Understanding The Process: Bill To Law

In the United States, laws begin as ideas that can come from a member of the House of Representatives or a citizen. If a citizen has an idea for a law, they can contact their representative to discuss it. If the representative agrees, they research the idea and write it into a bill. A bill is a proposal for a new law or a change to an existing law. 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. Once introduced, a bill is assigned to a committee whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. This is a complex process with many steps, but it is a critical function of the US government.

A bill is drafted by a member of 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 the bill is drafted, it is introduced in the Senate or the House of Representatives. 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. A copy of the bill is given to each Senator or Representative, and it is assigned to a committee for review. Bills introduced in the Senate have the prefix "S.", while those introduced in the House of Representatives have the prefix "H.R.".

The committee reviewing the bill is usually a Standing Committee, a small, permanent group of legislators who study and report on bills. The committee will carefully examine the bill and determine its chances of passage by Congress. They may hold hearings to better understand the implications of the bill and gather the views of experts, public officials, and supporters and opponents of the legislation.

If the committee does not act on a bill, it is considered "dead". If the committee approves the bill, it is sent back to the Senate or House floor for further debate and voting.

The bill is introduced to the House of Representatives

The bill-making process begins with an idea. 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 by citizens or advocacy groups during their election campaign.

The bill is introduced in the House of Representatives 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. 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 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.

Committees in the course of researching and studying the bill may call experts to testify at hearings before the committee. Congress can also call hearings with no legislation attached to study issues important to the country, such as doping in sports or the financial banking crisis.

The bill is then put before the chamber to be voted on. If the bill passes by a simple majority (218 out of 435), the bill moves to the Senate.

The bill is assigned to a committee

Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee. Committees are groups of members of Congress who are particularly interested in different topics such as health, agriculture, education, or international affairs. The committee will carefully examine the bill, research it, discuss it, and make changes to it. They will also determine its chances of passage by the entire Congress.

Committees may 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 legislation to be put on the record. If the committee does not act on a bill, it is considered to be "dead".

Subcommittees are organized under committees and have further specialization on a certain topic. Committees often refer bills to a subcommittee for study and hearings. The subcommittee will closely examine the bill and gather expert opinions before sending it back to the committee for approval. The subcommittee may also make changes to the bill and must vote to refer it back to the full committee.

When the hearings and subcommittee review are completed, the committee will meet to "mark up" the bill. They will make changes and amendments prior to recommending the bill to the "floor". If a committee votes not to report legislation to the full chamber of Congress, the bill dies. If the committee votes in favor of the bill, it is reported to the floor. This procedure is called "ordering a bill reported".

The bill is voted on by the House of Representatives

The process of a bill becoming a law is a long and complex one. Once a bill has been proposed, introduced, and sent to committee, it is then reported to the House floor and is ready to be debated by the U.S. House of Representatives.

When a bill is debated, 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): The Speaker of the House asks the Representatives who support the bill to say "aye" and those that oppose it say "no."
• Division: 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.
• Recorded: 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 say or select 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.

The bill is sent to the President for approval

Once a bill has been approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, it is sent to the President for approval. The President has three options: they can sign the bill into law, refuse to sign it, or do nothing.

If the President approves of the bill, they will sign it, and it will become a law. If the President does not approve, they can veto the bill, sending it back to Congress with their reasons for the veto. Congress can then 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.

If the President does nothing and takes no action for ten days while Congress is in session, the bill will automatically become law. However, if Congress is not in session and the President does not sign off on the bill, it will be pocket vetoed, meaning it cannot be overridden by Congress.

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