Where Can I Find a List of Co-Sponsors of the Current PH Bill?
If you have questions about whether your U.S. Representative or Senators have co-sponsored the most recent version of the Tom Lantos PH Research and Education Act you can always contact Katie at 301-565-3004 x749 or advocacy@PHAssociation.org.
If you prefer to look up this information yourself, visit http://thomas.loc.gov/.
- In the box marked “Search Bill Text” type “Pulmonary Hypertension Research and Education Act”
- Generally, you should only get one option as a result of this search. If you get more than one option, select the one that lists the most recent year.
- Click on the link to the appropriate bill. This will take you to a copy of the bill text.
- Click on “bill summary and status” in the boxes at the top of the page.
- Click on “co-sponsors”
- This will result in a list of co-sponsors which you can view by last name or by date of co-sponsorship.
I hear people refer to majority and minority parties.
What are they talking about?
Both of the country’s two major political parties – the Democrats
and Republicans – are represented in each chamber of Congress.
Each chamber of Congress identifies the political party with the
most members in that chamber as the majority party and the one
with the least members in that chamber as the minority party.
I have seen people refer to Congress in numbers like
107th. What do these numbers mean?
The term ‘Congress’ can mean two things: (1) the people and processes
that work to make laws; or (2) the time in which that work is
done. There is a period of time lasting two calendar years that
is called a Congress. Every time a Congress passes, it is counted
and often referred to when describing legislative activity. The 111th Congress begins in January 2009.
What happens after a bill dies?
If a bill does not pass, it is considered ‘dead’ for the rest
of that Congress (Here ‘Congress’ is referred to as a period
of time.) It can be introduced in the next Congress. It will
get a new number and previous co-sponsors are not automatically
listed as supporters. They must co-sponsor the bill again to have
their support recognized for the new bill. The bill must go through
the same legislative process in order to potentially become law.
My congressman co-sponsored the PH Research Act over
two years ago. How come I don’t see him listed as a co-sponsor?
If your congressman does not resubmit himself as a co-sponsor
each time the PH Research Act is introduced, he will not be considered
a co-sponsor of the legislation. What happened is that he co-sponsored
the bill, but the bill died, and he did not co-sponsor it again
after it was reintroduced.
What is a companion bill?
Sometimes a Senate bill and a House bill have the same content.
These are called ‘companion bills.’ Companion bills allow legislation
to move through both chambers at the same time.
What is a discharge petition?
Bills often die in committee. In order to get a bill to move out
of committee and to further action, a discharge petition may be
submitted within 30 days after the bill was first referred to
committee. In the House, this requires that at least 218 representatives
sign on to a petition to move the bill out of committee. In the
senate, all senators must sign a discharge petition and it is
very rarely used.
I heard that there is a Congressional
PH Caucus. What does this mean?
Members of Congress create and join into special groups with certain
interests. These groups are called caucuses. Caucuses can include
representatives, senators, or a mix or both. Caucuses are named
for the common interest of its members. For example, the Congressional
Women’s Caucus is concerned with issues affecting women. Caucuses
meet to discuss ways to promote the issue of common interest in
Congress and to outside parties such as the President or executive
branch agencies.
