Keith Mack
The process of a bill becoming a law in the United States involves several steps and the participation of different entities, including Congress, the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the President. The journey begins with an idea, which can come from a Representative or a citizen. Once a Representative sponsors a bill, it is assigned to a committee for review, discussion, and potential changes. The bill then goes through a series of steps, including being introduced, debated, and voted on, first in the House of Representatives and then in the Senate. If the bill passes in both chambers, a conference committee works to reconcile any differences between the two versions. The final bill is then presented to the President for approval. The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or do nothing, which results in a pocket veto if Congress is not in session. If the President vetoes the bill, Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers, and the bill becomes a law.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Where do ideas for bills come from? | Ideas for bills 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. |
| What is a bill? | A bill is a proposal for a new law or a change to an existing law. |
| What happens once a bill is introduced? | Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. |
| What happens once a bill is assigned to a committee? | The committee members review, research, and revise the bill before voting on whether or not to send the bill back to the House floor. |
| What happens if the committee needs more information? | If the committee needs more information, the bill is sent to a subcommittee for further examination and to gather expert opinions. |
| What happens once a bill is approved by the committee? | Once the committee has approved a bill, it is sent to the House floor for debate. |
| What happens during a debate? | During a debate, representatives discuss the bill and explain why they agree or disagree with it. A reading clerk reads the bill section by section and the representatives recommend changes. |
| How is a bill voted on? | There are three methods for voting on a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives: Viva Voce (voice vote), Division, and Recorded. |
| What happens once a bill is voted on? | If a bill passes in the House of Representatives, it is then certified by the Clerk of the House and delivered to the U.S. Senate, where it goes through a similar process. |
| What happens once a bill passes in both the House and the Senate? | 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. |
| What happens once a bill reaches the president? | The president can approve the bill and sign it into law, or refuse to approve it (veto it). |
| What happens if the president vetoes a bill? | If the president vetoes 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 it remains unsigned when Congress is no longer in session, the bill will be vetoed by default (pocket veto), and this cannot be overridden by Congress. |
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What You'll Learn
Bills are proposed by a representative or citizen
Once a bill is drafted, it must be introduced. If a Representative is the sponsor, the bill is introduced in the House. If a Senator is the sponsor, the bill is introduced in the Senate. 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, it is assigned a number that begins with H.R.
When a Representative has written a bill, it needs a sponsor. The Representative talks with other Representatives about the bill in the hopes of getting their support for it. Once a bill has a sponsor and the support of some of the Representatives, it is ready to be introduced.
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Bills are introduced to the House of Representatives
Bills are introduced in the House of Representatives when they are placed in the hopper, a special box on the side of the clerk's desk. Only members of the House of Representatives can introduce bills in the House. 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 House or be proposed by citizens or citizen groups. 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, the bill needs a sponsor. The Representative talks with other Representatives about the bill in the hopes of getting their support. Once a bill has a sponsor and the support of some of the Representatives, it is ready to be introduced.
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.
The committees are made up of groups of Representatives who are experts on topics such as agriculture, education, or international relations. They review, research, and revise the bill before voting on whether or not to send it back to the House floor. If the committee members would like more information before deciding, the bill is sent to a subcommittee. The subcommittee closely examines the bill and gathers expert opinions before sending it back to the committee for approval.
Once the committee has approved a bill, it is sent or reported to the House floor. A bill is then ready to be debated by the House of Representatives. Representatives discuss the bill and explain why they agree or disagree with it. Then, a reading clerk reads the bill section by section, and the Representatives recommend changes. When all changes have been made, the bill is ready to be voted on.
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Bills are assigned to a committee
Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee. Committees are made up of groups of representatives who are experts on topics such as agriculture, education, or international relations. The committees review, research, and revise the bill before voting on whether or not to send it back to the House floor.
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.
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 cessation of debate on the bill, and forcing a vote. Once debate is over, the votes of a simple majority pass the bill.
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Bills are debated and voted on
Once a bill has been introduced, it is assigned to a committee. The committee will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill before voting on whether or not to send it back to the House floor. If the committee would like more information before making a decision, the bill is sent to a subcommittee, which closely examines it and gathers expert opinions.
If the bill passes the committee stage, it is sent or reported to the House floor, where it is debated. Representatives discuss the bill and explain why they agree or disagree with it. A reading clerk reads the bill section by section, and the Representatives recommend changes. When all changes have been made, the bill is ready to be voted on.
There are three methods for voting on a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives: viva voce (voice vote), division, and recorded. In a viva voce vote, the Speaker of the House asks the Representatives who support the bill to say "aye" and those who oppose it to say "no". In a division, the Speaker asks those who support the bill to stand up and be counted, and then does the same for those who oppose it. In a recorded vote, Representatives record their vote using an electronic voting system, and can vote yes, no, or present if they don't want to vote on the bill. If a majority of Representatives support the bill, it passes in the House and is then certified by the Clerk of the House and delivered to the U.S. Senate.
The bill then goes through many of the same steps in the Senate. It is discussed in a Senate committee and then reported to the Senate floor to be voted on. Senators vote by voice, saying "yea" if they support the bill and "nay" if they oppose it. If a majority of Senators support the bill, it passes in the Senate.
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Bills are sent to the President
Once a bill has been approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, it is sent to the President for consideration. At this stage, the President has several options available to them. If the President approves of the bill, they can sign it into law. Once signed, the bill is then printed in the Statutes at Large.
However, if the President disagrees with the bill, they can choose to veto it and send it back to Congress, outlining their reasons for doing so. Congress can then attempt to override the veto by holding another vote on the bill. 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.
If Congress is in session, the President also has the option to do nothing for 10 days, in what is known as a pocket veto. In this case, the bill will automatically become law. However, if Congress is not in session and remains so for 10 days, the bill will not become law.
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Frequently asked questions
A bill is a proposal for a new law or a change to an existing law.
The process for a bill to become a law involves multiple steps, including drafting, introduction, committee review, voting, and approval by the legislative body, potential veto, and potential override.
Anyone can write a bill, but only members of Congress can introduce legislation.
After a bill is introduced, it is referred to a committee for review and discussion. The committee may accept, amend, or reject the bill. If the bill is approved by the committee, it is reported to the floor for debate and voting.
