Executive Silence: Bills Becoming Laws Without A Signature

The process of a bill becoming a law without the governor's signature is known as a pocket veto. This occurs when Congress adjourns for the session before the ten-day period for the governor to sign or veto the bill has elapsed, thereby preventing the bill from becoming law.

The bill is sent to the Government Printing Office and copies are made

The bill is sent to the Government Printing Office (GPO) to be printed and for copies to be made. The bill is delivered to the chief bill clerk by a page boy, who then gives the bill a number. The bill is then sent to the GPO for printing. The GPO prints the bill and makes copies available in the document rooms of both Houses. Printed and electronic versions of the bill are also made available to the public.

The bill is referred to the appropriate committee

Once a bill has been introduced, it is sent to the relevant committee. This decision is made by the Speaker of the House or the presiding officer in the Senate, though in practice, the referral decision is usually made by the House or Senate parliamentarian.

Bills are assigned to committees according to their subject matter. In the case of bills that will have a fiscal impact, they must also be heard by the house of origin's fiscal committee.

Committees can pass a bill, pass a bill with amendments, pass a bill as amended, defeat a bill, or refer a bill to another committee. Committees may also hold hearings, during which the author presents the bill and people testify in support of or opposition to the bill.

Once a committee has made its decision, it will hold a "mark-up" session, during which it 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.

After the bill is reported, the committee staff prepares a written report explaining why they favor the bill and why they wish to see their amendments, if any, adopted. Committee members who oppose a bill sometimes write a dissenting opinion in the report. The report is sent back to the whole chamber and is placed on the calendar.

The bill is assigned to a subcommittee

Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a 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 to allow for the efficient consideration of legislation.

Committees are assigned specific policy areas, and subcommittees are given 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 a bill back to the full committee.

Once the hearings and subcommittee review are completed, the committee will meet to "mark up" the bill. They 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 favour of the bill, it is reported to the floor.

The subcommittee will then consider the bill in a session that is known as the "markup" session. The views of both sides are studied in detail, and at the conclusion of deliberation, a vote is taken to determine the action of the subcommittee. The subcommittee may decide to report the bill favourably to the full committee, with or without amendment, or unfavourably, or without recommendation. The subcommittee may also suggest that the committee table it or postpone action indefinitely. Each member of the subcommittee, regardless of party affiliation, has one vote.

The subcommittee will then report on the bill to the full committee, which will then vote to approve the bill. If the committee votes to report the bill favourably to the House, it may report the bill with or without amendments. If the committee has approved extensive amendments, the committee may decide to report the original bill with one "amendment in the nature of a substitute" consisting of all the amendments previously adopted, or may introduce and report a new bill incorporating those amendments, commonly known as a "clean" bill. The new bill is introduced (usually by the chairman of the committee), and, after referral back to the committee, is reported favourably to the House by the committee.

A committee may table a bill or fail to take action on it, thereby preventing its report to the House. This makes adverse reports or reports without recommendation to the House by a committee unusual. The House also has the ability to discharge a bill from the committee.

The bill is voted on by the committee

The committee will hold a "mark-up" session during which it 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.

The committee vote is a crucial stage in the life of a bill. It is the committee's job to scrutinise the bill, and the vote is the culmination of this process. The committee will have heard from the bill's sponsor, and from government agencies, and will have requested and received comments about the bill's merit. The committee may have held hearings, and subcommittees may have reported their findings. All of this will feed into the committee's vote.

The committee vote is not the end of the road for a bill. After the vote, the committee staff prepares a written report explaining why they favour the bill and why they wish to see their amendments, if any, adopted. Committee members who oppose a bill sometimes write a dissenting opinion in the report. The report is sent back to the whole chamber and is placed on the calendar.

The bill is sent to the Rules committee

The Committee on Rules, more commonly known as the Rules Committee, is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for the rules under which bills will be presented to the House of Representatives. The committee is often considered one of the most powerful committees as it influences the introduction and process of legislation through the House. Thus, it has garnered the nickname the "traffic cop of Congress".

When a bill is reported out of another committee with legislative jurisdiction, it is placed on the appropriate House Calendar for debate. However, common practice is for bills reported from committees to be considered in the Rules Committee, which then passes a so-called "special rule" (a resolution allowing for consideration of a bill, establishing how long and under what rules the full body will debate the proposition).

A "special rule" resolution is privileged under the Standing Rules of the House, meaning it is immediately subject to a debate and a vote by the full House upon being reported by the Rules Committee. If a "special rule" resolution providing for consideration of a bill is passed, then such a bill must be considered by the House at such a time and under such limitations as the resolution has set. In practice, a bill can get to a floor vote only if a "special rule" resolution providing for its consideration is passed (unless the Speaker grants a vote on suspension of the rules, which requires two-thirds of the votes cast in order to pass).

The Rules Committee has two broad categories of jurisdiction: special orders for the consideration of legislation (known as "special rules" or "rules") and original jurisdiction matters. A special rule provides the terms and conditions of debate on a measure or matter, consideration of which constitutes the bulk of the work of the Rules Committee. The Committee also considers original jurisdiction measures, which commonly represent changes to the standing rules of the House, or measures that contain special rules, such as the expedited procedures in trade legislation.

The Rules Committee has vast power in the House. As such, the majority party will usually be very keen on controlling it tightly. While most House committees maintain membership in a rough proportion to the full chamber (if the majority party controls 55% of the House, it will tend to have 55% of committee seats), membership in the Rules Committee is disproportionately in favor of the majority party. Furthermore, the Rules Committee typically operates in a very partisan fashion, advancing "special rule" resolutions to the floor on straight-party-line votes in nearly all cases.

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