Pick one current (119th Congress) bill that a House member or senator has introduced since October 1 and has not yet passed either chamber. (See a sample list at the end of this assignment.) You are a legislative assistant in the prime sponsor’s office. Your boss (House member or senator) has one clear instruction: “I don’t need a think piece. I need a plan that can actually move this bill through my chamber this year.” Your job is to produce a 5-page memo that lays out a plausible path from introduction to passage in your boss's chamber, given partisan margins and the realities of committees, procedure, leadership, interest groups, and the administration. Also consider your boss's party affiliation, committee assignments, seniority, and reputation within the chamber.
Additional specs:
- The memo must read as if it were actual staff work. (A good product would make a nice writing sample when you apply for internships and jobs.) Every memo starts with a standard block of information, typically following an email-like format:
- TO: Senator Gus Fring
- FROM: Walter White
- DATE: March 6, 2026
- SUBJECT (or RE): Passing legislation to legalize blue sky meth
- Identify possible sources of support and opposition (e.g., interest groups, constituencies, administration officials).
- Lay out a step-by-step process to gain support and get the measure to a successful floor vote.
- Include an appendix (which does not count toward the page limit) with a screenshot of the official bill status page (with date visible).
Get background from a source such as CQ Magazine. Other possible sources include:
- Statements of Administration Policy -- indications of whether POTUS will sign or veto. Note that presidents do not issue SAPs for most bills.
- Congress.gov (http://www.congress.gov/) -- official site for bill summary and status. For tips on how to use it, see the Quick Start Guide.
- GovTrack (http://www.govtrack.us/) – unofficial site for congressional information. See How to Use GovTrack
- ProQuest Congressional
- (http://congressional.proquest.com/profiles/gis/search/basic/basicsearch ). -- many congressional documents including the searchable Congressional Record. If your computer will not accept this URL, go through the library web page (http://library.claremont.edu). Click “databases,” then the letter “P,” then “ProQuest Congressional.”)
- Committee web pages, which usually contain testimony and text of reports. See http://www.house.gov/committees/ or https://www.senate.gov/committees/index.htm
- Kevin Kosar, guide to finding House rules
For further tips on legislative research, see videos on
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- Essays should be typed, double-spaced, and no more than five pages long. I will not read past the fifth page.
- Submit papers as Word documents, not PDFs or Google docs.
- Cite your sources with endnotes in standard Turabian format. Endnote pages do not count against the page limit.
- Misrepresenting AI-generated content as your own work is plagiarism and will result in severe consequences.
- Watch your spelling, grammar, diction, and punctuation. Errors will count against you -- especially those I have noted on previous papers. Return essays (again, as Word documents, not PDFs) to Canvas by 11:59 PM, Friday, March 6. I reserve the right to dock papers one grade point for one day’s lateness, a full letter grade after that.
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Here is a sample list. You may choose others since October 1, 2025.
House bills
H.R. 5755 — No Budget, No Pay Act (Rep. Scott Peters)
Withholds Members’ pay after Oct. 1 in any fiscal year unless Congress adopts a budget resolution and enacts the regular appropriations bills.
H.R. 5826 — IDEA Act of 2025 (Rep. Haley Stevens)
Establishes a grant program to expand entrepreneurship opportunities for minority business enterprises.
H.R. 6157 — FORCE Act of 2025 (Rep. Jimmy Panetta)
Smend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide benefits under the Medicare program for first responders at the age of 57.
H.R. 6261 — Fairness for 9/11 Families Act (Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick)
Amends the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund payment rules for certain 9/11-related judgment creditors.
H.R. 6686 — No Cost Educational Resources Act of 2025 (Rep. Bill Foster)
Authorizes grants for colleges to offer courses whose required readings use only publicly available digital resources (supporting ‘no-cost’/open educational reading materials).
H.R. 6981 — SHINE Act of 2026 (Rep. Susie Lee)
Directs DOE to develop and support voluntary streamlined local permitting and inspection for qualifying residential distributed energy systems (solar, batteries, EV chargers).
H.R. 7101 (Rep. Adelita Grijalva) -- require that an individual elected to fill a House vacancy in a special election shall have an opportunity to take the oath of office within five legislative days after certification of that elecition.
H.R. 7282 (Rep. Jeff Crank)
Incentivizes states to reconsider adoption of certain energy-efficiency housing codes.
H.R. 7308 — CALM Modernization Act (Rep. Stephanie Bice)
Extends CALM Act loudness requirements to video programming delivered via internet protocol (streaming) and related services
H.R. 7312 — (Federal dollars fraud task force bill) (Rep. Young Kim) — Establishes a national task force to investigate/combating fraud involving federal dollars (oversight + intergovernmental coordination).
H.R. 7484 (Rep. Andy Barr)
Amends the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to adjust certain thresholds for inflation.
H.R. 7551 (Rep. Cory Mills)
To prohibit the head of a Federal agency from entering into an agreement with an entity that discriminates against Federal law enforcement,
Senate Bills
S. 3061 — HUD Transparency Act of 2025 (Sen. John Cornyn)
Requires expanded public reporting and accountability measures at HUD.
S. 3100 — POST Act of 2025 (Sen. John Curtis)
directs the Director of the Federal Protective Service to establish processes to strengthen oversight, performance, and accountability of contract security personnel engaged in the protection of certain buildings and grounds.
S. 3153 — CLEAR Act of 2025 (Sen. Rick Scott)
Revises national security policy authorities affecting defense operations.
S. 3283 — Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025 (Sen. Bernie Moreno) -- forbids dual citizenship
S. 3333 — Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025 (Sen. Todd Young)
Encourages employers to offer short-term emergency savings accounts for workers.
S. 3410 (Sen. Andy Kim)
Creates federal technology and AI talent teams to modernize agency hiring.
S. 3539 (Sen. Adam Schiff)
“Requires DoD to provide Congress (and publicly release) unedited video of specified Sept. 2, 2025 strikes.”
S. 3554 (Sen. John Cornyn)
Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to terminate the tax-exempt status of terrorist supporting organizations.
S. 3597 — National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2026 (Sen. Todd Young)
Reauthorizes federal research programs promoting quantum computing innovation.
S. 3600 — National Housing Emergency Act of 2026 (Sen. Elissa Slotkin)
Requires the President to declare a national housing emergency and invoke the Defense Production Act to incentivize residential housing production.
S. 3653 — Veterans’ Bill of Rights Act of 2026 (Sen. Marsha Blackburn)
Establishes additional procedural protections for veterans interacting with VA.
S.3853 – Vaccine Liability Shield Amendment Sponsor: Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) would amend the Public Health Service Act to modify liability protections.
S.3855 – Bilateral Defense Cooperation Enhancement Act
Sponsor: Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) would enhance defense cooperation with Israel
S. 3653 — Veterans’ Bill of Rights Act of 2026 (Sen. Marsha Blackburn)
Establishes additional procedural protections for veterans interacting with VA.
S.3853 – Vaccine Liability Shield Amendment Sponsor: Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) would amend the Public Health Service Act to modify liability protections.
S.3855 – Bilateral Defense Cooperation Enhancement Act
Sponsor: Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) would enhance defense cooperation with Israel.
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