Get a member of Congress to sponsor a private bill with legislation that applies just to you?

"get a member of Congress to sponsor a private bill with legislation that applies just to you"

please explain

Thank youGet a member of Congress to sponsor a private bill with legislation that applies just to you?If you contribute to politicians' campaigns, you can get direct favors from them. It's technically illegal for a politician to write a bill just to help one industry, one company or even one individual who gave him some money, but it happens all the time.



The US Tax Code is very very long and complicated--tens of thousands of pages. Ronald Reagan's tax reform bill was supposed to greatly simplify the tax code but it ended up making it twice as long! The reason it's so complicated is that it holds literally hundreds of special deals politicians have made with campaign contributors. The oil companies, for instance, get tax breaks no other industry gets. Some tax breaks are for a single company, and in some cases a single person. When Louis B. Mayer retired from MGM he got a big bonus package of tens of millions of dollars, and a special bill was passed to eliminate the taxes on that one package.



Back in the 80s, the Philadelphia Inquirer researched and wrote a series of articles called "America--Who Pays the Taxes". They actually read the entire US tax code and found all these special things in it. They interviewed a few senators and congressmen who mostly evaded the questions. They listed dozens and dozens of these items. The articles were then collected together in a book with the same name.Get a member of Congress to sponsor a private bill with legislation that applies just to you?No, you cannot. It is called "special legislation" and has been ruled by the courts as unconstitutional.Get a member of Congress to sponsor a private bill with legislation that applies just to you?While many people look to Congress for help with personal problems, sometimes such assistance must be approved by the entire Congress in the form of a bill. Your representative or lawyer can tell you whether that will be the case with any proposal you may make.



The use of private bills has declined considerably. For example, in the 96th Congress (from 1979-1981), 123 private bills were passed, but by the 104th Congress (from 1995-1997), the number had dropped to only 4.



Members are leery of private bills because they have the potential for creating trouble for the member if it turns out that the beneficiary doesn't have the cleanest record.



In the past, private bills were mostly used to assist people who had a grievance or demand on the executive branch. Moreover, the need for them has declined because today there are more ways to appeal to executive agencies than there were in the past.



Nonetheless, private bills are an option that usually fall into the following categories and go to the following House committees:



?Armed services decorations issues are handled by the National Security Committee.

?Civil service issues go to the Government Reform and Oversight Committee.

?Claims against the government. Domestic claims go to the Judiciary Committee; foreign claims go to the International Relations Committee.

?Immigration issues (for example, naturalization, residency status, and visa classification) go to the Judiciary Committee.

?Medical issues (for example, Food and Drug Administration approvals and health maintenance organization enrollment requirements) go to the Commerce Committee.

?Patents and copyright questions go to the Judiciary Committee.

?Public land issues (for example, sales, claims, exchanges, and mineral leases) go to the Resources Committee.

?Taxation issues (for example, income tax liabilities and tariff exemptions) go to the Ways and Means Committee.

?Vessel documentation issues go to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

?Veterans' benefit issues go to the Veterans' Affairs Committee.

Private bills almost always are introduced only in the House since they deal with individuals and the House is the direct representative of the people (as opposed to the Senate, which represents states). If they get through subcommittee and committee consideration, they then move to the floor where all the private bills are considered together on the first and third Tuesdays of each month (although the House can decide to call them up at any other time when everyone agrees).



Private bills usually go sailing through and routinely are approved by a voice vote. However, whenever two members object to a private bill, it goes back to the committee for reconsideration or is held for further consideration until the next batch of private bills comes up.







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