How American Citizens Can Create New Laws

In the United States, the legislative process is a key aspect of the democratic system, allowing citizens to propose and enact laws. While the majority of laws originate in the House of Representatives, ideas for legislation can come from diverse sources, including individual citizens, citizen groups, or members of the Senate or House of Representatives. This process ensures that citizens have a direct say in law-making, reflecting the principles of freedom and equality enshrined in the Constitution. The legislative process, with its emphasis on minority rights and open discussion, is a foundation of the American system of government, where the power of the people is supreme.

Bills can be petitioned by citizens

While citizens cannot introduce bills on their own, they can petition them by asking a legislator to sponsor a bill on their behalf. Citizens can start by reaching out to their current elected officials or legislators from another district to find a sponsor for their bill idea. Legislators can only request new bills during the fall of each year, and after filing requests, they work with legislative staff to draft the bill. Bills are then introduced in January, when public hearings and votes begin. Citizens can follow the progress of their bill, show up at public hearings, and contact elected officials to urge them to vote for the bill.

The right to petition is a significant aspect of the democratic process in the US, allowing citizens to express their ideas, hopes, and concerns to the government and elected representatives. This right is protected by the First Amendment, which states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

The right to petition has been historically exercised to advocate for significant causes, such as the end of slavery in the mid-19th century, when Congress received well over a thousand petitions signed by around 130,000 citizens. Despite initial resistance, with the House of Representatives adopting gag rules to table anti-slavery petitions, former President John Quincy Adams and other Representatives successfully repealed these rules in 1844, citing the Constitutional right to "petition the government for the redress of grievances."

Bills are assigned to a committee

In the United States, only members of each chamber may introduce legislation, though occasionally a member introduces legislation at the request of the President. Members and their staff typically consult with nonpartisan attorneys in each chamber's Legislative Counsel office for assistance in putting policy proposals into legislative language. Members may circulate the bill and ask others in the chamber to sign on as original co-sponsors of a bill to demonstrate a solid base of support for the idea.

Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. Committees are subsidiary organizations, established for the purpose of considering legislation, conducting hearings, and investigations. They are essential to the effective operation of legislative bodies. Committee membership enables members to develop specialized knowledge of the matters under their jurisdiction. Committees monitor ongoing government operations, identify issues suitable for legislative review, gather and evaluate information, and recommend courses of action to the Senate.

In the House, most bills go to the Rules Committee before reaching the floor. The committee adopts rules that will govern the procedures under which the bill will be considered by the House. A "closed rule" sets strict time limits on debate and forbids the introduction of amendments. These rules can have a major impact on whether the bill passes. The Rules Committee can be bypassed in three ways: 1) members can move rules to be suspended (requires a 2/3 vote) 2) a discharge petition can be filed 3) the House can use a Calendar Wednesday procedure.

Bills may be referred to more than one committee and it may be split so that parts are sent to different committees. In the Senate, bills are typically referred to a committee in a similar process, though almost always, the bill is referred to only the committee with jurisdiction over the issue that predominates in the bill. In a limited number of cases, a bill might not be referred to a committee but instead be placed directly on the Senate Calendar of Business through a series of procedural steps on the floor.

Bills are voted on by both bodies of Congress

In the United States, the process of creating laws begins with the introduction of a bill to Congress. While anyone can write a bill, only members of Congress can introduce legislation. Bills are assigned to committees for review, and then they go through a process of research, discussion, and changes before being voted on by one body of Congress. If a bill passes one body of Congress, it goes through the same process in the other body. Once both bodies of Congress (the House of Representatives and the Senate) vote to accept a bill, they must work out any discrepancies between the two versions. Then, both chambers vote on the same version of the bill. If it passes, they present it to the president.

The president can approve the bill and sign it into law, or they can refuse to approve it, which is called a veto. If the president vetoes a bill, Congress can override the veto by passing the bill again in each chamber with at least two-thirds of each body voting in favor. This is known as a "pocket veto" and cannot be overridden by Congress if the president does not sign off on a bill and it remains unsigned when Congress is no longer in session.

The legislative process in the United States allows for open and full discussion, with ample opportunity for all sides to be heard and make their views known. This often results in notable improvements to a bill through amendments before it becomes law or the defeat of an inadvisable proposal. The fact that a proposal cannot become a law without consideration and approval by both Houses of Congress is a strength of the country's bicameral legislative system.

Congress can override presidential vetoes

In the United States, the Citizenship Clause states that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." This clause, found in the Fourteenth Amendment, was added to the Constitution after the Civil War to grant citizenship to former slaves.

Congress's power to override the President's veto is an important "check" in the lawmaking process. When a bill is vetoed by the President, it is returned to the House, where it originated, with the President's objections. This is known as a regular or return veto and takes precedence over other pending business. While it is rare for Congress to override a presidential veto, with only about 5% of bills that have been vetoed by the President ultimately becoming law, it does happen.

The first time Congress overrode a presidential veto was in 1845, during the waning hours of the 28th Congress. The House joined the Senate to pass a bill over President John Tyler's veto. The bill, introduced by Senator Jabez Huntington of Connecticut, prohibited the President from authorizing the building of Revenue Marine Service (Coast Guard) ships without approved appropriations from Congress. President Tyler had vetoed the bill to protect existing contracts and retain presidential prerogative. The Senate overturned Tyler's veto with only one dissenting vote, and the House voted 126-31 in favor of an override.

Since then, Congress has overridden presidential vetoes a handful of times, including five of Franklin Pierce's nine vetoes. In recent years, Congress has become more successful at overriding vetoes, with about 18.3% of regular vetoes being overridden since 1969 compared to 5.7% before that year.

The Senate drafts legislation on presidential nominations

In the United States, any person born or naturalized in the country is a citizen and subject to its laws. The Citizenship Clause, as part of the Fourteenth Amendment, states:

> "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

This clause was directed at discriminatory laws, generally referred to as "Black Codes", that restricted the rights of former slaves. It affirmed a rule of citizenship by birthright, which does not depend on one's parents' citizenship status. However, it is important to note that there are exceptions, such as children born to diplomatic representatives of foreign states or children of members of Indian tribes subject to tribal laws.

The Constitution established the Senate's role in confirming executive appointments, including Supreme Court and cabinet nominations. While most cabinet nominations are quickly confirmed with little debate, there have been instances of political and partisan conflicts leading to the withdrawal or rejection of nominees. The Senate's influence over filling federal jobs has been a source of power for senators, with many becoming leaders of political parties.

In the late 19th century, however, clashes between presidents and senators over control of lower-level positions prompted calls for reform of the nomination process. Reformers sought to reduce the number of positions subject to political patronage and Senate confirmation. Despite these efforts, the number of appointments subject to Senate confirmation continued to grow until the 1980s when Congress passed legislation to gradually reduce this number.

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