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Who Writes Bills?

Who Writes Bills?

Who writes most bills in Congress? What are they really about? And how do special interest groups factor into all this?

Civics 101

March 21, 202326m 51s

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Show Notes

If you've learned about things like Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances, you know the tried and true notion that Congress makes the laws, the executive branch enforces them, and the judicial branch interprets them. But would it surprise you to hear that's not how it goes most of the time?

Today we explore who really writes the majority of legislation in the US, and how it got to be that way. We talk with Dan Cassino of Fairleigh Dickinson University, who breaks down that first step of the legislative process.

Here are links to our related episodes; How a Bill (Really) Becomes a Law and Citizens United.

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  • To see Civics 101 in book form, check out A User's Guide to Democracy: How America Works by Hannah McCarthy and Nick Capodice, featuring illustrations by Tom Toro.
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