The Legislative Branch: How Bills Become Laws

The legislative branch of the US government is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate, which together form the United States Congress. The process of turning a bill into a law is a long and complex one, with many steps and potential setbacks.

First, a bill is proposed by a member of the House of Representatives or the Senate. This proposal can also be petitioned by citizens or citizen groups. The bill is then introduced to the relevant chamber, where it is assigned to a committee for research, discussion, and potential changes. If the bill passes one body of Congress, it goes to the other body to go through the same process. Once both bodies vote to accept a bill, they must work out any differences between the two versions, and then both chambers vote on the same version of the bill. If it passes, it is presented to the president.

The president then has several options. They can approve the bill and sign it into law, or they can refuse to approve it, which is called a veto. If the president chooses to veto a bill, 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 Congress is no longer in session, the bill will be vetoed by default, and Congress cannot override this.

A bill is proposed

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. The first step in the legislative process is the introduction of a bill to Congress. Anyone can write it, but only members of Congress can introduce legislation.

A bill is usually sponsored (i.e. written) by members of Congress. A senator or representative, along with their staff, will write a bill, which is called a draft of the proposed law. The bill is then introduced in either the Senate or the House of Representatives and a copy is passed out to each Senator or Representative. Bills coming from the Senate have the prefix "S." and bills from the House of Representatives have the prefix "H.R.".

The bill is then sent to a Standing Committee, which is a small, permanent group of legislators who study and report on bills. The committees are not set in stone and change in number and form with each new Congress as required for the efficient consideration of legislation. Each committee oversees a specific policy area, and the subcommittees take on more specialized policy areas. For example, the House Committee on Ways and Means includes subcommittees on Social Security and Trade.

A 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. Throughout this stage, the committees and subcommittees call hearings to investigate the merits and flaws of the bill. They invite experts, advocates, and opponents to appear before the committee and provide testimony and can compel people to appear using subpoena power if necessary.

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.

A bill is introduced to the House or Senate

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 the bill is drafted, it is introduced in either the Senate or the House of Representatives. Bills coming from the Senate have the prefix "S." on them, and bills coming from the House of Representatives have the prefix "H.R."

The bill is then passed out to each Senator or Representative and assigned to a committee to study the bill. There are 17 Senate committees, with 70 subcommittees, and 23 House committees, with 104 subcommittees. Each committee oversees a specific policy area, and the subcommittees take on more specialized policy areas. For example, the House Committee on Ways and Means includes subcommittees on Social Security and Trade.

A 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. Throughout this stage of the process, the committees and subcommittees call hearings to investigate the merits and flaws of the bill. They invite experts, advocates, and opponents to appear before the committee and provide testimony and can compel people to appear using subpoena power if necessary. 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.

A bill is reviewed by a committee

Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. Committees are small, permanent groups of legislators who study and report on bills. They are made up of members from both parties, with the ratio of majority to minority party members roughly reflecting the overall partisan ratio in the congressional chamber. The committee chair is always a member of the majority party, and they often work closely with the committee's ranking member, the most senior member of the minority party.

Committees have two stages of review: first, the subcommittee, and second, the full committee. In the subcommittee, the bill 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. Throughout this stage, committees and subcommittees call hearings to investigate the merits and flaws of the bill. They invite experts, advocates, and opponents to appear before the committee and provide testimony, and they can compel people to appear using subpoena power if necessary. 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.

A bill is voted on by the full chamber

Once a bill has been introduced and assigned to a committee, it is then put before the chamber to be voted on. The process of voting on a bill differs between the House of Representatives and the Senate.

In the House, the debate process is very structured. Each member who wishes to speak is only given a few minutes, and the number and kind of amendments are usually limited. In the Senate, however, debate on most bills is unlimited. Senators may speak about 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 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.

In both chambers, a simple majority of votes are needed to pass a bill. Once a bill has been passed by one body of Congress, it goes to the other body to go through a similar process of research, discussion, changes, and voting.

A bill is sent to the President

Once a bill has been passed by both houses of Congress, it is sent to the President for consideration. The President has several options at this stage. If the President agrees with the bill, they may sign it into law. If the President does not agree with the bill, they can veto it and send it back to Congress. If Congress is in session and the President takes no action within 10 days, the bill will automatically become law. If Congress adjourns before 10 days have passed and the President has not signed the bill, the bill will not become law. This is known as a pocket veto.

If the President vetoes a bill, Congress can attempt to override the veto by passing the bill again with a two-thirds majority in both the House and the Senate. If this happens, the bill becomes law. However, it is rare for Congress to have enough votes to override a Presidential veto.

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