The Lawmaking Process: From Bill To Law

The Library of Congress is an important resource for understanding the legislative process in the United States. The Library of Congress outlines the steps of the federal law-making process, from the source of an idea for a legislative proposal to its publication as a statute.

The Library of Congress explains that the legislative process is a matter that every person should be well-informed about to understand and appreciate the work of Congress. The Library of Congress also highlights the importance of the legislative process as a safeguard of the American democratic way of life, allowing ample opportunity for all sides to be heard and make their views known.

The Library of Congress provides resources such as How Our Laws Are Made, which is a web-friendly presentation outlining the numerous steps of the federal law-making process. This resource covers topics such as the sources of legislation, forms of congressional action, introduction and referral to the committee, consideration by the committee, final committee action, obtaining consideration of measures, and more.

The Library of Congress also offers videos and transcripts on its website, Congress.gov, that explain the legislative process in detail. These videos cover topics such as the introduction and referral of bills, committee consideration, calendars and scheduling, executive business in the Senate, resolving differences, and presidential actions.

In addition to these resources, the Library of Congress also offers a selection of publications for further reading, including How a Bill Becomes a Law and The Legislative Process: Introduction and Referral of Bills.

How a bill is proposed

The process of a bill becoming a law in the United States begins with a proposal for a new law or a change to an existing law. 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 to their representative. Once an idea for a bill has been established, a representative must sponsor it. The representative will then discuss the bill with other representatives to garner support. Once a bill has a sponsor and some support, 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 House. When a bill is introduced, 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.

In the Senate, a senator usually introduces a bill by presenting it to one of the clerks at the Presiding Officer's desk. A senator may also choose to introduce a bill more formally by rising and introducing the bill from the floor, usually accompanied by a statement about the bill.

Once a bill has been introduced, it is assigned to a committee. In the House, the Speaker, on the advice of the nonpartisan parliamentarian, refers the bill to all committees that have jurisdiction over the provisions in the bill. Most bills fall under the jurisdiction of one committee. If multiple committees are involved, each committee may only work on the portion of the bill under its jurisdiction, and one of those committees will be designated the primary committee of jurisdiction. In the Senate, bills are typically referred to the committee with jurisdiction over the issue that predominates in the bill. In rare cases, a bill might not be referred to a committee but is instead placed directly on the Senate Calendar of Business through a series of procedural steps.

How a bill is introduced

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 who recommend a new or amended law to a member of Congress that represents them. 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, 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.

In the Senate, a bill is typically introduced by presenting it to one of the clerks on the Senate floor. The bill is then submitted to the clerks on the Senate floor and assigned a designation and number.

How a bill is assigned to a committee

Once a bill has been introduced, it is then referred to the appropriate committee for review. There are 17 Senate committees, with 70 subcommittees, and 23 House committees, with 104 subcommittees. The committees are not set in stone, but 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.

In the House, bills are referred by the Speaker, on the advice of the nonpartisan parliamentarian, to all committees that have jurisdiction over the provisions in the bill, as determined by the chamber’s standing rules and past referral decisions. Most bills fall under the jurisdiction of one committee. If multiple committees are involved and receive the bill, each committee may work only on the portion of the bill under its jurisdiction. One of those committees will be designated the primary committee of jurisdiction and will likely take the lead on any action that may occur.

In the Senate, bills are typically referred to the committee in a similar process, though in almost all cases, the bill is referred only to 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.

The committee’s chair has the chief agenda-setting authority for the committee; in essence, the chair identifies the bills or issues on which the committee will try to formally act through hearings and/or a markup.

The first formal committee action on a bill or issue might be a hearing, which provides a forum at which committee members and the public can hear about the strengths and weaknesses of a proposal from selected parties – like key executive branch agencies, relevant industries, and groups representing interested citizens. Hearings are also a way to spotlight legislation to colleagues, the public, and the press. At the hearing, invited witnesses provide short oral remarks to the assembled committee, but each witness also submits a longer written version of their feedback on the bill. After witnesses' oral statements, members of the committee take turns asking questions of the witnesses.

While these hearings provide the formal public setting at which feedback is solicited on the policy proposal, committee members and staff engage in additional assessment of the approach through informal briefings and other mechanisms. Also note that a hearing is not required from a procedural standpoint for a bill to receive further action from the committee.

How a bill is voted on

The process of voting on a bill differs between the House of Representatives and the Senate. In the House, a bill is introduced when it is placed in the "hopper", a wooden box on the side of the clerk's desk. In the Senate, the bill is submitted to clerks on the Senate floor.

In the House, a bill is then referred by the Speaker, on the advice of the nonpartisan parliamentarian, to all committees that have jurisdiction over the provisions in the bill. In the Senate, bills are typically referred to the committee with jurisdiction over the issue that predominates in the bill.

In both the House and the Senate, the bill is assigned to a committee for study. The committee members review, research, and revise the bill before voting on whether or not to send it back to the House/Senate floor. If the committee members would like more information before deciding, the bill is sent to a subcommittee.

Once the bill has been approved by the committee, it is sent back to the House/Senate floor to be debated. Representatives/Senators discuss the bill and explain why they agree or disagree with it. A reading clerk then reads the bill section by section, and the Representatives/Senators recommend changes.

There are three methods for voting on a bill in the House: viva voce (voice vote), division, and recorded. In the Senate, there are two methods: voice and recorded. In the House, if a majority of Representatives vote yes, the bill passes and is certified by the Clerk of the House and delivered to the Senate. In the Senate, if a majority of Senators vote yes, the bill passes and is ready to go to the President.

Voting on the Final Bill

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.

The president then has three options: they can sign and pass the bill, refuse to sign or veto the bill, or do nothing (pocket veto). If the president chooses to veto the bill, in most cases, Congress can vote to override that veto, and the bill becomes a law. 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.

How a bill becomes a law

The United States Congress is the first branch of the United States federal government and is responsible for creating national statutory law. The process by which a bill becomes a law is as follows:

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 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.

The Bill is Introduced

Once a bill has been written, it needs a sponsor. The sponsor will talk to other members of Congress about the bill to get their support. Once it has a sponsor and the support of other members, it is ready to be introduced. In the 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. In the Senate, the bill is submitted to clerks on the Senate floor. Upon introduction, the bill will receive a designation based on the chamber of introduction, for example, H.R. or H.J.Res. for House-originated bills or joint resolutions and S. or S.J.Res. for Senate-originated measures. It will also receive a number, which is typically the next number available in sequence during that two-year Congress.

The Bill is Assigned to a Committee

In the House, the Speaker, on the advice of the nonpartisan parliamentarian, assigns the bill to all committees that have jurisdiction over the provisions in the bill, as determined by the chamber’s standing rules and past referral decisions. In the Senate, bills are typically referred to the committee with jurisdiction over the issue that predominates in the bill. In both chambers, the committee members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill.

The Bill is Voted on by the First Chamber

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. In the House, there are three methods for voting on a bill: viva voce (voice vote), division, and recorded. In the Senate, senators vote by voice, saying "yea" to support the bill and "nay" to oppose it.

The Bill is Voted on by the Second Chamber

Once both bodies vote to accept a bill, they must work out any differences between the two versions.

The Bill is Presented to the President

If the bill passes in both the House and the Senate, it is ready to be presented to the President. When a bill reaches the President, he has three choices: he can sign and pass the bill, refuse to sign or veto the bill, 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. 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 by Congress.

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