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

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 dynamics of Congress, the work of committees, floor procedures, reconciliation of differences between houses and presidential action.

Variations of this course, Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process, and Understanding Congress and Capitol Hill Workshop, have been taught in Washington, DC, for more than 40 years by TheCapitol.Net and its predecessor, Congressional Quarterly Executive Conferences.
 

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Congress, the Legislative Process, and the Fundamentals of Lawmaking Series

		"Congress, the Legislative Process, and the Fundamentals of Lawmaking Series," a Nine-Course audio series with Chris Davis (includes course materials in PDF).

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More Information
Agenda	When	Where	Related Training	Policies

 

The leadership competencies for this course include:

• Accountability
• External Awareness
• Strategic Thinking
• Partnering
• Political Savvy

This sponsored course is tailored for your group's specific needs.

The program fee for sponsored courses includes program development, faculty, and course materials, presented in the DC area at your location, for up to 20 attendees. *  We will contact you after we receive your registration to finalize details.

See the FAQs About Sponsored Courses for more information.   

Government agencies: please see the GSA Schedule for our GSA contract pricing.

TheCapitol.Net, Inc.
Contract GS02F0192X  

Bring this course to your location. 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. Not enough people for a sponsored or custom course? See these Capital Learning Audio CoursesTM Capitol Learning Congressional Operations Audio Courses Congressional Committees and Party Leadership: Who Controls the Congressional Agenda House Floor Procedures Understanding the Path of Legislation Congress, the Legislative Process, and the Fundamentals of Lawmaking, A Nine Course Series

 

Course materials include the Training Edition of the Congressional Procedure "An ideal guide, Richard Arenberg leads the way through the labyrinth of congressional procedure. Having staffed in both the House and Senate, crafted legislative tactics, and taught how Congress works, he can explain complex issues lucidly." -- Donald A. Ritchie, Historian Emeritus, U.S. Senate

Sample 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, on-site training program anywhere in the United States.  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: 202-678-1600.
Time and Dates	9:00 am to 4:30 pm This Sponsored Course Requires One (1) Day
Location	This course can be presented at your location in Washington, DC, or at a location in Washington, DC, that we provide.  * For a map with a brief list of hotels near the Capitol, click here. When we arrange space, we use these Washington, DC, locations.
Course Materials	Course materials include the Training Edition of the Congressional Deskbook
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.   Approved for .6 CEUs from George Mason University.
Related Training	Congressional Operations Briefing - Capitol Hill Workshop Advanced Legislative Procedure Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments How to Research and Compile Legislative Histories How to Find, Track, and Monitor Congressional Documents Understanding Congressional Budgeting and Appropriations The New Congress Update on Congress
Policies	See https://www.thecapitol.net/PublicPrograms/CoursePolicies_Sponsored.html 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 sponsored courses including suggested attire.
Program Fee and Registration	$11,875 - for up to 20 attendees *  The program fee includes program development, faculty, and course materials and presentation at your DC-area location for up to 20 attendees (sponsor provides classroom space, AV, and any breaks and lunch). For an additional fee, we can also provide classroom space in the DC area for up to 20 attendees, AV, breaks and lunch. We will contact you after we receive your registration to finalize details.  Registration and payment at least 3 weeks before the course is required so the program can be customized for your specific needs. For more information see FAQs About Our Sponsored Courses. * = This course can be also presented outside the DC area. Contact us for details.    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 202-688-2424.    Mail the completed form to us at TheCapitol.Net, Inc., PO Box 25706, Alexandria, VA  22313-5706
Available as custom, on-site training?	Yes.  This program can be tailored for on-site agency, association and corporate training.  Please call 202-678-1600 for information. Government agencies: please see the GSA Schedule for our GSA contract pricing. TheCapitol.Net, Inc. Contract GS02F0192X
Need more information?	Phone: 202-678-1600 Email: registrar -at- TheCapitol.Net Complete our online information request.
Non-Partisan	TheCapitol.Net is a non-partisan firm, and the opinions of its faculty, authors, clients and the owners and operators of its vendors are their own and do not represent those of TheCapitol.Net.

URLs: www.TheCapitol.Net/PublicPrograms/clp.html
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TCNCLP.com

This Sponsored Course Requires One Day
9:00 am to 4:30 pm

   
Approved for .6 CEUs from George Mason University.

All of our courses and workshops include extensive interaction with our faculty, making our courses and workshops both educational and mini-consulting sessions with substantive experts.

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

"Will allow me to understand the process behind ther budget and appropriations legislation affecting my department." 
-- Workshop Attendee, NGO

"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

"Very informative and easy to understand."  
-- Congressional Liaison Specialist, National Park Service

"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."
-- Vice President of Public Affairs, WesCorp

"I now know what my bosses do for a living."
-- Executive Assistant, Fortune 500 company

"Outstanding speakers with impeccable knowledge and experience."

"I now have a better understanding of the working of Congress and I see why the legislative process can be so long. It all was very useful since this is a new area of work for me-I feel better equipped to perform the duties of my job."
-- Attendee, Administrative Office of the US Courts

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

"Better able to strategize regarding lobbying efforts and better able to inform my members on status of legislation." 
-- Government Affairs staffer, national association

See more testimonials about this course.

Stanley Bach

Chris Davis

Chuck McCutcheon

Walter Oleszek

Betsy Palmer

Paul Rundquist

Judy Schneider

Congress - Published Schedules

Congress by the Numbers

Congressional Documents Online

Congressional Leadership and Committees (listing)

Federal Budget Links and Research Tools

Glossary of Congressional and Legislative Terms

Legislation and Legislatures, including national, state and local links

Resumes of Congressional Activity

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