The Complex Journey Of A Bill To Law

The process of a bill becoming a law is a long and complex one. In the United States, the journey begins with the bill's introduction in the House of Representatives or the Senate, where it is assigned a number and a sponsor. It is then sent to the Government Printing Office, where copies are made. The bill is then referred to a committee, which will research, discuss, and make changes to it. If the bill passes one body of Congress, it goes to the other, where it undergoes a similar process. Once both bodies vote to accept a bill, they must work out any differences between the two versions. The bill is then presented to the President, who can approve it and sign it into law, or refuse to approve it, which is called a veto. If the President chooses to veto a bill, Congress may vote to override that veto, and the bill becomes a law.

How a bill is introduced

The process of a bill being introduced begins with an idea. This idea 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 who recommend a new or amended law to a member of Congress that represents them. Citizens who have ideas for laws can contact their Representatives to discuss their ideas. If the Representatives agree, they research the ideas and write them into bills.

When a Representative has written a bill, it needs a sponsor. The sponsor is the primary Congress member supporting the bill. The Representative talks with other Representatives about the bill, hoping to get their support. Once a bill has a sponsor and the support of some of the Representatives, it is ready to be introduced.

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. 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 committee process

Once a bill has been introduced, it is referred to a committee. Both the House and Senate have various committees composed of groups of Congress members with particular interests and expertise in different topics such as health, agriculture, education, 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. Committees can hold hearings to better understand the implications of the bill, allowing the views of the executive branch, experts, other public officials, supporters, and opponents of the bill to be put on record. If the committee does not act on a bill, it is considered "dead".

Committees may refer bills to a subcommittee for further study and hearings. The subcommittee may make changes to the bill and must vote to refer it back to the full committee. Once hearings and subcommittee review are completed, the committee will meet to "mark up" the bill, making changes and amendments before recommending it to the "floor". If the committee votes against reporting the 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.

The committee staff then prepares a written report explaining why they favor the bill and why they wish to see their amendments, if any, adopted. Committee members who oppose a bill may write a dissenting opinion in the report. The report is sent back to the whole chamber and is placed on the calendar. In the House, most bills go to the Rules Committee, which adopts rules that will govern the procedures under which the bill will be considered by the House.

The bill is voted on

Once a bill has been 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 to the other body to go through a similar process of research, discussion, changes, and voting.

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.

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 say or select 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.

Senators vote by voice. Those who support the bill say “yea,” and those who oppose it say “nay.”. If a majority of the Senators say “yea,” the bill passes in the U.S. Senate and is ready to go to the President.

The bill is sent to the other chamber

Once a bill has been passed by one chamber of the US Congress, it is referred to the other chamber, where it typically follows a similar route through committees and, finally, to the floor. This chamber may approve the bill as received, reject it, ignore it, or change it.

Congress may form a conference committee to resolve or reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill. If the conference committee is unable to reach an agreement, the bill dies. If an agreement is reached, the committee members prepare a conference report with recommendations for the final bill. Both the House and Senate must vote to approve the conference report.

If the bill is amended by the second chamber, it is returned to the first chamber for approval of the amendments. If the first chamber approves the amendments, the bill is sent to the President. If the first chamber does not approve the amendments, the bill is sent back to the second chamber, which can approve the bill as received, reject it, ignore it, or offer new amendments.

The bill is sent to the President

Once a bill has been approved by both the House and the Senate, it is sent to the President for review. The President has three options: they can sign the bill and pass it into law, refuse to sign or veto it, or do nothing. If the President chooses to veto the bill, Congress can attempt to override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and the Senate, and the bill will become a law. If the President does nothing for 10 days while Congress is in session, the bill will automatically become law. However, if Congress is not in session and the President does nothing, the bill will not become law, which is known as a "pocket veto".

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