instruments in the Congressional “toolbox.” This more realistic approach should be bolstered by an interdisciplinary dialogue to fully understand what unorthodox lawmaking means to the law and legal research. Further, more historical research is necessary to determine which procedures are actually traditional and which are unorthodox.

The study also shows where the traditional model could use addenda. The ability to make floor amendments is severely restrained. House floor debate is common, while Senate floor statements are rare. Conference committee reports are rarer still, while the availability of regular committee information is “hit or miss.” This qualifying of the traditional view of legislation will dispel many difficulties legal researchers of legislative information are likely to face.

In the meantime, Schoolhouse Rock!’s I’m Just a Bill remains very much alive!

ISSN

1058-4323

Keywords

congressional procedure, legislative procedure, Congress, House, Senate, house rules committee, legislative history, amendment between the houses, statutes, laws

Disciplines

Law | Law and Politics | Legal History | Legal Writing and Research | Legislation

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