The Senate Bill's Journey To Becoming Law

The process of a bill becoming a law is a lengthy one. In the US, a bill can be proposed by any citizen or citizen group, who must then persuade a member of the House of Representatives or the Senate to sponsor it. The bill is then introduced in the House or the Senate, depending on the sponsor, and assigned to a committee. The committee will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill before voting on whether to send it back to the House floor. If the bill passes in the House, it is then sent to the Senate, where it goes through a similar process. Once both bodies vote to accept a bill, they must reconcile any differences between the two versions before presenting it to the President. The President can then approve the bill, in which case it becomes a law, or refuse it, in which case it is sent back to the House and the process begins again.

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 it can be proposed during their election campaign. Bills can also be petitioned by citizens or citizen groups who recommend a new or amended law to a member of Congress that represents them. 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 sponsor is the primary Congress member supporting the bill. The Representative talks with other Representatives about the bill in the hopes of gaining their support. The other members who support the bill are called "co-sponsors". 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 House. Once a bill is introduced, it can be found on Congress.gov, the official government website that tracks federal legislation.

When a bill is introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, 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 bill is introduced

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 of the bill is postponed until the next day. Once a bill is introduced, it can be found on Congress.gov, the official government website that tracks federal legislation.

The sponsor is the primary Congress member supporting the bill. The other members who support the bill are called co-sponsors. The sponsor and co-sponsors will talk with other Representatives about the bill to gain their support. Once a bill has a sponsor and the support of some of the Representatives, it is ready to be introduced.

The bill is then assigned to a committee whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill.

The bill goes to committee

Once a bill is introduced, it is referred to a committee. Both the House and the Senate have committees composed of groups of Congress members with particular interests and expertise in different topics, such as health, agriculture, education, or international affairs and relations. When a bill is assigned to a committee, it is carefully examined, and its chances of passage by Congress are determined.

The committee may hold hearings to better understand the implications of the bill and gather expert opinions. These hearings allow the views of the executive branch, experts, other public officials, supporters, and opponents of the legislation to be put on record. Committees may also choose to send the bill to a subcommittee for further study and hearings. The subcommittee may make changes to the bill and must vote to refer it back to the full committee. The committee will then meet to "mark up" the bill, making changes and amendments before recommending it to the "floor".

If a committee does not act on a bill, or votes against reporting it to the full chamber of Congress, the bill is considered "dead". However, if the committee votes in favor of the bill, it is reported to the floor. This procedure is called "ordering a bill reported". Once a bill is reported, it is ready to be debated and voted on by the full chamber.

The bill is reported

Once a bill has been introduced, it is assigned to a committee. Committees are composed of groups of Congress members who are particularly interested in and knowledgeable about the topic of the bill. In the case of the U.S. House of Representatives, this will be a group of Representatives who are experts on topics such as agriculture, education, or international relations. The committee will 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 on whether to send the bill to the House floor, the bill is sent to a subcommittee. A subcommittee will have a further specialisation in the topic of the bill. The subcommittee will closely examine the bill and gather expert opinions before sending it back to the committee for approval.

The committee will then meet to make changes and amendments to the bill. They will make revisions and additions, and if substantial amendments are made, the committee can order the introduction of a "clean bill" which will include the proposed amendments. This new bill will have a new number and will be sent to the floor while the old bill is discarded.

If the committee votes in favour of the bill, it is reported to the floor. This procedure is called "ordering a bill reported". Once reported, a bill is ready to be debated by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bill is voted on

Once a bill has been introduced, it is assigned to a committee, whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. The bill is then put before that chamber to be voted on.

The voting process for a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives involves three methods: Viva Voce, Division, and Recorded. In the Viva Voce method, the Speaker of the House asks the Representatives who support the bill to say "aye" and those who oppose it to say "no." In the Division method, 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. In the Recorded method, Representatives record their vote using the electronic voting system, where they can vote "yes," "no," or "present" if they don't want to vote on the bill. If a majority of Representatives vote "yes," the bill passes in the House and is then certified by the Clerk of the House before being delivered to the U.S. Senate.

In the Senate, voting is done by voice, with supporters saying "yea" and opponents saying "nay." If a majority of Senators say "yea," the bill passes in the Senate and is ready to be sent to the President.

The Bill Is Referred to the Other Chamber

After a bill has been passed by one chamber, it is referred to the other chamber, where it typically undergoes a similar process of committee review and floor voting. This chamber may approve the bill as received, reject it, ignore it, or make changes to it. If the two chambers pass different versions of the bill, they may form a conference committee to resolve the differences and prepare a final bill for approval by both chambers.

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