HOW YOU CAN INFLUENCE

THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS

Most of you learned how a bill becomes a law in middle school Social Studies class or through a well-known musical cartoon. But what your teachers may never have taught you was how you as a U.S. citizen can influence legislation that in turn will have enormous effects on the lives of Salvadorans. In this issue of the E-Newsletter you will be reminded of how the U.S. government works and how you can participate in the system in order to have your voice heard to create better conditions in El Salvador.

STEP 1: LEGISLATION IS INTRODUCED

Anyone can write a bill, but only a member of Congress can introduce legislation. A congressperson can introduce a bill anytime the House in is session.

What you can do : You as an activist can influence this process by writing your member of Congress (MOC) and asking them to work on a specific issue. When you go on delegation to El Salvador, make an appointment with local offices upon your return to let your MOC know about your experience. When you meet with your MOC, bring Salvadorans if possible! One good idea would be to plan local activities in your districts concerning important topics about El Salvador. When the activities are complete, you can send a report detailing your concerns to your MOC.

STEP 2: COMMITTEE ACTION

The bill is then sent to the proper committee. There are 19 House committees and 16 Senate committees, each with specific areas of public policy like agriculture, education, or foreign relations. Committees have a certain predetermined amount of time to read, discuss, and amend the bill. Committees can decide not to vote on the bill at all, thereby killing it. Sometimes the bill is referred to a subcommittee, which looks at it in closer detail, also amending the bill if necessary. The bill would then be sent back to the regular committee. If the bill survives the committee analysis, it is scheduled onto the respective chamber’s calendar.

What you can do : By calling or emailing committee members, you can lobby them to pay attention to particular legislation. If your MOC sits on a committee or subcommittee that sets policy which affects El Salvador, you have an important role to play: your MOC is in a decision-making position with regard to El Salvador and your advocacy efforts towards him/her are particularly critical. (See below for key committees.)

Key Committees:

• Senate and House Appropriations Committee--State and Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee (appropriates and monitors U.S. foreign aid budget and programming)
• Senate Foreign Relations--Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Narcotics
• Affairs Subcommittee AND House Foreign Affairs Committee--Western Hemisphere Subcommittee (sets and monitors U.S. foreign policy in Latin America)

STEP 3: FLOOR ACTION

Once a bill reaches the floor of its respective chamber (that is, the House of Representatives or the Senate) on its scheduled date, members of the chamber will debate and ask questions regarding the bill and make further amendments to it. Once it is discussed, it is voted upon. If it’s passed, it is sent to the other chamber and Step 3 is repeated in the remaining chamber. If the bill fails to pass in either chamber, it dies.

What you can do : To ensure that your legislation is passed, you can call or email your MOC and ask him or her to vote for your bill. Scheduling meetings with your MOC will also help in your efforts. When Salvadoran tours come visit the US, you can ask them to speak on behalf of their community or region and explain the challenges they face. Finally, you may want to write letters to the editors in your local newspapers or metropolitan newspapers. When your letter gets published, send a letter to your MOC to show that what you’re saying matters to newspapers, too.

STEP 4: CONFERENCE COMMITTEE

Most often when both the House and the Senate pass a bill, the amendments made to the bill in order to facilitate its passage in each chamber differ. These two similar but differing bills are then brought to a conference committee whose job it is to reach a compromise between the two versions of the bill. The committee is made up of both members of the House and Senate who are appointed by the chairs of the committees who originally dealt with the bill.

If the committee comes to a compromise with the bill, it prepares a report that is brought to and must be passed by both chambers.

What you can do : In order to advocate your interests, call or email members of the committee so that they know what attributes of the bill they should focus on. You may also want to schedule meetings with them in order to explain to them face-to-face what issues are most important to you.

STEP 5: THE BILL GOES TO THE PRESIDENT

If both chambers pass the committee’s amendments to the bill, it is the brought to the president. The president can either sign the bill or veto it. If s/he signs the bill, then it becomes a law.

If the president vetoes it, then the bill is sent back to the chambers to be voted upon once again. If both chambers pass the bill and therefore override the veto, then the bill becomes a law.

What you can do : This is the final step in the process of becoming a law that you can influence the bill’s passage. Call or email the president so that s/he can truly represent the view of the people of the US. You may also want to organize public activities to express your views about the content of the bill. Finally, writing letters to the editor of local or national newspapers is also a great way to have your voice heard in your community or even nationwide. Don’t forget that the most-read section of any paper is the letter of the editor—and that MOC read this page to get a sense of the issues important to their constituents.

If you are looking for other ways beyond legislation to affect change in El Salvador, you have a number of options. You can write letters to Salvadoran political leaders, including the President, the Attorney General, the Ambassador to the U.S., or other relevant officials. Finally, you can express your opinions to the U.S. State Department via the El Salvador Desk Officer or directly to the U.S. Ambassador in El Salvador by writing to the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador.