Keith Mack
Creating laws is the most important job of the U.S. House of Representatives. All laws in the United States begin as bills, and before a bill can become a law, it must be approved by the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and the President. The process of how a bill becomes a law involves several steps, including drafting, introduction, committee review, voting, referral to the other chamber, presidential approval or veto, and potential veto override.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of steps | 9 |
| Who can propose a bill? | Any member of Congress, either from the Senate or the House of Representatives |
| Who drafts the bill? | The primary Congress member supporting the bill is called the "sponsor" |
| Who else can support the bill? | Other members who support the bill are called "co-sponsors" |
| What happens after the bill is drafted? | Once the bill is drafted, it must be introduced |
| Where is the bill 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 |
| Where can the public find the bill? | Once a bill is introduced, it can be found on Congress.gov, which is the official government website that tracks federal legislation |
| What happens after the bill is introduced? | As soon as a bill is introduced, it is referred to a committee |
| What is the committee? | Both the House and Senate have various committees composed of groups of Congress members who are particularly interested in different topics such as health or international affairs |
| What does the committee do? | 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 |
| What else can the committee do? | The committee may even choose to hold hearings to better understand the implications of the bill |
What You'll Learn
A bill is proposed
Once the 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 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 of Representatives. When a bill is introduced, it is read aloud by a reading clerk to all the Representatives.
The bill is then assigned a number (e.g. HR 1 or S 1) and labelled with the sponsor's name. It is sent to the Government Printing Office (GPO), where copies are made. Senate bills can be jointly sponsored, and members can cosponsor the piece of legislation.
Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. Both the House and Senate have various committees composed of groups of Congress members with expertise in different topics, such as health 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.
The Legislative Process: How Bills Become Laws
You may want to see also
A bill is introduced
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 it can be proposed by citizens or citizen groups who recommend a new or amended law to a member of Congress that represents them.
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. Only Representatives can introduce bills in the U.S. House of Representatives. In the House, legislation is handed to the clerk of the House or placed in the hopper, a special box on the side of the clerk's desk. In the Senate, members must gain recognition from the presiding officer to announce the introduction of a bill during the morning hour. If any senator objects, the introduction is postponed until the following day.
Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned a number (e.g. HR 1 or S 1) and labelled with the sponsor's name. It is then sent to the Government Printing Office (GPO) to be copied. At this stage, members can cosponsor the bill.
The bill is then assigned to a committee, whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to it. Both the House and the Senate have various committees composed of groups of Congress members with expertise in different areas, such as agriculture, education, or international relations. The Speaker of the House or the presiding officer in the Senate refers the bill to the appropriate committee. Bills may be referred to more than one committee and can be split so that parts are sent to different committees. The Speaker of the House may set time limits on committees.
If the committee does not act on a bill, it is considered "dead". However, if the committee approves the bill, it is sent, or reported, to the House floor to be debated.
Theories to Laws: The Catalysts for Change
You may want to see also
A bill goes to committee
Once a bill has been introduced, it is assigned to a committee. Committees are composed of groups of members of Congress who have a particular interest in the topic of the bill, such as health or international affairs. The committee will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. They will also examine the bill's chances of passage by Congress.
The Speaker of the House or the presiding officer in the Senate will refer the bill to the appropriate committee. The referral decision is usually made by the House or Senate parliamentarian. Bills may be referred to more than one committee and may be split so that parts are sent to different committees. One committee will be designated the primary committee of jurisdiction and will likely take the lead on any action. The Speaker of the House may set time limits on committees.
Bills are placed on the calendar of the committee to which they have been assigned. Failure to act on a bill is equivalent to killing it. Bills in the House can only be released from committee without a committee vote by a discharge petition signed by a majority of the House membership (218 members). Comments about the bill's merit are requested by government agencies.
The bill can be assigned to a subcommittee by the Chairman. Subcommittees are organized under committees and have further specialization on a certain topic. Subcommittees report their findings to the full committee. The committee will then hold a vote, after which the bill is "ordered to be reported".
Bill to Law: Minnesota's Legislative Process
You may want to see also
A bill is reported
Once a bill has been introduced, it is assigned to a committee. The committee is made up of groups of representatives who are experts on topics such as agriculture, education, or international relations. The committee members review, research, and revise 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. In a subcommittee, the bill is closely examined and expert opinions are gathered before it is sent back to the committee for approval.
When the committee has approved a bill, it is sent, or reported, to the House floor. Once reported, a bill is ready to be debated by the U.S. House of Representatives. During the debate, representatives 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 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 vote, 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. In a recorded vote, 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 vote or say 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.
When a bill reaches the U.S. Senate, it goes through many of the same steps it went through in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill is discussed in a Senate committee and then reported to the Senate floor to be voted on. 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 be sent to the President.
The US Lawmaking Process: How Bills Become Laws
You may want to see also
A bill is voted on
Once a bill has been introduced, assigned to a committee, and reported to the House floor, it is ready to be voted on. There are three methods for voting on a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. The first is Viva Voce, where the Speaker of the House asks the Representatives who support the bill to say "aye" and those who oppose it to say "no." The second is Division, where 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 do the same. The third is Recorded, where Representatives record their votes using an electronic voting system, selecting yes, no, or present if they don't want to vote. If a majority of Representatives vote yes, the bill passes in the House and is then sent to the Senate.
In the Senate, the bill is voted on again. Senators vote by voice, saying "yea" if they support the bill and "nay" if they oppose it. If a majority of Senators say "yea," the bill passes in the Senate. If the bill is passed by both the House and the Senate, it is then sent to the President.
However, if the bill fails to receive a majority vote in either the House or the Senate, it is sent back to committee for further revisions. The committee may hold hearings and gather expert opinions to improve the bill's chances of passage. After making any necessary changes, the committee will vote on whether to report the bill back to the full chamber of Congress. If the committee votes against reporting the bill, it dies. If they vote in favour of it, the bill is reported to the floor for another vote.
Bill to Law: Michigan's Legislative Process
You may want to see also
Frequently asked questions
A bill is a proposal for a new law or a change to an existing law.
Any member of Congress from either the Senate or the House of Representatives can propose a bill. Bills can also be petitioned by citizens or citizen groups who recommend a new or amended law to a member of Congress.
Once a bill is drafted, it is introduced and assigned to a committee. The committee researches, discusses, and makes changes to the bill. The bill is then put before the chamber to be voted on. If it passes, it goes to the other body (either the House of Representatives or the Senate) to go through a similar process. Once both bodies vote to accept a bill, they work out any differences between the two versions. Then, both chambers vote on the same version of the bill. If it passes, it is presented to the President.
The President can choose to 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, which is called a pocket veto, and it cannot be overridden.
Once a bill becomes a law, it is assigned an official number and is enforced by the government.
