The Money Trail: Laws And Their Financial Journey

The process of how a bill becomes a law is a complex one, with many steps and potential roadblocks. In the United States, the legislative branch of the federal government, known as Congress, is responsible for creating and modifying laws. Congress consists of two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate. While the specific procedures and rules can vary between the two chambers, the basic process is as follows:

1. Introduction of the Bill: Any member of Congress can introduce a bill, which is a proposal for a new law or a change to an existing one. Bills can also be suggested by citizens or citizen groups who petition their representatives.

2. Committee Referral: Once introduced, the bill is referred to a committee, which will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. Committees are specialized groups of representatives who are experts in specific policy areas.

3. Committee Action and Voting: The committee will hold hearings, inviting experts, advocates, and opponents to testify and provide input on the bill. The committee will then vote on whether to send the bill back to the full chamber for further consideration.

4. Floor Debate and Voting: If the bill passes the committee stage, it is sent back to the full House or Senate for debate and voting. Each chamber has its own rules regarding the debate process and the types of amendments that can be made.

5. Passing in Both Chambers: For a bill to become a law, it must pass in both the House and the Senate. If the two chambers pass different versions of the bill, they will need to work out the differences and vote on the same version.

6. Presidential Review: Once a bill passes both chambers, it is sent to the President for review. The President can choose to sign the bill into law or veto it.

7. Override of Veto: If the President vetoes the bill, Congress can still override the veto and pass the bill into law. This requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and the Senate.

8. The Bill Becomes Law: Once signed by the President or after a successful override of a veto, the bill officially becomes a law and is assigned an official number.

The role of the House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress, the other being the Senate. The House is made up of 435 elected members, divided among the 50 states in proportion to their total population. Additionally, there are six non-voting members representing the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and four other US territories.

The House has several powers assigned exclusively to it, including the power to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the President in the case of an Electoral College tie.

Any member of the House of Representatives can introduce a bill. The bill is handed to the clerk of the House or placed in the hopper, a special box on the side of the clerk's desk. The bill is then assigned a number (e.g. HR 1) and labelled with the sponsor's name.

Committee Action

The Speaker of the House refers the bill to the appropriate committee. The committee members review, research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. The committee may also send the bill to a subcommittee for further examination and expert opinions before sending it back to the committee for approval.

Reporting the Bill

Once the committee has approved the bill, it is sent back to the House floor for debate. Representatives discuss the bill, explaining their agreement or disagreement, and recommend changes.

Voting on the Bill

There are three methods for voting on a bill in the House: viva voce, division, and recorded. For viva voce, the Speaker asks supporters of the bill to say "aye" and opponents to say "no." For division, supporters and opponents of the bill stand up and are counted. For recorded, Representatives use an electronic voting system to record their vote. If a majority of Representatives vote "yes," the bill passes in the House and is then sent to the Senate.

Conference Committee

If the bill passes in the Senate, but there are differences between the two versions, members from each house form a conference committee to work out the differences and prepare a written report.

Presidential Review

The bill is then sent to the President for review. The President can choose to sign and pass the bill, making it a law, or veto it and send it back to Congress with their reasons for doing so. If the President takes no action within 10 days and Congress is still in session, the bill automatically becomes a law. If Congress adjourns before the 10 days are up, the bill does not become a law, which is known as a "pocket veto."

Overriding a Veto

If the President vetoes the bill, Congress can override the veto by voting again on the bill, with a two-thirds majority required in both the House and the Senate. If this occurs, the bill becomes a law.

The role of the Senate

The Senate is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress, the other being the House of Representatives. The Senate is composed of 100 Senators, with two Senators representing each state. Senators are elected to six-year terms by the people of each state, and the terms are staggered so that about one-third of the Senate is up for reelection every two years. Senators must be 30 years of age, US citizens for at least nine years, and residents of the state they represent.

The Senate has a unique role in the legislative process. While both chambers must pass a bill for it to become law, the Senate has the sole power to confirm presidential nominations and approve treaties. The Senate also has the power to try impeachment cases for federal officials referred to it by the House.

During the legislative process, a bill is first considered in a Senate subcommittee, where it may be accepted, amended, or rejected. If the members of the subcommittee agree to move a bill forward, it is reported to the full Senate committee, where the process is repeated. Throughout this stage, the committees and subcommittees call hearings to investigate the merits and flaws of the bill, inviting experts, advocates, and opponents to provide testimony.

If the full committee votes to approve the bill, it is reported to the floor of the Senate, and the majority party leadership decides when to place the bill on the calendar for consideration. When the bill comes up for consideration, the Senate has unlimited debate—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, delaying a vote 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, a simple majority vote passes the bill.

If the bill passes the Senate, it must then pass the House of Representatives before going to the President for consideration. If the House and Senate pass different versions of the bill, a Conference Committee is formed to resolve the differences and produce a final version of the bill. Each chamber then votes again to approve the conference report. If the bill originated in the Senate, the final text is then enrolled by the Secretary of the Senate and presented to the President of the Senate for their signature before being sent to the President.

The role of the President

Once a bill has been passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, it is sent to the President for review and consideration. The President has several options at this stage. They can:

• Sign and pass the bill—the bill becomes a law.
• Refuse to sign, or veto, the bill—the bill is sent back to Congress, along with the President's reasons for the veto. If both chambers still believe the bill should become a law, they can hold another vote, and if two-thirds of both the House and the Senate support the bill, the President's veto is overridden and the bill becomes a law.
• Do nothing (pocket veto)—if Congress is in session, the bill automatically becomes law after 10 days. However, if Congress is not in session and the President does not sign the bill within 10 days, the bill does not become law.

The President's approval is required for a bill to become a law, unless Congress is in session and the President chooses to do nothing for 10 days, in which case the bill automatically becomes law. This is a powerful tool for the President, as it is unusual for a law to be enacted over a presidential veto. Therefore, Congress typically must accommodate the President's position on proposed policies.

How a bill becomes law

Any member of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives can introduce a bill, which is a proposal for a new law or a change to an existing law. Bills can also be petitioned by citizens or citizen groups who recommend a new or amended law to their Congressional representative. Once introduced, a bill is assigned a number (e.g. HR 1 or S 1) and a sponsor, after which it is sent to the Government Printing Office (GPO) for copying.

Committee Action

The next step is for the bill to be referred to the appropriate committee by the Speaker of the House or the presiding officer in the Senate. The committee members review, research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. If the committee wishes to gather more information, the bill is sent to a subcommittee. The subcommittee closely examines the bill and gathers expert opinions before sending it back to the committee.

Reporting the Bill

Once the committee has approved a bill, it is sent to the House or Senate floor for debate. Representatives or Senators discuss the bill and explain why they agree or disagree with it. A reading clerk then reads the bill section by section, and Representatives or Senators recommend changes. When all changes have been made, the bill is ready to be voted on.

Voting on the Bill

There are three methods for voting on a bill in the House of Representatives: viva voce (voice vote), division, and recorded vote. In the Senate, Senators vote by voice, saying "yea" if they support the bill and "nay" if they oppose it. If a majority in both the House and the Senate vote to accept a bill, it is sent to the other body to go through a similar process of research, discussion, changes, and voting.

Conference Committee

Once both bodies vote to accept a bill, they must work out any differences between the two versions. Members from each house form a conference committee and meet to work out the differences. If the Conference Committee reaches a compromise, it prepares a written conference report, which is submitted to each chamber. The conference report must be approved by both the House and the Senate.

Presidential Review

The final step is for the bill to be sent to the President for review. The President can choose to sign and pass the bill, in which case it becomes a law. Or the President can refuse to sign and veto the bill, sending it back to Congress with a note listing their reasons. If Congress is still in session and two-thirds of both the House and the Senate support the bill, they can override the President's veto and the bill becomes a law. However, if Congress adjourns before 10 days have passed and the President has not signed the bill, it does not become law. This is known as a "pocket veto".

The legislative process

Committee Action: The Speaker of the House or the presiding officer in the Senate refers the bill to the appropriate committee(s). The committee reviews, discusses, and makes changes to the bill. The committee may also refer the bill to a subcommittee for further examination. Hearings may be held, and subcommittees report their findings to the full committee. The committee then votes on the bill.

Committee Reporting: If the committee approves the bill, it is reported to the full chamber (House or Senate). A written report is prepared, explaining the committee's support for the bill and any proposed amendments. The report is sent back to the chamber and placed on the calendar.

Floor Action: The bill is placed on the calendar for consideration. The majority party leadership decides when to place the bill on the agenda. The bill is then debated and amended on the chamber floor. Each chamber has its own rules and procedures for the debate process.

Voting: After the debate, the bill is voted on. If it passes one chamber, it moves to the other chamber and goes through a similar process.

Conference Committee: If both chambers pass the bill, they must reconcile any differences between their versions. Members from each chamber form a conference committee to negotiate and reach a compromise. The conference committee produces a written report, which is submitted to each chamber for approval.

Presidential Action: Once both chambers pass the same version of the bill, it is sent to the President for review. The President has several options: signing the bill into law, vetoing it, or taking no action. If the President signs the bill, it becomes law. If vetoed, Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds vote in both chambers, and the bill becomes law. If the President takes no action for 10 days while Congress is in session, the bill becomes law. However, if Congress adjourns before the 10 days are up, the bill dies, which is known as a "pocket veto."

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