he is unable to pay can force the people he owes to let him start over again free of debt.

✓ The Congress makes and keeps the weights and measures the same for all the people. For example, a yard is thirty-six inches at every place in the United States because the Congress says that it must be so. This authority over weights and measures may not seem important. But the people would have trouble in carrying on trade if each State had a different standard for a pound, a quart, or a yard.

The seat of the National Government is located in the District of Columbia. The Congress makes the important laws which govern the people in the District of Columbia.

AUTHORITY NOT GIVEN IN EXPRESS TERMS, BUT SUGGESTED

The Fathers of the Constitution listed most of the authority of the Congress in clear terms. But they gave the Congress some general authority. The Congress can make all laws that are necessary and proper to carry out the powers that are delegated to the National Government. This is the implied power of the Congress. It has proved to be very important.

An example will help to explain what the implied authority means to the Congress. For example, the Constitution does not say in express words that the National Government can take private property for public use. But the National Government must have lands for public buildings such as post offices. The lands are necessary. If the persons who own the lands will not sell them to the National Government, the Congress may take them and pay the fair market value.

KINDS OF LAWS THAT THE CONGRESS MAY NOT MAKE

The Fathers of the Constitution did more than list the authority of the Congress. They knew that lawmaking bodies in other countries had attempted to use authority that the people had not delegated. They wanted to make certain that our National Government would keep within its authority. So they listed, in the Constitution, many

different kinds of authority that the National Govern- v ment cannot use.

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The Congress cannot tax exports-goods that are ✓ shipped to foreign countries. It cannot tax different per- ▾ sons at different rates in different States. It cannot prefer one State over another in trade laws. The Congress v cannot spend money without telling what it is spent for. These limits on the authority of the Congress help to keep business free. They help to prevent the making of laws that are not fair.

In our study of the Bill of Rights we learned some of the limits on the authority of the Congress. There are others. It cannot pass laws to punish a person for a wrong that was not a crime at the time he did it. It cannot ✓ take away his right to be heard in court before a fair judge.

Every person charged with a crime can demand that he be taken before a judge and be told by what law he is kept in prison. The Congress cannot do away with this right except in time of very great danger. These limits on the authority of the Congress help us to enjoy our rights and our liberty.

THE OFFICERS IN THE CONGRESS

The Fathers of the Constitution knew that each House must have officers to keep its work in order. The Constitution says, therefore, that the Vice President of the United States shall be the President of the Senate. It also says that the House of Representatives shall choose one of its Members to direct its meetings. He is called the Speaker. If the President and Vice President should die or be unable to act, he would become President. The Senate elects one of its members to take charge when the Vice President is absent.

Of course, the chief officer of each House must have help. He cannot do all of the work. Each House, therefore, selects a Clerk, a Secretary, and other officers. They are not Members of the Congress. They do not vote in the Congress.

HOW A LAW STARTS ON ITS WAY THROUGH THE CONGRESS

The Members of the Congress suggest many laws. The President often asks the Congress to pass certain laws. We can ask our Senator or Congressman to start a law that we want. He may write a "bill" along the lines that we suggest. When a suggested law is on its way through the Congress, it is called a "bill"

A Senator or Congressman starts a bill on its way by putting a copy of it into a box on the Clerk's desk. He may hand the bill to the chief officer of the House. When the bill reaches the Clerk's desk, it is given a title and numV ber. This is called the "first reading" of the bill.

A BILL GOES TO A COMMITTEE

The Clerk then refers the bill to the proper committee. Thousands of bills are started at each session of the Congress. It is easy to see that all of the Members in each House cannot study every bill. So each bill is studied by a small group of Members. These groups are called com✓ mittees.

Each House of the Congress appoints its own committees. Each committee studies all of the bills on one subject. The subjects deal with the matters over which the Congress has authority: Navy, taxes, banks, immigration, naturalization, etc. A very important committee in each House considers tax bills. Every tax bill coming before each House goes to its committee on this subject.

The committee may find that the suggested law is very necessary. The committee may ask persons interested in the bill to appear before it. They tell why they are for or against the bill. The committee may find that there is no need for the suggested law.

The committee takes a vote. It may make no report. It may report that it does not approve the bill. In that case, usually no further action is taken.

The majority of the committee members may decide that the bill should become a law. The committee then

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reports to its House that the bill should pass. But the committee may feel that changes should be made. It may write a new bill along the same lines and ask that the new bill be passed.

SECOND AND THIRD READINGS OF A BILL

After the committee reports in favor of the bill, it is read, sentence by sentence, by the Clerk to the House. This is called the "second reading" of the bill. At that time, the Members can suggest ways to improve the bill.

The "third reading" of a bill is by title only. It is then put to a vote of the House. The Members of the House may vote "yes" or "no."

A BILL GOES TO THE OTHER HOUSE

After a bill passes one House, it goes through the same steps in the other House. If either House votes "no," that is the end of the bill. No bill can become a law unless it is passed in the same form by both Houses. If it passes both Houses, it is ready to be signed by the President of the United States.

If a bill is changed by the second House, it is sent back to the House in which it started. If the House does not agree to the change, the bill goes to the conference committee. This is a special committee of a few Members from each House who study the particular bill. After the conference committee agrees on the bill, it goes back to both Houses for a vote. If it is approved by both Houses, it is ready for the President to sign. If the two Houses cannot agree, the bill is not passed.

THE APPROVED BILL GOES TO THE PRESIDENT

After the bill has been passed by both Houses of the Congress, it is sent to the President. If he approves, he signs it. The bill becomes a law.

If the President does not approve, he can refuse to sign the bill. He gives his reasons and sends it back to the House in which it started. This is called a "veto."