The Legislative Process: How A Bill Becomes Law

The process of a bill becoming a law in the United States is a complex one. It begins with an idea, which can come from a Representative, citizen, or advocacy group. The idea is then drafted into a bill, which must be introduced by a Representative and given a number. The bill is then sent to a committee, which researches and revises it before voting on whether to send it back to the House floor. If the committee approves, the bill is debated and voted on by the House of Representatives. If it passes, it is sent to the Senate, where it goes through a similar process. Once it has been approved by both the House and the Senate, the bill is sent to the President, who can choose to sign it into law, veto it, or do nothing (a pocket veto). If the President vetoes the bill, Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and the Senate.

The Bill Is Proposed

The process of a bill becoming a law in the United States is complex and involves multiple stages. Here is a detailed overview of the first stage, "The Bill is Proposed":

The idea for a bill can come from various sources, including sitting members of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives, citizen groups, or individual citizens. Citizen groups or individuals can propose ideas to their Representatives, who may then choose to research and draft them into bills. Once a Representative has written a bill, it needs a sponsor. The Representative discusses the bill with other Representatives to gain their support. A bill sponsor is the primary Congress member supporting the bill, and any additional members who show their support are called "co-sponsors". Once a bill has a sponsor and the support of other Representatives, it is ready to be introduced.

The Bill Is Introduced

The process of a bill becoming a law begins with the bill being introduced. This is a proposal for a new law or a change to an existing law. The idea for a bill can come from a sitting member of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives, be proposed during their election campaign, or be petitioned by citizens or citizen groups. Once a bill is drafted, it must be introduced. If a Representative is the sponsor, the bill is introduced in the House. If a Senator is the sponsor, the bill is introduced in the Senate.

In the U.S. House of Representatives, a bill is introduced when it is placed in the hopper, a special box on the side of the clerk's desk. Only Representatives can introduce bills in the U.S. House of Representatives. Once a bill is introduced, it can be found on Congress.gov, the official government website that tracks federal legislation. When a bill is introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, a bill clerk assigns it a number that begins with H.R. A reading clerk then reads the bill to all the Representatives, and the Speaker of the House sends the bill to one of the House standing committees.

The sponsor of the bill is the primary Congress member supporting it. The other members who support the bill are called co-sponsors. Any member of the same body (House or Senate) can add their name as a co-sponsor after the day of introduction. The person or persons who introduce a bill are the sponsors.

The Bill Goes to Committee

Once a bill has been introduced, it is sent to a committee. Both the House and the Senate have various committees composed of groups of Congress members who are particularly interested in different topics such as health, education, agriculture, or international affairs. When a bill is in the hands of the committee, it is carefully examined and its chances of passage by the entire Congress are determined. The committee may even choose to hold hearings to better understand the implications of the bill. Hearings allow the views of the executive branch, experts, other public officials, supporters, and opponents of the legislation to be put on the record. If the committee does not act on a bill, the bill is considered to be "dead".

If the committee members would like more information before deciding if the bill should be sent to the House floor, the bill is sent to a subcommittee. Subcommittees are organized under committees and have further specialization on a certain topic. Often, committees refer bills to a subcommittee for study and their own hearings. The subcommittee may make changes to the bill and must vote to refer a bill back to the full committee. The subcommittee may suggest that the committee "table" it or postpone action indefinitely. Each member of the subcommittee, regardless of party affiliation, has one vote.

When the hearings and subcommittee review are completed, the committee will meet to "mark up" the bill. They make changes and amendments prior to recommending the bill to the "floor". If a committee votes not to report legislation to the full chamber of Congress, the bill dies. If the committee votes in favor of the bill, it is reported to the floor. This procedure is called "ordering a bill reported".

At full committee meetings, reports on bills may be made by subcommittees. Bills are read for amendment in committees by section and members may offer germane amendments. Committee amendments are only proposals to change the bill as introduced and are subject to acceptance or rejection by the House itself. A vote of committee members is taken to determine whether the full committee will report the bill favorably, adversely, or without recommendation.

If the committee votes to report the bill favorably to the House, it may report the bill with or without amendments. If the committee has approved extensive amendments, the committee may decide to report the original bill with one ‘amendment in the nature of a substitute’ consisting of all the amendments previously adopted, or may introduce and report a new bill incorporating those amendments, commonly known as a ‘clean’ bill. The new bill is introduced (usually by the chairman of the committee), and, after referral back to the committee, is reported favorably to the House by the committee. A committee may table a bill or fail to take action on it, thereby preventing its report to the House. This makes adverse reports or reports without recommendation to the House by a committee unusual.

The Bill Is Voted On

Once a bill has been debated, it is ready to be voted on. There are three methods for voting on a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives:

Viva Voce (voice vote)

The Speaker of the House asks the Representatives who support the bill to say "aye" and those that oppose it say "no."

Division

The Speaker of the House asks those Representatives who support the bill to stand up and be counted, and then those who oppose the bill to stand up and be counted.

Recorded

Representatives record their vote using the electronic voting system. Representatives can vote yes, no, or present (if they don't want to vote on the bill).

If a majority of the Representatives vote yes, the bill passes in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill is then certified by the Clerk of the House and delivered to the U.S. Senate.

The Bill Is Sent to the President

Once a bill has been passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, it is sent to the President. The President has three options:

• Sign and pass the bill, which becomes a law.
• Refuse to sign or veto the bill. The bill is then sent back to the House of Representatives, along with the President's reasons for the veto. If the House of Representatives and the Senate still believe the bill should become a law, they can hold another vote on the bill. If two-thirds of the Representatives and Senators support the bill, the President's veto is overridden and the bill becomes a law.
• Do nothing, also known as a pocket veto. If Congress is in session, the bill automatically becomes law after 10 days. If Congress is not in session, the bill does not become a law.

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