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Social Studies 5: How a Bill Becomes a Law 31 Views
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Description:
Sorry, gang... looks like we'll have to wait for a 2/3 majority to outlaw Nickelback. We're disappointed, too.
Transcript
- 00:04
[Dino and Coop playing music]
- 00:13
What would the U.S. be like if anyone could pass any law they wanted? [Question mark flag]
- 00:18
Well, if someone thinks mushrooms are gross, they'd simply outlaw mushrooms entirely! [Mushroom pizza]
- 00:22
Sick of hearing annoying music on the radio? [Person adjusting radio]
- 00:24
Ban music, full-stop!
Full Transcript
- 00:26
Don't like when people snort when they laugh? [Person snorts and laughs]
- 00:28
Well then, why not make it illegal to laugh at all? [Police arrive]
- 00:30
Things would get out of control pretty quickly, and before long,
- 00:33
no one would be allowed to do anything. [Person crying in jail]
- 00:35
Thankfully, you can't just waltz into the Oval Office and make a law. [Guard becomes angry]
- 00:38
…You could try to tango, but we have a feeling that wouldn't work either. [People dancing]
- 00:42
And the process of making a law?
- 00:44
It isn't exactly easy. [Proposed law on conveyor belt]
- 00:45
See, it all starts with a proposed law, which either the House or the Senate writes up in
- 00:49
the form of a bill. [Bills exit machine]
- 00:51
Once the bill is written, it has to be sent over to whichever one of the two didn't make
- 00:55
it, in order to receive approval with a two-thirds majority vote. [Person enters office with bill]
- 00:59
Must be nice being able to approve or deny bills sent to you.
- 01:02
We're always stuck paying full price at Red Lobster. [Man holds bill]
- 01:05
Anyway, the process is a whole lot easier said than done, but we'll pretend for a moment
- 01:09
that everyone always gets along and it all goes according to plan. [People dancing]
- 01:13
Dare to dream, right? [Person dreaming]
- 01:14
Once it's approved, the bill makes its way to the most powerful person in America in
- 01:18
order for them to approve and sign it.
- 01:20
Yup, the one, the only…the Preeee…janitor?
- 01:23
What are you doing in the President's chair? [Larry sits happily]
- 01:25
Ughhh Larry's the worst…
- 01:27
Anyway. The President gets final approval. [President signs bill]
- 01:30
Once the president takes a look at it and approves it, then that bill turns into a law.
- 01:34
Of course, the president doesn't have to approve it if they don't want to…but they'll need
- 01:38
some pretty convincing constitutional reasons.
- 01:40
"I don't like the ugly font you used, rewrite it in Impact." [President disapproves]
- 01:43
And if they do deny it, then it goes back to whichever body made it with a list of the president's objections,
- 01:49
giving them an opportunity to modify it based on those objections. [Modified bill exits machine]
- 01:52
If all those objections are addressed – and both houses give it a two-thirds majority
- 01:56
vote - well hey, then we've got ourselves a shiny new law. [New law sparkles]
- 02:00
Of course, getting everyone to agree on turning a bill into a law is never as easy as it sounds.
- 02:05
In fact, it's probably even more difficult than trying to get an entire family to agree
- 02:08
on where to eat for dinner. [Child makes suggestion]
- 02:09
And as anyone with siblings knows, that's basically a never-ending battle. [Other child disagrees]
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