Question Prompt to GPT on Big Bill

"With the recent Trump big bill, Congress has bent over to get it done for Trump. Is that normal in the past with past President's that bills from Congress start with President. They are for the President. Has this happened with the ACA act?"

This is from Chat gpt - https://chatgpt.com/ 

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It’s understandable to feel like Congress is just “doing the president’s bidding,” especially on high‑profile measures, but constitutionally—and in practice—legislation always originates in Congress. Here’s how it typically works, and how the Affordable Care Act fits the pattern:

1. Constitutional framework

   • Origination in Congress: The U.S. Constitution gives both the House and Senate the sole power to draft and introduce bills (“All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives” is explicit, but all other bills may begin in either chamber).

   • Presidential role: The president cannot formally “introduce” a bill, but may submit to Congress a legislative proposal or “framework,” and then lobby members to sponsor and shepherd it.

2. Presidential proposals vs. Congressional drafting

   • Presidential agenda-setting: Every modern president issues a “president’s budget” each spring, and often sends Congress a set of policy proposals (for example, tax‑cut blueprints, infrastructure plans, health‑care reforms, etc.).

   • Congressional drafting and markup: Those proposals are typically referred to relevant committees, where staffers and members draft the actual legislative text, mark it up in hearings, and then vote it out of committee before full‑chamber debate and amendment.

3. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) example

   • Obama administration blueprint: In early 2009, the Obama White House circulated a high‑level outline of its health‑insurance reforms and worked closely with the Department of Health and Human Services to flesh out major features (coverage mandates, exchange structures, subsidy formulas).

   • Congressional introduction: • In the Senate, Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus released a “discussion draft” of a health‑care bill in May 2009, held hearings, and reported it out in October as S. 1796.

   • In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s task force released its own draft (H.R. 3200) in July 2009, which went through several mark‑ups before final passage.

   • Reconciliation and enactment: When the House and Senate versions differed, they used the budget‑reconciliation process to iron out differences. Final votes in the House (March 21, 2010) and Senate (March 25, 2010) sent the merged bill to President Obama, who signed it on March 23 (House) and March 30 (Senate changes), 2010.

4. So is “bending over” to get it done for the president normal?

   • Lobbying on both sides: Presidents routinely make their policy priorities known and lobby vigorously—through speeches, rallies, and meetings—to get Congress on board. But members of Congress still hold the pen: they introduce, amend, and vote on the final legislative text.

   • Partisan dynamics: When one party controls both the White House and Congress, it can look—and feel—like Congress is simply “doing the president’s bidding” because party discipline and leadership‑whipping tend to produce high passage rates for the president’s top priorities.

In short:

• Yes, presidents often drive the policy agenda and ask Congress to “start” a bill by proposing draft language or blueprints.

• No, the bill itself must be introduced, debated, amended, and voted on by members of Congress.

• The ACA followed exactly that pattern: an Obama‑administration proposal, drafted and introduced by congressional committees, then reconciled and passed by both chambers before the president signed it into law.

So while it can look like “Congress bending over” for the White House—especially under unified party control—the constitutional process remains firmly a congressional one, with the president playing the role of agenda‐setter and lobbyist, not the drafter or introducer of legislation.