How Laws Are Made/Congressional Members
To Visit our Representatives Contact Page, Click Here
Everyone is highly encouraged to maintain regular contact with their local Representatives and our two Senators. The Commonwealth is divided into 6 Congressional Districts, with each district having one US Representative each.
Every state in the Union consists of two Senators. Kentuckies two Senators are Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning. Unlike the Representatives, these two Congressmen represent the entire state, however, they each have offices in each of the districts.
For those of you interested, click on this link on how laws are made. Believe it or not, YOU and I can write a law. The slightly disheartening portion of lawmaking is that a very small percentage actually make it far enough to "become law".
Uncontroversial legislation is often voted on by unanimous consent or voice vote. Other bills may require time for debate, and senators may choose to offer amendments to the bill. The Senate is unique in that the right of individual senators to keep debate alive is protected. Unlike the House of Representatives, where a simple majority can instantly shut down debate and silence the minority, at least sixty senators must vote to invoke cloture, or end debate. Often, this is referred to as a filibuster when cloture is not invoked. If unanimous consent to proceed to vote on a measure exists, or if cloture is invoked, then the Senate will vote on the final passage of the legislation.
For a bill to become law, it must pass both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Sometimes a bill passes one chamber and is voted on by the other after going through a similar committee system. Other times, both chambers pass similar bills, and those bills go to a conference committee composed of senators and representatives. The conferees try to iron out the differences between the two bills. If they are successful, the final bill is reported to each chamber to be voted on as is, with no more amendments possible. If both chambers pass the bill, it is then sent to the president. The president can either sign it into law or veto it and return it to Congress. Should Congress override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote, the bill becomes law without the president's signature.
Needless to say, the number of bills passed by the Senate represents a small number of those introduced. During the 108th Congress (2003-2004), 3,077 bills and joint resolutions were introduced in the Senate, and only 504 of these became law. The lengthy and complicated process requires the majority and minority parties to compromise in order to achieve better public policy and provides time for public discourse as well.