Understanding The Lawmaking Process: Bills To Laws

The process of a bill becoming a law is a complex and lengthy one, and only a small percentage of bills make it through to the end. In the US, bills must pass both houses of Congress and be signed off by the President to become law. The number of bills that become law varies from year to year, but on average, only about 6% of bills introduced in Congress are passed. Between 2017 and 2019, the 115th Congress turned 443 out of over 10,000 bills into laws, meaning that roughly 4.5% of bills proposed in that time frame became laws.

Bills must pass both houses of Congress

The process of turning a bill into a law is a complex one, and only a small percentage of bills ever make it through. In the US, a bill must pass both houses of Congress—the House of Representatives and the Senate—before it can be sent to the President to be signed into law.

The first step in the legislative process is the introduction of a bill to Congress. Anyone can write a bill, but only members of Congress can introduce legislation. Some important bills are introduced at the request of the President, such as the annual federal budget. During the legislative process, the initial bill can undergo drastic changes. Once introduced, a bill is referred to the appropriate committee for review. There are 17 Senate committees, with 70 subcommittees, and 23 House committees, with 104 subcommittees. The committees are subject to change 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 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. If the members of the subcommittee agree to move a bill forward, it is reported to the full committee, where the process is repeated. Throughout this stage, the committees and subcommittees call hearings to investigate the merits and flaws of the bill. They invite experts, advocates, and opponents to appear 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, a procedure by which a Senator delays a vote on a bill 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, the votes of a simple majority pass the bill.

A bill must pass both houses of Congress before it goes to the President for consideration. Although the Constitution requires that the two bills have the exact same wording, this rarely happens in practice. To bring the bills into alignment, a Conference Committee is convened, consisting of members from both chambers. The members of the committee produce a conference report, intended as the final version of the bill. Each chamber then votes again to approve the conference report. Depending on where the bill originated, the final text is then enrolled by either the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate, and presented to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate for their signatures. The bill is then sent to the President.

Bills must be signed into law by the President

The process of turning a bill into a law is a complex and lengthy one, and the majority of bills do not make it through. Less than 10% of proposed bills become laws, with some sources giving a range of between 4% and 6%.

A bill must pass both houses of Congress before it is sent to the President for their signature. In the House of Representatives, a bill must pass through a committee, a Rules Committee, and a vote before moving to the Senate. In the Senate, the bill is assigned to another committee and, if released, is debated and voted on. A conference committee, made up of House and Senate members, then works out any differences between the two versions of the bill. The President then has 10 days to sign or veto the bill.

The process is designed to be difficult, with many opportunities to kill a bill before it becomes law. The founders of the United States believed that efficiency was a characteristic of oppressive governments and wanted to ensure that laws were well-considered.

The percentage of bills that become laws varies from year to year. For example, between 2017 and 2019, the 115th Congress turned 443 out of over 10,000 bills into laws, meaning roughly 4.5% of bills became laws during this time.

Less than 10% of bills become law

The first step in the legislative process is for a representative to sponsor a bill. The bill is then assigned to a committee for study. If the committee approves, the bill is put on a calendar to be voted on, debated, or amended. If the bill passes with a simple majority (218 out of 435 votes), it moves on to the Senate. In the Senate, the bill goes through a similar process of being assigned to a committee, debated, and voted on. Again, a simple majority (51 out of 100 votes) is required to pass the bill.

Even if a bill makes it through these initial stages, it still faces significant obstacles. A conference committee, made up of members from both the House and the Senate, must then work out any differences between the two versions of the bill. The resulting bill then returns to the House and Senate for final approval. Only after passing both chambers can the bill be sent to the President for signature or veto.

The journey of a bill through Congress is challenging, and most bills never make it past the committee stage. Between 2017 and 2019, for example, the 115th Congress turned only 443 out of over 10,000 bills into laws, a passage rate of roughly 4.5%. The number of bills introduced to Congress varies from year to year, and so does the percentage that becomes law. However, the data consistently shows that only a small fraction of proposed bills ultimately become law.

Bills are assigned to committees for study

Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned a number and sent to the Government Printing Office (GPO) for copying. From there, it is referred to the appropriate committee by the Speaker of the House or the presiding officer in the Senate. This referral decision is often made by the House or Senate parliamentarian.

A bill 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. Bills are placed on the calendar of the committee to which they have been assigned. If a committee fails to act on a bill, it is equivalent to killing it. In the House, bills can only be released from committee without a proper committee vote by a discharge petition signed by a majority of the House membership (218 members).

The committee chairman may assign a bill to a subcommittee. Hearings may be held, and subcommittees will report their findings to the full committee. Finally, there is a vote by the full committee, and the bill is "ordered to be reported".

A committee will hold a "mark-up" session to make revisions and additions. If substantial amendments are made, the committee can order the introduction of a "clean bill" to include these amendments. This new bill will have a new number and will be sent to the floor while the old bill is discarded. The chamber must approve, change or reject all committee amendments before conducting a final passage vote.

Bills are amended and voted on

The process of a bill becoming a law is long and arduous, with many opportunities to kill a bill before it becomes law. Once a bill has been proposed by a representative, it is assigned to a committee for study. If the committee approves, the bill is put on a calendar to be voted on, debated, or amended. If the bill passes by a simple majority (218 out of 435), it moves to the Senate. In the Senate, the bill goes through a similar process of being assigned to a committee, debated, and voted on, requiring a simple majority (51 out of 100) to pass.

At this point, a conference committee made up of members from both the House and the Senate works to reconcile any differences between the two versions of the bill. The revised bill then returns to the House and Senate floors for final approval. This process is known as enrolling, and the Government Publishing Office prints the revised bill. The President then has 10 days to sign or veto the bill.

The journey of a bill through Congress is challenging, and most bills—about 90%—die in committee or subcommittee. They are either pigeonholed or simply forgotten and never discussed. If a bill survives committee consideration, hearings are held, and the bill is marked up or revised until the committee is ready to send it to the floor for a vote. The process of marking up a bill may include changes to sneak in unapproved spending, a tactic known as "pork barreling."

The next stage is floor debate, which differs between the House and the Senate. In the House, a bill goes from committee to a special Rules Committee that sets time limits on debate and rules for adding amendments. On the other hand, the Senate allows more flexibility, with no restrictions on amendments, which can occasionally lead to a filibuster.

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