Who Drafts The Laws? Understanding The Legislative Process

Bills are proposed pieces of legislation that can be introduced by 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 citizens or citizen groups who recommend a new or amended law to a member of Congress. 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 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 vote to override that veto and the bill becomes a law.

Who can write a bill?

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, be proposed during their election campaign, or be petitioned by citizens or citizen groups.

Any member of Congress can draft a bill. These ideas can come from the members themselves, from everyday citizens, or advocacy groups. The primary Congress member supporting the bill is called the "sponsor", and other members who support the bill are called "co-sponsors".

In the House of Representatives, any member, delegate, or resident commissioner can introduce a bill by placing it in the "hopper", a wooden box on the side of the clerk's desk. 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 is postponed until the next day.

Once introduced, the bill is assigned to a committee, whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. The committee may also choose to hold hearings to better understand the implications of the bill and gather the views of experts. If the committee does not act on a bill, it is considered "dead".

The bill is then put before the chamber to be voted on. If it 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, and if it passes, they present it to the President.

Therefore, while almost anyone can write a bill, only members of Congress can introduce a bill, and it must go through the legislative process described above to become a law.

What happens once a bill is introduced?

Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. The committee will then vote on whether to send it back to the House floor. If the committee decides it needs more information before voting, the bill is sent to a subcommittee for further study and hearings. The subcommittee then closely examines the bill, gathers expert opinions, and sends it back to the committee for approval.

If the committee approves the bill, it is reported to the House floor for debate. The reading clerk reads the bill by each section and representatives recommend changes. Once the changes have been agreed upon, the bill is ready to be voted on.

There are three different ways a bill can be voted on: voice vote, division vote, and recorded vote. If the majority of representatives vote yes on the bill, then it passes and is sent to the U.S. Senate, where it will be scrutinized and debated once again.

Once the bill is on the Senate side, it goes through very similar steps as it did in the House. After being sent to a committee and debated on the Senate floor, it is voted on again. If the majority supports the bill, it passes and is sent to the President for approval.

What is the role of committees?

Committees play a vital role in the legislative process. Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. Committees are groups of Representatives who are knowledgeable about specific topics such as education or foreign affairs. They have their own funding and staff, with the majority party controlling two-thirds of the funding and staff selection.

Committees are required to meet at least once a month to discuss the bills given to them. The committee chair has the chief agenda-setting authority and identifies the bills or issues the committee will act on through hearings and/or markups. Hearings provide a forum for committee members and the public to hear about the strengths and weaknesses of a proposal from selected parties, while also serving to spotlight legislation to colleagues, the public, and the press.

If the committee decides it needs more information before voting on whether to send the bill back to the House floor, it can send the bill to a subcommittee for further examination and expert opinions. Once the committee has finished its work on a bill, it will vote on whether to report the bill to the chamber. If the bill is reported, it is sent back to the House floor for further debate and voting.

What happens when a bill is sent to the President?

When a bill is sent to the President, they have several options. If the President agrees with the bill, they may sign it into law, and the bill is then printed in the Statutes at Large. If the President disagrees with the bill, they may veto it and send it back to Congress. Congress may override the veto with a two-thirds vote of each chamber, at which point the bill becomes law and is printed.

There are two other options that the President may exercise. If Congress is in session and the President takes no action within 10 days, the bill becomes law. If Congress adjourns before 10 days are up and the President takes no action, then the bill dies and Congress may not vote to override. This is called a pocket veto, and if Congress still wants to pass the legislation, they must begin the entire process anew.

What is the role of Congress?

The role of Congress is to make laws. Congress is the lawmaking branch of the federal government of the United States. It consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate, which together form the United States Congress.

Congress has the sole authority to enact legislation and declare war, the right to confirm or reject many Presidential appointments, and substantial investigative powers.

The House of Representatives is made up of 435 elected members, divided among the 50 states in proportion to their total population. In addition, there are 6 non-voting members, representing the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and four other territories of the United States: American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands. The presiding officer of the chamber is the Speaker of the House, elected by the Representatives.

The Senate is composed of 100 Senators, 2 from each state. Senators’ terms are staggered so that about one-third of the Senate is up for reelection every two years. Senators must be 30 years of age, US citizens for at least nine years, and residents of the state they represent.

The Vice President of the United States serves as President of the Senate and may cast the decisive vote in the event of a tie in the Senate.

The Senate has the sole power to confirm those of the President's appointments that require consent, and to provide advice and consent to ratify treaties. There are, however, two exceptions to this rule: the House must also approve appointments to the Vice Presidency and any treaty that involves foreign trade. The Senate also tries impeachment cases for federal officials referred to it by the House.

In order to pass legislation and send it to the President for his or her signature, both the House and the Senate must pass the same bill by majority vote. If the President vetoes a bill, they may override his veto by passing the bill again in each chamber with at least two-thirds of each body voting in favor.

The first step in the legislative process is the introduction of a bill to Congress. Anyone can write it, but only members of Congress can introduce legislation. After being introduced, a bill is referred to the appropriate committee for review. There are 17 Senate committees, with 70 subcommittees, and 23 House committees, with 104 subcommittees. A bill is first considered in a subcommittee, where it may be accepted, amended, or rejected entirely. If the members of the subcommittee agree to move a bill forward, it is reported to the full committee, where the process is repeated again. Throughout this stage of the process, the committees and subcommittees call hearings to investigate the merits and flaws of the bill. They invite experts, advocates, and opponents to appear before the committee and provide testimony, and can compel people to appear using subpoena power if necessary.

If the full committee votes to approve the bill, it is reported to the floor of the House or Senate, and the majority party leadership decides when to place the bill on the calendar for consideration. If a bill is particularly pressing, it may be considered right away. Others may wait for months or never be scheduled at all.

When the bill comes up for consideration, the House has a very structured debate process. Each member who wishes to speak only has a few minutes, and the number and kind of amendments are usually limited. In the Senate, debate on most bills is unlimited — Senators may speak to issues other than the bill under consideration during their speeches, and any amendment can be introduced. Senators can use this to filibuster bills under consideration, a procedure by which a Senator delays a vote on a bill — and by extension its passage — by refusing to stand down. A supermajority of 60 Senators can break a filibuster by invoking cloture, or the cession of debate on the bill, and forcing a vote. Once debate is over, the votes of a simple majority pass the bill.

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