Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process Get a crash course on the legislative process in just one day (Click here for our public course)
Does your staff know how a bill really becomes law? Are they familiar with committee procedures? Do they know where in the legislative process they can can have an impact?
If understanding and following legislation is now part of your staff's job, they can get up to speed in a single information-packed day.
This program is for those who need to know:
How and why the House and Senate are two different animals -- and their procedural differences
How bills are introduced and referred to committees
Committee hearings, markups and reports
How legislation survives to the floor and the rules and procedures that help or harm it
How the two chambers reconcile differing legislation
"The Congressional Deskbook is perfect for anyone who wants to understand how Congress works. It is concise, clarion clear and comprehensive all at once. It is spare and crisp -- but it never oversimplifies. It is written in lay language, but it never 'dumbs it down.' The Congressional Deskbook is a unique tool, one that I use regularly." -- David Hawkings, Senior Editor, Congressional Quarterly
The Work of Committees: Hearings, Markups and Committee Reports
Types of committees
Membership of committees
The work of subcommittees: hearings, markups
Committee reports
How the Senate Schedules and Votes on Legislation
Senate Calendars
Scheduling procedures and the amendment process
Unanimous consent time agreements; the "hold"
Filibusters; cloture motions
How Legislation Gets to the House Floor and House Floor Procedures
Rules Committee, open, closed, modified rules
House Calendars
Suspension of the rules
House floor procedures and the amendment process
Committee of the Whole
Reconciling Differences Between the House and Senate
Reconciling differences via amendments between the Houses
Conference committee procedures and reports
Presidential Action
Presidential action
Veto override
Lunch and breaks scheduled as appropriate
All custom training is tailored for each organization and audience. Topics from this program can be combined with topics from our other programs and with topics from your existing training programs.
Sample Agendas
Sample agendas of different versions of this program tailored for previous custom clients are available in Adobe PDF.
Basic understanding of congressional operations or a minimum of six-month's experience working with the legislative process, or completion of our Congress In A Nutshell: Understanding Congress course recommended.
Audience Size
This program is most effective for between 20 and 70 attendees.
Don't have enough people for a custom, on-site program? You can still train your staff at our public course.
Previous Clients
Variations of this program have been presented for federal agencies, military departments, law enforcement agencies, labor unions, associations, and corporations.
Our selected client list includes clients who have purchased custom training, sent staff to our public programs and who have purchased our publications.
Materials can include personal copy of the Training Edition of the Congressional Deskbook for each attendee.
Length and Location
Usually requires 1 day.
This program is usually held in Washington, DC. It can be presented anywhere in the United States and in many foreign countries.
Internal Marketing
To help you publicize and market a custom program to your organization's audience, we can provide printed materials and language for your own internal promotion and publicity.
The fee for this program depends on the location, number of attendees, length, and training materials. Call us for details, or complete our custom program information request for more information.
If you don't have enough people for a custom, on-site program, you can still train your staff at our public course.
The program fee includes pre-program development and design, materials for your internal marketing and promotion, all course materials, and faculty chosen for your topic and your audience at the time and location you choose.
Our custom program clients provide the classroom/meeting space, all audio visual equipment, any food and beverages, all registration functions, and travel arrangements for attendees. When the program is held outside the Washington, DC metro area, travel arrangements for faculty can be made by the client or by us.
We can also provide meeting space, audio visual equipment, food and beverage, registration, and travel arrangements, though this affects program cost.
TheCapitol.Net, Inc., is a non-partisan small business, and a Virginia corporation. We are registered with CCR. See our Capability Statement and our About Us page for more details.
TheCapitol.Net is a non-partisan firm, and the opinions of its faculty, authors, clients and the owners and operators of its vendors are their own and do not represent those of TheCapitol.Net.
All custom training from TheCapitol.Net is tailored for each organization and audience. Topics from this program can be combined with topics from our other programs and with topics from your existing training programs.
Public Course
If you don't have enough staff for a custom, on-site training program, you can still train your staff at our public course.
Rave Reviews
"Perfect balance of basic historical background and complex procedural info. Strongly recommend." Public Affairs Specialist, Office of Justice Programs
"Being in the military, I feel all persons who handle Congressional Correspondence should attend this conference. Highly recommended." Workshop Attendee, Office of the Secretary of the Navy
"I have tried to learn this info by watching C-SPAN and reading an old Understanding Congress notebook, but this class is what I needed to bring it all together."
"Tons of info. Very good program." Manager State Government Affairs, Eastman Kodak Co.
"Very helpful seminar--useful for anyone trying to make sense of the US legislative process." Vice President of Public Affairs, WesCorp
"I now know what my bosses do for a living."
"Outstanding speakers with impeccable knowledge and experience."
"Good background and useful printed material to use as a reference."
Our faculty for this program are all Hill veterans with current Hill experience.
Internal Marketing
To help you publicize and market a custom program to your organization's audience, we can provide printed materials and language for your own internal promotion and publicity.