The Journey Of A Bill: Votes To Laws

The process of a bill becoming a law is a long and complex one. In the United States, 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 be proposed during their election campaign. 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 that chamber to be voted on. If the bill passes one body of Congress, it goes to the other body to go through a similar process of research, discussion, changes, and voting. 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. The president then has the power to approve the bill and sign it into law, or to refuse to approve it, which is called a veto. If the president chooses to veto a bill, in most cases, 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, which is called a pocket veto, and cannot be overridden by Congress.

A bill is introduced by a member of the House or Senate

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 be proposed during their election campaign. Bills can also be petitioned by people or citizen groups who recommend a new or amended law to a member of Congress that represents them.

In the House of Representatives, a bill is introduced by a member of the House, who becomes the sponsor of the bill. The bill is then given to the Clerk of the House or placed in the hopper, at which point the Clerk assigns a legislative number to the bill. The bill is designated by the letters "H.R.", followed by a number. The bill is then printed by the Government Publishing Office and made available digitally.

The bill is then assigned to a committee by the Speaker of the House. The House has 22 standing committees, each with jurisdiction over bills in certain areas. The committee will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. The committee may then release the bill with a recommendation to pass it, revise the bill and release it, or lay it aside so that the House cannot vote on it. If the bill is released, the process of reporting it out, it is placed on the House 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, a bill must be introduced by a member of the Senate. A Senator must be recognised by the presiding officer and announce the introduction of the bill. The bill is then assigned to a committee by the presiding officer. The Senate has 20 standing committees, and the process is much the same as in the House. The committee studies the bill and hears testimony from experts and interested parties. The committee may then release the bill, revise it and release it, or lay it aside. If the bill is released, it goes to the Senate floor for consideration and a vote. If the bill passes by a simple majority (51 out of 100), it moves back to the House.

It is assigned to a committee for research and discussion

Committee Research and Discussion

The committee stage is one of the most important phases of the legislative process. Committees provide the most intensive consideration of a proposed bill, as well as a forum for the public to be heard. There are 20 standing committees in the House and 16 in the Senate, in addition to several select committees. Each committee's jurisdiction is defined by certain subject matter under the rules of each House, and all measures are referred accordingly. For example, the Committee on the Judiciary in the House has jurisdiction over measures relating to judicial proceedings, immigration policy, bankruptcy, patents, copyrights, and trademarks.

Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee by the Speaker of the House or the presiding officer in the Senate. Most often, the actual referral decision is made by the House or Senate parliamentarian. 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.

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. 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 may request comments about the bill's merit from government agencies. The bill can also be assigned to a subcommittee by the Chairman. Hearings may be held, after which subcommittees report their findings to the full committee. Finally, there is a vote by the full committee, and the bill is "ordered to be reported".

Committees will hold a "mark-up" session during which they will make revisions and additions. 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. The chamber must approve, change or reject all committee amendments before conducting a final passage vote.

In the House, most bills go to the Rules committee before reaching the floor. The committee adopts rules that will govern the procedures under which the bill will be considered by the House. A "closed rule" sets strict time limits on debate and forbids the introduction of amendments. These rules can have a major impact on whether the bill passes. The rules committee can be bypassed in three ways:

• Members can move rules to be suspended (requires a 2/3 vote)
• A discharge petition can be filed
• The House can use a Calendar Wednesday procedure

The bill is put before the chamber to be voted on

The process of a bill becoming a law is a long and complex one, with many steps and procedures. Once a bill has been introduced, it is assigned to a committee, where it will be studied, discussed, and changed. The committee may then release the bill, revise it and release it, or lay it aside. If the bill is released, it is then put before the chamber to be voted on.

In the House of Representatives, the bill is placed on one of four House Calendars. The Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader decide what will reach the floor and when. The bill is then debated and amended by the Committee of the Whole, before being reported back to the House and voted on. A quorum call is then made to ensure that there are enough members present (218) for a final vote.

In the Senate, the bill is placed on the Legislative Calendar, or the Executive Calendar if it is a treaty or nomination. The scheduling of legislation is the job of the Majority Leader, and bills can be brought to the floor whenever a majority of the Senate chooses. Unlike in the House, debate in the Senate is unlimited unless cloture is invoked. Amendments need not be relevant to the subject of the bill, and entire bills can be offered as amendments to other bills. Senators can use a filibuster to defeat a measure by "talking it to death". A quorum in the Senate is 51 members, however, the Senate can conduct daily business without a quorum unless it is challenged by a point of order.

If it passes one body of Congress, it goes to the other for a similar process

Once a bill has been introduced and assigned to a committee, it is then put to a vote. If the bill passes one body of Congress, it is sent to the other body of Congress to undergo a similar process of research, discussion, changes, and voting.

In the United States, the two bodies of Congress are the Senate and the House of Representatives. The process of a bill becoming a law is the same regardless of which body introduces the bill. The bill must pass through both bodies of Congress to become a law.

The process of a bill becoming a law is as follows:

• A bill is introduced by a member of the Senate or House of Representatives.
• The bill is assigned to a committee, whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill.
• The bill is put to a vote. If it passes, it is sent to the other body of Congress. If it does not pass, it does not become a law.
• The other body of Congress will then research, discuss, make changes to, and vote on the bill. If it passes, the two bodies of Congress will work together to resolve any differences between their versions of the bill.
• Once both bodies of Congress agree on the bill, it is sent to the President for approval.
• The President can choose to approve the bill and sign it into law, or veto it.
• If the President chooses to veto the bill, Congress can vote to override the veto, and the bill becomes a law. If Congress does not override the veto and the bill remains unsigned, it will be vetoed by default. This is known as a "pocket veto".

The process of a bill becoming a law is a lengthy one that requires the bill to pass through multiple stages of research, discussion, and voting. Only once a bill has passed through both bodies of Congress and been approved by the President can it become a law.

If both bodies vote to accept, a conference committee works out differences

Once both the House and the Senate have voted to accept a bill, a conference committee is formed to work out the differences between the two versions of the bill. The committee is usually made up of senior members who are appointed by the presiding officers of the committee that originally dealt with the bill. The representatives from each house work to maintain their version of the bill.

If the Conference Committee reaches a compromise, it prepares a written conference report, which is submitted to each chamber. The conference report must be approved by both the House and the Senate. The resulting bill returns to the House and Senate for final approval. The Government Publishing Office prints the revised bill in a process called enrolling. The Clerk from the House certifies the final version. If a bill originates in the Senate, the Secretary of the Senate certifies the final version.

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