The legislative process for the Equity of Care Act

¶ … Letter to the Legislative Representative

Whom It May Concern

This letter is in connection with a bill previously proposed to you -- the Equity of Care Act. Its purpose is satisfying the health requirements of racial and ethnic minorities in regard to quality care access and delivery by reinforcing healthcare-related safety nets. Thus, dealing with this issue is of utmost significance. For pushing the Act to make it a law, it must follow the path described below:

The Path a Bill Takes to Become Federal and State Law

Introducing the Bill and Referral to a Committee

Legislation can be introduced by any Congressional member (NAEYC, 2015). Every introduced bill is allotted a number: S. is used to denote Senate bills, while H.R. indicates House bills. Subsequently, the bill goes for reference to one or more committees that have jurisdiction over the legislation's key issue. Sometimes, it is referred first to a subcommittee.

Committee Action: Hearings and Mark Up

Committee chairman makes the decision of whether or not any hearing on the introduced bill will ensue, as well as "mark up." The bill, sometimes gets marked up in the subcommittee as well as full committee; however, action can only be taken at the level of full committee (NAEYC, 2015). A markup refers to a case when Committee members meet officially for offering amendments to alter the original bill. After adoption or rejection of amendments, the chairman will move to favorably vote the given bill out of the Committee. A favorable reporting ensures that the bill goes to the whole body.

Committee Report

The staff of the Chairman of the Committee writes out a report on the introduced bill, explaining the purpose behind the legislation, its legislative history (for instance, Committee hearings), its effect on current programs and existing legislations, and what perspective is maintained by most committee members (NAEYC, 2015). Members holding a minority view can, individually or collectively, file dissenting opinions.

Floor Debate and Votes

The House Speaker and Leader of the Majority party in the Senate ascertain whether or not, and when, any bill can be presented before the entire body for discussion, amendment, and ultimate passage. The Senate and House have rather different codes of procedure in regard to debate (NAEYC, 2015). Representatives within the House are only authorized to propose an amendment with regard to an introduced bill after obtaining the Rules Committee's "permission." On the other hand, Senators are allowed to propose any amendment without prior warning, as long as their proposed amendment is relevant to the bill in question, within the Senate. Amendments as well as final bill passage require majority vote.

Referral to the Other Chamber

After a bill is passed by the Senate or the House, it is transferred to the other legislative body, in which it normally takes the same path -- i.e., via committee, followed by floor action. The bill may be approved as received by the chamber, ignored, rejected, or amended, prior to it being passed by the chamber (NAEYC, 2015).

Action by the President

Following approval of conference report by Senate as well as House, the final version of the given bill is directed to the President. The bill will become a law if approved and signed by the President. However, if no action is taken by the President within ten days, when the Congress remains in session, automatically, the bill becomes a law (NAEYC, 2015). The President has the right to veto a bill if he opposes it. Otherwise, if no action is taken by the President even after the second session of the Congress gets adjourned, the bill dies as it is considered a "pocket veto." "

Overriding a Veto

If a bill is vetoed by the President, the Congress may try to "override" this veto. However, for this, a 66% vote by roll call of Congressional members in attendance in enough numbers to make a quorum is required (NAEYC, 2015).

Political Strategies to Push Your Proposed Bill through the System

The best strategy to push this bill would be t use protestors to the advantage.

Protests/Debates

Protests are sometimes staged by interest groups, for garnering publicity, disrupting activities, and pressurizing the groups they oppose. Such disruptions may assume the form of strikes, riots, sit-ins, and pickets. Civil rights student groups employed sit-in tactics for peacefully protesting against Jim Crow institutions and laws in South USA during the sixties (SparkNotes, 2015). According to Mark Halperin, a debate is needed in the U.S. in regard to whether universal healthcare is required in the nation. The ideas of the President need to be discussed. If health advocates have any fresh ideas, they must be heard (Disruptions drown out debate at health care meetings). However, if they are mere attempts to elicit trouble, and end up dragging the media into the fray each time, it isn't good for the nation whether the President's ideas are good or not, in Halperin's view. If both ideas are combined together, it would be beneficial for the Act.

Conceptual Model for Policy and Why It Should Be Placed On the Formal Agenda for the Legislature

The policy must appear on the official agenda for being passed, since it deals with a major issue faced by society and healthcare. Passing of this bill will guarantee adequate financial safety and care access to vulnerable communities. Financial safeguard is critical for meeting the needs of the population, as one among the key care access obstacles is minority groups' low socioeconomic standing. Also, care delivery structure (safety-net providers) serving vulnerable populations will be strengthened by the bill. This is essential as existing safety-net providers face coercion to achieve more using less, with regard to meeting vulnerable populations' health requirements (The Commonwealth Fund, n.d.). Thirdly, the bill will foster collaboration between community-centered services and healthcare organization, which is critical as this population's health requirements can be met effectively via collaborative efforts among the various stakeholders.

In conclusion, the incremantalism model will best serve the policy. This implies small modifications at the peripheries as against major reconstruction of an element, which might not even be successful (Chapter 5 ). The premise for the Equity of Care Act is that equity represents a key element in the promotion of a highly effective system of healthcare delivery which provides all groups with equitable services, with an emphasis on racial and ethnic minorities. Safety-net provider strengthening is critical for this process, as it will ascertain that healthcare professionals possess sufficient resources for providing minorities with supportive care. This would be best achieved by using incrementalism.

Sincerely,