s on several committees. In
both houses the committees are elected. The chairman and a majority
of the members of each committee are from the members of the party
that has a majority in the house.

Steps in the Progress of a Bill.--(1) The first step in the
progress of a bill is its _introduction_. This is done in the House by
merely placing the bill in a basket on the clerk's desk. In the Senate
the member introducing a bill rises and asks leave to introduce it.

(2) The bill is next _referred_ to a committee.

(3) If the committee decides that the bill should go further they
_report it_ back to the house.

The house will in a great majority of cases pass or reject it according
to the committee's recommendation. Few bills are debated in either
house, and in the most of these cases the discussion has no influence
upon the fate of the bill--it is meant merely to be heard or to be
printed. Hence, it is in that intermediate stage between the reference
of the bill to a committee and the report on it that the real work of
legislation is accomplished.

The Power of Committees over Bills.--A committee may exercise the
utmost freedom with respect to the bills referred to it. The greater
number of bills receive no consideration whatever from the committees;
these may never be reported if the committees see fit to ignore them.
Other bills are amended by the committees, or new bills are substituted
for them. Such is the power intrusted to Congressional committees.
However, if a majority of the house wishes, it may take up for
discussion a bill which one of its committees has decided not to report
back.

Many of the important committees have separate rooms where their
meetings are held. Here the members may confer in secret, or they
may hold public hearings; i.e., persons are invited to give
testimony or to make arguments. Frequently the majority members of
a committee hold separate meetings, determine their policy, and
then adhere to it regardless of the wishes of the minority members.
The latter may present a separate report called the _minority
report_ of the committee.

Consideration of Bills.--(4) In the next step, the bill is brought
before the house for consideration. How is it determined which bills
shall be thus favored? In some measure this depends upon the importance
and the merits of the bill; but it depends more upon the skill and
influence of the me