The Journey Of A Bill To Becoming Law

Creating laws is the most important job of the U.S. House of Representatives. A bill is a proposal for a new law or a change to an existing one. Before a bill can become a law, it must be approved by the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and the President. The process of turning a bill into a law involves several steps, including drafting, introduction, committee review, voting, referral to the other chamber, and, finally, approval by the President.

A bill is proposed and introduced

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 written, it needs a sponsor. The sponsor is the primary Congress member supporting the bill. The bill's author talks with other Representatives about the bill in the hopes of getting their support for it. 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. Once introduced, the bill is assigned a number that begins with H.R. It is then read by a reading clerk to all the Representatives and sent to one of the House standing committees.

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. The bill is then assigned a number (e.g. S 1) and labelled with the sponsor's name. It is then sent to the Government Printing Office (GPO) and copies are made. Senate bills can be jointly sponsored, and members can cosponsor the piece of legislation.

It goes to a committee

Once a bill has been introduced, it is assigned to a committee. Committees are made up of groups of members of Congress who are particularly interested in a specific topic, such as health or international affairs. The committee will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. They will also determine its chances of passage by the entire Congress.

Committees may hold hearings to better understand the implications of the bill and gather the views of the executive branch, experts, other public officials, supporters, and opponents of the bill. If the committee does not act on a bill, it is considered "dead".

Subcommittees are organised under committees and have further specialisation on a certain topic. Committees may refer bills to a subcommittee for study and hearings. The subcommittee may make changes to the bill and must vote to refer it back to the full committee.

Once hearings and subcommittee reviews are completed, the committee will meet to "mark up" the bill. They will make changes and amendments before recommending the bill to the "floor". If a committee votes against reporting legislation to the full chamber of Congress, the bill dies. If the committee votes in favour of the bill, it is reported to the floor. This procedure is called "ordering a bill reported".

The bill is reported

Once a bill has been approved by a committee, it is sent to the House floor, where it is ready to be debated by the U.S. House of Representatives. This is the stage at which the bill is reported.

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. Once 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. The first is Viva Voce, in which the Speaker of the House asks the Representatives who support the bill to say "aye" and those that oppose it to say "no". The second is Division, where 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. The third is Recorded, where 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 vote 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.

It's voted on

Once a bill has been introduced, assigned to a committee, and reviewed by subcommittees, it is ready to be voted on. This is the sixth step in the process of a bill becoming a law.

In the U.S. House of Representatives, there are three methods for voting on a bill: 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 that 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 votes using an electronic voting system, selecting yes, no, or present if they don't want to vote. 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. Senators who support the bill say "yea," and those who oppose it say "nay." If a majority of Senators say "yea," the bill passes in the Senate and is ready to be sent to the President.

If the bill passes in 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 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 review. The President has the authority to approve or reject the bill. If the President approves of the bill, they can sign it and pass it, thereby making it a law. However, if the President does not support the bill, they have the power to veto it.

When the President vetoes a bill, it is sent back to Congress, along with the President's reasons for the veto. At this stage, Congress has the opportunity to override the President's veto and pass the bill into law. To achieve this, two-thirds of the Representatives and Senators must vote in support of the bill.

On the other hand, if the President does not take any action on the bill for ten days while Congress is in session, the bill will automatically become law. Conversely, if Congress is not in session and the President has not signed the bill, it will not become law. This is known as a "pocket veto" and cannot be overridden by Congress.

The President's role in the legislative process is crucial, as they have the final say in whether a bill becomes a law. Their approval is necessary, and their veto power provides a check on the legislative branch's power.

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