The purpose of this assignment is to develop an understanding of the complexities of policy creation in a “bicameral” legislature. A bicameral legislature is a governing entity comprised of two houses, that is, Congress consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The introduction and passage of legislation is complex in that proposed legislation might be incorporated into another piece of legislation so that it will be passed. Another component of this assignment is the analysis of the policy from multiple levels to understand its purpose and application.

Assignment Tasks:

Select one of the following laws for both the “legislative tracing” and “policy analysis”…

• National Cybersecurity Protection Act of 2014
• Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986
• Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014
• Cybersecurity Workforce Enhancement Act

Then…

• Go to http://www.house.gov/content/learn/legislative_process to review the legislative process. After completing this review …

• Go to congress.gov and select “all legislation” then enter the name of the law that you have selected (It should state “Became Law”), for example, Telecommunications Act of 1992 (. From the list of bills and laws click on the “number” of the legislation, that is, either H.R. ### or S. ### that refers to the legislation you have selected. (There are options to narrow the search)

• When you have found the law read all of the following “informational tabs”: Summaries (all available), Text if available, Titles, Actions, Amendments, Cosponsors, Committee information, related bills, etc. Provide the following information in essay format:

ESSAY PORTION:

Introductory Paragraph

• Provide an overview of the law;

Main Paragraphs

For the Legislative Tracing:

• Describe the legislation as it is presented in all the “informational tabs”;
• Describe who proposed the legislation in the House of Representatives and Senate;
• Describe and explain the purpose of this legislation;
• Describe and explain any outcomes of this legislation and whether a government agency has been directed to enact the legislation.
• Include the history of the policy from the initial introduction of the legislation through the progress of the policy development, including, amendments, etc, to becoming a law as shown in the “Actions”.

For the Policy Analysis: **

Discuss the following areas…

• Meaning and clarity

1. Is the policy clearly stated?
2. Can the intent of the policy be understood?
3. Are there examples of how the policy will be applied?

• Consistency

1. Is the intent of the policy addressed consistently within the body of the policy?

• Interpretation

1. Is the policy ambiguous such that it might be plausibly interpreted in different ways?
2. Does the policy have established parameters?
3. Does the policy pertain to one or multiple topic areas?

• Relationship with other policies

1. Does the policy overwrite or contradict another policy?
2. Do you believe there may be contradictions in the policy?
3. Is the policy related to or part of another policy?

• Implementation

1. Are implementation methods clearly stated?
2. Is the entity responsible for implementation addressed?
3. Is there a time-frame for implementation of the policy?

• Additions

1. In your opinion, is the policy complete or does it require additional components; what do you believe should be added?

• Evaluation

1. How will the effects of the policy be evaluated?
2. In your opinion are there any ethical implications associated with this policy? **

Concluding Paragraph (Conclusion)

• Discuss the aspect(s) of this legislation and the legislative process that were interesting and/or new to you.
• Summarize what you have learned, observed and/or concluded through your reading and analysis of this law.

Reference Page (labeled References)

Suggested length: 1350-2000 words PLUS the Reference page.  While you will be graded on content and not length, this length should give you an idea of how much space will usually be needed to develop the complexity required for this paper. 

Essay Details:

Use an essay format with:

A distinct introductory paragraph –to describe what you are writing about, establishing the context of the essay.

Main paragraphs – these paragraphs will comprise most of the essay and contain the main topic content.

Concluding paragraph – this should be an account of what you have learned, observed and/or concluded.

References – this is a list of references (labeled References) on a in correct APA format .

Remember to include APA formatted in-text citations for any resources listed in the References.

Also,

*Use MS WORD as a “.doc” or “.docx” document only!;

*Check spelling and grammar – there should be no spelling or grammatical errors;

*Formatting for the text pages should be as follows: 12-point font, page numbers and last name in the header.

The paper must include the following:

*introductory paragraph – introduces the content of the paper;

*body paragraphs – the main content of the paper;

*concluding paragraph – summarizes the paper;

*list of references (labeled References) on a separate page in correct APA format and Correct APA Format for in-text citations;

*Use MS WORD as a “.doc” or “.docx” document only!;

*Check spelling and grammar – there should be no spelling or grammatical errors;

*Formatting for the text pages should be as follows: 12-point font, page numbers and last name in the header.