They would then move every bill through between the House and the Senate one at a time during the summer and spring months to work out disagreements among the chambers, and make sure they were approved by the president prior the close in the year's fiscal period, September. 30 to ensure that the government won't be interrupted. The lawmakers who supervised the subcommittees for appropriations were referred to as "cardinals," reflecting the magnitude of their power and they guarded their power over their specific areas within the Federal government. The panels that dealt with spending were the best place for lawmakers looking to exercise influence.

Electing a New Speaker of the House

The Representative Kevin McCarthy won the speakership following a rout in his own Republican Party set off a long period of unsuccessful votes.

These days, however, seem to be a long way off from the days when bills were written using quill pen. The foundational work continues to be done when representatives of the Appropriations committees and, most especially, their staffscompose the bills, however, the process is conducted with little public scrutiny and less transparency. It is also difficult to get the legislation in its entirety through both chambers Filibusters are the norm, not the only exception in the Senate The measures are almost always mangled together into massive bundles.

Only six of the twelve separate bills for appropriations were discussed by the House in the past year, but none made it to the Senate floor.

Instead, the top members of the committees decided on about what the "top line" spending number would be, and then worked out draft versions of the individual bills and then huddled with heads of both the Senate and the House to reach a consensus on the final legislation the latter part of December. The committee members were then faced with a decision to either leave it or take it as the year ended and the possibility of longer time in Washington during the holiday season and a sever shutdown of the government during Christmas as an alternative should they choose to not to go through with the legislation. The leadership also added other bills they believed were essential to pass which included a change to the method by which presidential election votes are counted.

House Republicans were largely out of the drama, but Senate Republicans were able to have a significant influence since they needed to give enough votes to defeat any filibuster. This was a classic case of legislating in a way that was ugly as well House Republicans have promised that this will not happen again.

However, there are explanations for why this has happened one of which is the increased partisanship in Congress. Although the appropriations process was always had a dose of bipartisanship -- as well as lawmakers were treated like a group unto themselves This aura has diminished as a more polarized political climate has taken over.

The bills are a prime target for political attacks once they come to the floor and both parties are forced to limit their ability to make amendments that will protect their members from having to take hard votes. The boundaries have become a mess the lawmakers, and Republicans have promised to relax the restrictions. However, it could make it difficult for legislators for them, as Democrats have discovered.
http://www.dream11today.com/republicans-prepare-new-rules-but-fixing-congress-isnt-so-easy/