Cecily Zamora
Laws are created by a country's government and are intended to ensure a safe and peaceful society. In the United States, the lawmaking branch of the federal government is Congress, which has two houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Each state also passes its own laws, which must be followed by its citizens. In Canada, the process of creating laws involves all three parts of Parliament: the House of Commons, the Senate, and the Monarch, who is represented by the Governor General. The process of creating laws typically involves the proposal of a bill, which is then discussed, amended, and voted on by the relevant legislative bodies.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Country | United States, Canada |
| Body that creates laws | Congress, Parliament |
| Houses of the lawmaking body | House of Representatives, Senate |
| Members of the House of Representatives | Resident Commissioner, Delegates |
| Who can propose a bill? | Sitting member of the Senate or House of Representatives, Citizen groups, Government |
| Who approves a bill? | President, Governor General |
| What happens when a bill is approved? | It becomes a law |
| What happens when a bill is not approved? | It is called a veto |
| What happens when a bill is vetoed? | Congress can vote to override the veto and the bill becomes a law |
| What is a pocket veto? | When a bill is vetoed by default because the President does not sign off on it and Congress is no longer in session |
| What is a standing committee? | A committee that is required to meet at least once a month |
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What You'll Learn
Bills and how they become laws
In the United States, Congress is the lawmaking branch of the federal government. 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 people or citizen groups who recommend a new or amended law to a member of Congress that represents them. 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 considers the bill. The president can approve the bill and sign it into law. Or the president can refuse to approve a bill. This 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. This action is called a pocket veto, and it cannot be overridden by Congress.
A bill originating in the House of Representatives is designated by "H.R." followed by a number that it retains throughout all its parliamentary stages. A Senate bill is designated by "S." followed by its number. The term "companion bill" is used to describe a bill introduced in one House of Congress that is similar or identical to a bill introduced in the other House of Congress. A bill that has been agreed to in identical form by both bodies becomes the law of the land only after failure by the President to return it with objections within 10 days while Congress is in session, or the overriding of a presidential veto by a two-thirds vote in each House.
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The role of Congress
Congress is the lawmaking branch of the federal government in the United States. It is made up of two houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Each state passes its own laws, and citizens must follow the laws of the state they are in, as well as federal laws.
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 Senate or House of Representatives, be proposed during their election campaign, or be petitioned by citizen groups. Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee, whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to it. 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. The bill is then sent to the President of the United States, who can choose to approve the bill and sign it into law, or veto it. If the President chooses to veto a bill, Congress can vote to override that veto, and the bill becomes a law. However, if Congress is no longer in session, the bill will be pocket vetoed, and this cannot be overridden.
Congress must assemble at least once a year, and each Congress lasts for two years, divided into two regular sessions. During this time, Senators and Representatives may introduce thousands of bills, but only some will become laws. Congress is also responsible for reviewing the laws and programs it creates to determine whether they are being implemented and carried out as intended, and whether they should be continued, curtailed, or eliminated.
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The President's involvement
In the United States, Congress is the law-making branch of the federal government. 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 people or citizen groups who recommend a new or amended law to a member of Congress that represents them. 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 considers the bill. The president can approve the bill and sign it into law or refuse to approve it, which is called a veto. If the president chooses to veto a bill, Congress can usually 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, known as a pocket veto, which cannot be overridden by Congress.
In addition to this, each committee with oversight responsibility must review and study any conditions or circumstances that may indicate the necessity or desirability of enacting new or additional legislation within its jurisdiction. They must also undertake continuous future research and forecasting on matters within their jurisdiction. Reports of the departments and agencies in the executive branch are submitted first to the Office of Management and Budget to determine whether they align with the president's program.
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State and federal laws
State laws apply to people who live or work in a particular state, commonwealth, territory, county, city, municipality, town, township, or village. Each state has its own system of laws and courts that handle a variety of issues, including family law (divorce, child custody, and guardianships), which are generally matters of state and not federal law.
Federal laws, on the other hand, apply throughout the United States and to everyone in the country. These laws are created by Congress, the lawmaking branch of the federal government. The process of creating federal laws starts with a bill, which can be proposed by a sitting member of Congress, during an election campaign, or through a petition by citizens or groups. Once introduced, the bill is assigned to a committee, which researches, discusses, and makes changes. The bill then goes through a process of voting and potential amendments in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, with procedures differing between the two bodies. After passing both bodies, the bill goes to the president for approval, who can sign it into law or veto it. If vetoed, Congress can vote to override the veto.
While federal laws take precedence over state laws according to the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, there are areas where both state and federal laws apply. This often occurs when Congress creates programs for the general welfare, and federal funds are offered to states with certain federal law elements. The powers of the federal government outlined in the U.S. Constitution include immigration, bankruptcy, the postal service, intellectual property, and the military.
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How laws are enforced
In the United States, Congress is the law-making branch of the federal government. 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. 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.
The President then considers the bill. The President can approve the bill and sign it into law. Or the President can refuse to approve a bill. This 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. This action is called a pocket veto, and it cannot be overridden by Congress.
In the House of Representatives, measures have different designations, including "H.R. ____," for House bills, and "H.J.Res. ____," for House joint resolutions. Bills and resolutions are numbered in chronological order. Senate and House bills and joint resolutions, when passed by both Houses in identical form and approved by the President, become public or private law. The procedure for each is identical, except for joint resolutions proposing amendments to the Constitution, which require a two-thirds vote. Concurrent resolutions must be approved by both Houses in identical form to be effective, but they do not become law and are not signed by the President.
Each standing committee has the function of reviewing and studying, on a continuing basis, the impact or probable impact of tax policies on subjects within its jurisdiction. The rules of the House provide for special treatment of an investigative or oversight report of a committee. In the Senate, a Doorkeeper, now called a Sergeant at Arms, is responsible for enforcing the rules made for the regulation of the Senate wing of the Capitol.
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Frequently asked questions
The lawmaking branch of the federal government, Congress, creates laws in the United States. Congress has two houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate.
A bill is a proposal for a new law or a change to an existing law. A bill can be proposed by a sitting member of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives, during their election campaign, or by citizens or citizen groups who petition their representative member of Congress.
Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee that researches, discusses, and makes changes to it. The bill is then put before the 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.
If a bill passes both the House of Representatives and the Senate, it is sent to the President of the United States, who can choose to approve the bill and sign it into law or veto it.
If the President vetoes a bill, Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate, and the bill will become a law.
