Welcome to The Dirksen Congressional Center's Communicator - a web-based e-newsletter providing educators with news and ideas to enhance civic education and improve the understanding of Congress -- http://www.webcommunicator.org

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NEWS FROM THE DIRKSEN CENTER
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Construction Progress

On February 11, 2002, The Dirksen Congressional Center announced plans to build a new facility in Pekin, Illinois. On May 23, 2002, the Board of Directors approved schematics for the building.

Find:

Plans for the new facility: http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_dcc_buildingprojectfinished.htm

View an artist's renderings of the building: http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_dcc_buildingprojectfinished.htm

Project schedule: http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_dcc_buildingprojectfinished.htm

Construction progress: http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_dcc_buildingprojectfinished.htm

Join The Dirksen Center Friends!

The Dirksen Congressional Center is pleased to offer an opportunity for you to join The Dirksen Center Friends. Your $25 annual dues will support the work of The Dirksen Congressional Center, a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts educational and research programs for scholars, teachers, and students. Join now and enjoy the benefits listed at: http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_dcc_friends.htm. Instructions for becoming a Dirksen Center Friend can be found at: http://www.dirksencenter.org/dcc_friendsmembership.htm

Thank you for your support!

The Work of Congressional Committees

Much of the work of Congress is done in committees. This is where bills are sent after they are introduced, hearings are held, and the first votes on proposed laws are taken. Visit The Dirksen Center's Web suite - http://www.dirksencongressionalcenter.org - to find resources that will help your students examine the role that congressional committees play in the legislative process of the U.S. Congress.

The Dirksen Center asked leading American political scientist Charles O. Jones to identify the ten most important points that a high school student should know about Congress. Find item 7 in Professor Jones's list, along with questions and activities that can be used in the classroom to illustrate his point that committees are important in both chambers for preparing bills and why they are especially critical in the House of Representatives. Find this item listed in What Every Student Should Know About Congress at: http://www.congresslink.org/print_expert_studentknow.htm.

There are four different types of congressional committees: (1) standing, (2) select, (3) joint, and (4) conference. Visit AboutGovernment to learn more about the structure of the committee system. Find Committee Types and Roles at: http://www.aboutgovernment.org/print_usgov_legis.htm.

The official legislative process begins when a bill or resolution is numbered and is referred to a committee. CongressLink posts information, adapted from "Congress at Your Fingertips" from Capital Advantage, that will help your students understand how our laws are made including committee action. Find How Our Laws Are Made: Short Version at: http://www.congresslink.org/print_basics_lawsmade.htm

The number of congressional subcommittees grew in the 20th century, and the explosion of interest groups means there are many more organizations trying to influence policy in the same area. The increase in interest groups and congressional subcommittees has led political scientists to think of these subsystems as issue networks rather than "iron triangles". What are "iron triangles"? Introduce our CongressLink featured lesson plan to help your students learn about iron triangles and understand how issue networks are formed at the federal level. Find Iron Triangles at: http://www.congresslink.org/print_lp_irontriangles.htm

The increase in subcommittees has made it possible for interest groups to deal with fewer legislators in pressing their position. CongressLink's "Related Lesson Plans" highlights the best lessons on the Web about Congress. One related lesson plan introduces students to the nature of the legislative process and helps them understand how committees and subcommittees help determine the outcome of this process by deciding which bills the full Congress will consider and by shaping the legislation upon which votes are finally cast. Find Congressional Committees and the Legislative Process at: http://www.congresslink.org/print_teaching_relatedlessons.htm

*NEW* Once a bill is written, you have to keep your eye on it because it starts to move. Sometimes a bill moves quickly, other times it moves slowly. You always have to be on your toes if you're going to follow it all the way until it becomes a law. Teachers, do your students know how a bill becomes a law? Are they aware of committee action in the process? Help your students learn that there is a definite process by introducing Bills on the Move found on Congress for Kids. Find this interactive exercise at: http://www.congressforkids.net/games/makinglaws/2_makinglaws.htm

Featured Project

Conference committees play a key role in the legislative process, but the literature on them remains relatively sparse. This month our featured project is a Congressional Research Award of $2,558 granted to Eric Hines from the University of Iowa. This study, Strategic Appointments to Conference Committees in the U.S. Congress, examines conferee selection to find the conditions under which party leaders make strategic appointments to conference committees. Learn more about this project and others at: http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_grants_civiced.htm

Committee Witty?

1. Legislation that has been passed in different forms by each chamber is reconciled into a single bill by...

A) standing committees
B) select committees
C) special committees
D) conference committees
E) secret committees

2. The House committee with primary jurisdiction over tax law is...

A) Appropriations
B) Financial Services
C) Ways and Means
D) Finance Committee

3. What specific kinds of bills can be introduced only in the House of Representatives?

20 Minute Activity

Teachers prepare a worksheet: List the different committees in the Senate and House of Representatives. It should also list various bill proposals. Pass out worksheets and have students match the bill to the committee they would assign to it. Discuss answers as a class.

Answers to the April issue of Fun, Facts, and Trivia link here: http://www.webcommunicator.org/funfactstrivia0403ans.htm

Have a great summer! Encourage your colleagues to subscribe to the Communicator. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, contact Cindy Koeppel. Your feedback makes a difference!