Hello Day 101

Well as we wait for budget slowly but surely legislative business carries on. On today's agenda we had a third read calendar and a COW calendar. I remember my first session as a page I was so confused as to what COW was and all I could wonder is why is it named after a cow..little did I know COW stands for committee of the whole. COW is the stage of legislative process when the full chamber has the opportunity to debate and ammend bills. The majority leader will call for the Senate to resolve itself into committee of the whole for the consideration of bills on that day's calendar and then the president appoints a member to act as chairman of committee of the whole. COW gives senators in my case, the opportunity at an informal discussion regarding a bill and to ask questions of the sponsor if they are there. The process depending on the COW chairman can be quick and efficient or it can be time consuming and it most definitely can be entertaining....