The Journey Of A Bill To Become A Law

The process of a bill becoming a law is known as the legislative process. In the United States, all laws begin as bills. 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, be proposed during their election campaign, or be petitioned by citizens or citizen groups. Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee, which will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. The bill is then put before that chamber to be voted on. If the bill passes one body of Congress, it goes through a similar process in the other body. 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, it is presented to the president, who can approve the bill and sign it into law or 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.

A bill is proposed by a representative or citizen

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.

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, it 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.

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.

The bill is introduced to the House of Representatives

The legislative process begins with the introduction of a bill to Congress. Anyone can write a bill, but only members of Congress can introduce it to the House of Representatives. 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, be proposed during their election campaign, or be petitioned by citizens or citizen groups.

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. Once a bill is introduced, it is given a number that begins with H.R. by a bill clerk, and then a reading clerk reads the bill aloud to all the Representatives. The Speaker of the House then sends the bill to one of the House standing committees.

Committees are made up of groups of Representatives who are experts on specific topics, such as agriculture, education, or international relations. They review, research, and revise the bill before voting on whether to send it back to the House floor. If the committee members require more information before making a decision, the bill is sent to a subcommittee for closer examination and to gather expert opinions. Once the committee has approved a bill, it is sent, or reported, to the House floor, where it is ready to be debated.

During the debate, Representatives discuss the bill and explain their agreement or disagreement with it. A reading clerk then reads the bill section by section, and the Representatives recommend any changes they feel are necessary. Once all the recommended 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, 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 asks those who support the bill to stand up and be counted, and then does the same for those who oppose it. In the recorded method, Representatives record their vote using the 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 vote yes, the bill passes in the U.S. House of Representatives and is certified by the Clerk of the House before being delivered to the U.S. Senate.

The bill is assigned to a committee

Once a bill has been introduced, it is assigned to a committee. Committees are made up of groups of representatives or senators who are experts on the topic of the bill. For example, a bill about agriculture will be assigned to a committee of representatives or senators who are knowledgeable about agriculture.

Committees review, research, and revise the bill before voting on whether to send it back to the House floor. Committees can also choose to hold hearings to better understand the implications of the bill. Hearings allow the views of the executive branch, experts, other public officials, supporters, and opponents of the bill to be put on the record. If the committee does not act on a bill, it is considered "dead".

If the committee members would like more information before deciding, the bill is sent to a subcommittee. A subcommittee is a group under a committee with further specialization on a certain topic. 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. Once reported, a bill is ready to be debated by the House of Representatives.

The bill is voted on by the House of Representatives

The legislative process begins with the introduction of a bill to Congress. 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, be proposed during their election campaign, or be petitioned by citizens or citizen groups.

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

The House of Representatives 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. There are three methods for voting on a bill in the House: 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 do the same. In a recorded vote, Representatives record their vote using the electronic voting system, selecting yes, no, or present if they don't want to vote on the bill.

If a majority of the Representatives (218 out of 435) vote yes, the bill passes in the House and is certified by the Clerk of the House before being delivered to the Senate. If the bill does not receive a majority vote, it fails and does not advance to the Senate.

The bill is 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.

If the President agrees with the bill, they may sign it into law. The bill is then printed in the Statutes at Large. However, if the President disagrees with the bill, they have the power to veto it and send it back to Congress, along with their reasons for doing so. If this happens, Congress can 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.

Another option for the President is to do nothing, which is known as a pocket veto. If Congress is in session, the bill will automatically become law after 10 days of inaction by the President. On the other hand, if Congress is not in session and the President does not sign off on the bill, it will be vetoed by default, and Congress will not be able to override this.

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