Understanding The Legislative Process: Constitution And Articles

The process of a bill becoming a law is a complex one, and in the US, it must be approved by the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the President. The idea for a bill can come from a member of the Senate or House of Representatives, or be proposed by citizens or citizen groups. Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee, which will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. It is then voted on, and if it passes one body of Congress, it goes through the same process in the other body. Once both bodies have voted to accept the bill, they must agree on a single version, which is then presented to the President. The President can approve the bill, in which case it becomes a law, or they can veto it. If the President chooses to veto, Congress can vote to override the veto, and the bill can still become a law. However, if the President does nothing and Congress is not in session, the bill will be pocket vetoed and cannot become a law. This process is outlined in Article I, Section 7 of the US Constitution, which includes the Origination Clause, requiring revenue-raising bills to originate in the House, the Presentment Clause, requiring laws to be presented to the President, and the Presentment of Resolutions Clause, preventing Congress from circumventing the Presentment Clause.

How a bill is proposed

The process of a bill becoming a law begins with an idea. A bill can be proposed by a sitting member of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives, or it can be proposed during their election campaign. Bills can also be petitioned by people or citizen groups who recommend a new or amended law to a member of Congress that represents them. The First Amendment guarantees the right to petition the government.

Once a bill is proposed, it is introduced by a member of the House of Representatives or the Senate. Any member of the House of Representatives may introduce a bill at any time while the House is in session by simply placing it in the "hopper", a wooden box provided for that purpose. In the Senate, a senator usually introduces a bill by presenting it to one of the clerks at the Presiding Officer's desk.

The bill is then assigned a number based on the order in which it was introduced. Bills introduced in the House of Representatives are prefixed with "H.R.", followed by a number. Bills introduced in the Senate are prefixed with "S.", followed by a number.

How a bill is introduced

The process of introducing a bill is the first step in the legislative process. Anyone can write a bill, but only members of Congress can introduce legislation. Some important bills are traditionally introduced at the request of the President, such as the annual federal budget.

A bill 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 or be proposed during their election campaign. Bills can also be petitioned by people or citizen groups who recommend a new or amended law to a member of Congress that represents them.

Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. The bill is then put before that chamber to be voted on.

In the House of Representatives, a member of the House may introduce a bill at any time while the House is in session by simply placing it in the "hopper", a wooden box provided for that purpose and located on the side of the rostrum in the House Chamber. Permission is not required to introduce the measure. The member introducing the bill is known as the primary sponsor.

In the Senate, a Senator usually introduces a bill or resolution by presenting it to one of the clerks at the Presiding Officer's desk, without commenting on it from the floor of the Senate. However, a Senator may use a more formal procedure by rising and introducing the bill or resolution from the floor, usually accompanied by a statement about the measure.

In the House of Representatives, it is no longer the custom to read bills—even by title—at the time of introduction. The title is entered in the Journal and printed in the Congressional Record, thus preserving the purpose of the custom. The bill is assigned its legislative number by the Clerk. The bill is then referred as required by the rules of the House to the appropriate committee or committees by the Speaker, with the assistance of the Parliamentarian. The bill number and committee referral appear in the next issue of the Congressional Record. It is then sent to the Government Printing Office, where it is printed and copies are made available in the document rooms of both Houses. Printed and electronic versions of the bill are also made available to the public.

How a bill is assigned to a committee

The process of how a bill becomes a law in the United States is a multi-step process that begins with the introduction of a bill to Congress. A bill 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 people or citizen groups. Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill.

Committees in the House of Representatives

In the House of Representatives, any member can introduce a bill at any time while the House is in session by simply placing it in the "hopper" at the side of the Clerk's desk in the House Chamber. The sponsor's signature must appear on the bill, which may have an unlimited number of cosponsoring members. The bill is then assigned its legislative number by the Clerk and referred to the committee of jurisdiction, which is the committee charged with reviewing the bill.

The House of Representatives divides its work among over twenty permanent committees. After a bill is introduced and referred to the committee of jurisdiction, the committee will often send the measure to its specialized subcommittee(s) for study, hearings, revisions, and approval. The first step in this process is usually a public hearing where the committee or subcommittee members hear witnesses representing various viewpoints on the measure. After hearings are completed, the bill is considered in a session that is popularly known as the "mark-up" session. At this point, amendments may be offered to the bill, and the committee or subcommittee members vote to accept or reject these changes. At the conclusion of deliberation, a vote of committee or subcommittee members is taken to determine what action to take on the measure. It can be reported, with or without amendment, or tabled, which means no further action on it will occur.

Committees in the Senate

In the Senate, introduced measures and House-passed measures are referred to the one committee of preponderant jurisdiction by the Parliamentarian on behalf of the Presiding Officer. By special or standing order, a measure may be referred to more than one committee in the Senate. There are 17 Senate committees and 70 subcommittees. Each committee oversees a specific policy area, and the subcommittees take on more specialized policy areas.

Overall, the process of assigning a bill to a committee is an important step in the legislative process, as it allows for thorough research, discussion, and potential amendments to the bill before it is put before the chamber for a vote.

How a bill is voted on

The process of how a bill becomes a law in the United States is a multi-stepped procedure that begins with the introduction of a bill to Congress. A bill 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 people or citizen groups. Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. The bill is then put before that chamber to be voted on.

The bill is first considered in a subcommittee, where it may be accepted, amended, or rejected entirely. If the members of the subcommittee agree to move a bill forward, it is reported to the full committee, where the process is repeated again. If the full committee votes to approve the bill, it is reported to the floor of the House or Senate, and the majority party leadership decides when to place the bill on the calendar for consideration. If a bill is particularly pressing, it may be considered right away. Others may wait for months or never be scheduled at all.

When the bill comes up for consideration, the House has a very structured debate process. Each member who wishes to speak only has a few minutes, and the number and kind of amendments are usually limited. In the Senate, debate on most bills is unlimited — senators may speak to issues other than the bill under consideration during their speeches, and any amendment can be introduced. Senators can use this to filibuster bills under consideration, a procedure by which a senator delays a vote on a bill — and by extension, its passage — by refusing to stand down. A supermajority of 60 senators can break a filibuster by invoking cloture, or the cession of debate on the bill, and forcing a vote. Once debate is over, the votes of a simple majority pass the bill.

A bill must pass both houses of Congress before it goes to the President for consideration. Though the Constitution requires that the two bills have the exact same wording, this rarely happens in practice. To bring the bills into alignment, a Conference Committee is convened, consisting of members from both chambers. The members of the committee produce a conference report, intended as the final version of the bill. Each chamber then votes again to approve the conference report. Depending on where the bill originated, the final text is then enrolled by either the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate, and presented to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate for their signatures. The bill is then sent to the President.

In the House of Representatives, a simple majority (218 of 435) passes the bill. In the Senate, a simple majority (51 of 100) passes the bill.

How a bill becomes a law

The process of how a bill becomes a law is outlined in the United States Constitution, specifically in Article I, Section 1, and Article I, Section 7. The lawmaking branch of the federal government is Congress, which consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The Legislative Process

The first step in the legislative process is the introduction of a bill to Congress. A bill 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 introduced, it is assigned to a committee whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. The bill is then put before that chamber to be voted on. If the bill passes one body of Congress, it goes through a similar process in the other body.

Once both bodies vote to accept a bill, they must work out any differences between the two versions. Then, both chambers vote on the same version of the bill. If it passes, they present it to the president.

Presidential Action

The president then has several options: they can approve the bill and sign it into law, refuse to approve it and veto it, or do nothing (pocket veto). If the president chooses to veto a bill, in most cases, Congress can vote to override that veto, and the bill becomes a law. However, if the president does not sign off on a bill and it remains unsigned when Congress is no longer in session, the bill will be vetoed by default and cannot be overridden.

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