Pass that Bill Already Senate
10/14/1919
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Congress is the only branch of the Federal Government with the power to make laws, but it is not easy for the House and Senate to jointly pass legislation. The Constitution requires that for a bill to become law, the House and Senate must pass identically worded bills. Because the House and Senate represent the public in different ways, they often look at issues from different perspectives, making agreements hard to achieve. As this cartoon shows, a bill that sails through one chamber can become bogged down in the other. Although the House of Representatives had already approved a salary increase bill for DC policemen, the Senate had not yet acted on the bill. Cartoonist Clifford Berryman does a little lobbying for the police, with a policeman directing the Senate to quit loitering and pass the bill.
This cartoon was drawn by Clifford Berryman, one of Washington, DC's best-known cartoonists in the early to mid-1900s. Berryman drew for the Washington Post and Evening Star newspapers. His cartoons touched on a variety of subjects including politics, elections, and both World Wars.
This primary source comes from the Records of the U.S. Senate, 1789 - 2015.
National Archives Identifier:
6011585Full Citation: Pass that Bill Already Senate; 10/14/1919; (I-097); Berryman Political Cartoon Collection, 1896 - 1949; Records of the U.S. Senate, 1789 - 2015, Record Group 46; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/pass-that-bill-already-senate, May 4, 2024]