TheCapitol.Net > Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process

Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process
How Congress really works: in practice, not in theory.

Agenda Client Testimonials When Where Tuition Policies Related Resources

Do you need to understand, or train others in, how a bill becomes law, congressional operations, amendment trees or where in the legislative and public policy process you can have an impact? Do you have questions about Capitol Hill dynamics that no one can answer (or that you�re too afraid to ask)?

If your job requires you to understand, follow, and impact legislation, or if you�re new to government affairs, here's your chance to get up to speed in one information-packed day.

This course shows you:

How the House and Senate differ

Where ideas for bills really come from, and how bills are introduced and referred

How committee hearings, markups and reports work

How legislation reaches the floor

Rules and procedures that help or hurt legislation

Floor action in the House and Senate

How the two chambers reach agreements

The President's options and Congress' recourse

This seminar provides an in-depth examination of congressional operations, House and Senate legislative procedures, the work of committees, floor procedures, reconciliation of differences between houses and presidential action.

The leadership competencies for this course include:
Accountability
External Awareness
Strategic Thinking
Partnering
Political Savvy

This is a required course for the Certificate in Congressional Operations.

Bring this course to your site.

This course and any combination of its topics are available as custom on-site training for your organization. We have tailored this course for attorneys, program analysts, administrative assistants, scientists, and others. For more information about how this training can help your members and staff, please contact our client liaison.

Space is limited.

If you get a "Wait List Only" message when registering, please select the next date.
Click this link to add this program to your Google calendar (opens current month in new window or tab).

Next Course
September 16, 2010:
For location in Washington, DC, see below.
$595

If you get a "Wait List Only" message when registering, please select the next available date.

Approved for .6 CEUs from George Mason University.

Congressional Operations
Strategies for Working with Congress
Federal Budgeting

For a printable course description, agenda with dates, and registration form, click here. (pdf)

Course materials include

Congressional Deskbook: The Practical and Comprehensive Guide to Congress. Fifth Edition

Course materials include the Training Edition of the Congressional Deskbook

"The Congressional Deskbook is perfect for anyone who wants to understand how Congress works. It is concise, clarion clear and comprehensive all at once. It is spare and crisp -- but it never oversimplifies. It is written in lay language, but it never 'dumbs it down.' The Congressional Deskbook is a unique tool, one that I use regularly."
-- David Hawkings, Senior Editor, Congressional Quarterly

Course Details

Agenda

Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process

9:00 am to 4:30 pm
(networking lunch at approximately 12 noon)

Welcome and Introduction

Overview of the Legislative Process

Why Congress behaves the way it does
Differences between House and Senate procedures
Politics and dynamics of Congress

Introduction and Referral of Legislation

Where ideas for bills come from
Drafting of legislation
Introduction and obtaining cosponsors
Referral of bills to committees
Types of referrals

The Work of Committees: Hearings, Markups and Committee Reports

Types of committees
Membership of committees
The work of subcommittees: hearings, markups
Committee reports

How the Senate Schedules and Votes on Legislation

Senate Calendars
Scheduling procedures and the amendment process
Unanimous consent time agreements; the "hold"
Filibusters; cloture motions

How Legislation Gets to the House Floor and House Floor Procedures

Rules Committee, open, closed, modified rules
House Calendars
Suspension of the rules
House floor procedures and the amendment process
Committee of the Whole

Reconciling Differences Between the House and Senate

Reconciling differences via amendments between the Houses
Conference committee procedures and reports

Presidential Action

Presidential action
Veto override

This is a sample agenda: the actual topics may differ slightly. This course is available as a custom program.

Do you need a training course we don't offer or coverage of an additional topic in this course?

If you have suggestions for courses or topics you would like to see us offer, please contact us or complete our online suggestion form.

Suggested Prerequisites

Basic understanding of congressional operations or a minimum of six-month's experience working with the legislative process, or completion of our Congress in a Nutshell course recommended.

If you need help deciding which courses you should take based on your work experience or training, please contact us via email or phone: 703-739-3790.

Rave Reviews

"Tons of info. Very good program."
-- Manager State Government Affairs, Eastman Kodak Co.

"Perfect balance of basic historical background and complex procedural info. Strongly recommend."
-- Public Affairs Specialist, Office of Justice Programs

"Being in the military, I feel all persons who handle Congressional Correspondence should attend this course. Highly recommended."
-- Workshop Attendee, Office of the Secretary of the Navy

"I have tried to learn this info by watching C-SPAN and reading an old Understanding Congress notebook, but this class is what I needed to bring it all together."

"Very helpful seminar--useful for anyone trying to make sense of the US legislative process. Thanks!!"
-- Vice President of Public Affairs, WesCorp

"I now know what my bosses do for a living."

"Outstanding speakers with impeccable knowledge and experience."

"Good background and useful printed material to use as a reference."

See more testimonials about this course.

Time and Dates

9:00 am to 4:30 pm

Th, September 16, 2010
F, December 3, 2010
F, February 4, 2011
F, June 3, 2011
Th, September 16, 2011
W, December 7, 2011
F, February 4, 2012

If you get a "Wait List Only" message when registering, please select the next available date.

Location

September 16, 2010: Goethe-Institut, 812 Seventh Street NW, Washington, DC (Gallery Place / Chinatown Metro stop) Our map | Google Map

Other dates: Location in Washington, DC will be announced before course. Our courses are held at these Washington, DC, locations.

Course Materials

Course materials include the Training Edition of the Congressional Deskbook

Tuition

$595

If you get a "Wait List Only" message when registering, please select the next available date.

Discounts

When 4 people from the same organization register and pay together, the 4th person is free. When 8 people from the same organization register and pay together, the 4th and 8th persons are both free. See complete details here.

Certificate of Training
and
CEUs

A Certificate of Training is available for this course. To get a Certificate of Training, your registration fee must be paid in full, and you must attend the entire course.

This course is approved for .6 CEUs from George Mason University.

This is a required course for the Certificate in Congressional Operations.

Policies

For this course, substitutions, cancellations, and transfers must be submitted in writing to us. Our transfer and cancellation fees are outlined below.

Transfer and Cancellation Fee
Time Before Course	Substitutions Allowed	Transfer Fee	Cancellation Fee
More than 4 weeks	Yes, in writing	None	None
2 to 4 weeks	Yes, in writing	25% of tuition	50% of tuition
3 days to 2 weeks	Yes, in writing	50% of tuition	75% of tuition
1 to 2 days	Yes, in writing	75% of tuition	100% of tuition
day of program (no refunds to no-shows)	Yes, in writing	100% of tuition	100% of tuition

No refunds for no shows. We reserve the right to change this fee and time period.

TCN reserves the right to cancel any course in the event of insufficient registrations.

All statements and discussion at all of our courses, workshops and seminars, public and custom, are off the record and not for attribution, unless specified otherwise. The resulting confidentiality ensures a frank and free exchange of views.

FAQs

FAQs about our training including suggested attire.

Register

Payment methods we accept include checks, EFT/ACH, and Intuit Payment Network (IPN).

If you get a "Wait List Only" message when registering, please select the next available date.

Fax or Mail: Print out and complete the registration form (in Adobe pdf) . The completed form should include your method of payment.
Fax the completed form to us at 703-739-1195.
Mail the completed form to us at TheCapitol.Net, Inc., PO Box 25706, Alexandria, VA 22313-5706

Related Training

Related Resources

Educational Tracks

Available as custom, on-site training?

Yes. This program can be tailored for on-site agency, association and corporate training. Please call 703-739-3790 for information.

Need more information?

Phone: 703-739-3790
Email: registrar -at- TheCapitol.Net
Complete our online information request.

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