Understanding The Legislative Process: Bills To Laws

Bills rarely become laws because the process of a bill becoming a law is long and complex. The bill must pass both houses of Congress and be signed into law by the President. The bill must be passed during the same congressional session of its proposal, a period of one year. If it does not complete the process, it is dropped, and can only be revived through reintroduction and going through the whole process again. Less than 10% of proposed bills become laws.

The bill must survive three stages in each house: committee consideration, floor debate, and conference committees. Most bills die in the committee stage, where they are forgotten and never discussed. If a bill survives, hearings are set up, and the bill is revised until the committee is ready to send it to the floor. The bill is then debated and voted on. If the bill passes in both houses of Congress, it is sent to the President. The President can sign and pass the bill, refuse to sign or veto it, or do nothing (pocket veto). If the President vetoes the bill, it is sent back to Congress, which can hold another vote on the bill. If two-thirds of the Representatives and Senators support the bill, the President's veto is overridden and the bill becomes a law.

Bills need to be approved by the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the President

The US Constitution states that "All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives." This means that any bill must be passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate before it can become a law.

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 it passes one body of Congress, it goes through a similar process in the other body. Once both bodies vote to accept a bill, they must work out any differences between the two versions and then both chambers vote on the same version of the bill. If it passes, they present it to the President.

The President then has the power to approve or veto the bill. If the President chooses to veto a bill, 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 Congress is no longer in session, the bill will be vetoed by default, which is called a "pocket veto".

Bills must pass both houses of Congress

House of Representatives

In the 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 House. A bill clerk then 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.

When the bill reaches the committee, the committee members, who are groups of Representatives with expertise on specific topics, review, research, and revise the bill before voting on whether or not to send it back to the House floor. If the committee members would like more information, the bill is sent to a subcommittee, where it is closely examined and expert opinions are gathered before it is sent back to the committee for approval.

Once the committee has approved a bill, it is sent, or reported, to the House floor, where it is debated by the Representatives. 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 House of Representatives: viva voce (voice vote), division, and recorded. In a voice vote, the Speaker of the House asks the Representatives who support the bill to say "aye" and those that oppose it to say "no." In a division, the Speaker asks those who support the bill to stand up and be counted, and then asks those who oppose the bill to do the same. In a recorded vote, Representatives record their vote using the electronic voting system, selecting 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 House and is then certified by the Clerk of the House and delivered to the Senate.

Senate

When a bill reaches the Senate, it is discussed in a Senate committee and then reported to the Senate floor to be voted on. Senators vote by voice, saying "yea" if they support the bill and "nay" if they oppose it. If a majority of Senators say "yea," the bill passes in the Senate and is ready to go to the President.

Differences between the House and the Senate

The main difference between the two houses is that the Senate has fewer restrictions on debate. While the House goes from committee to a special Rules Committee that sets time limits on debate and rules for adding amendments, the Senate has much looser rules, with Senators being allowed to talk for as long as they like about each bill. No restrictions on amendments are allowed in the Senate, whereas in the House, amendments must be germane to the subject of a bill. This lack of rules in the Senate has led to the occasional filibuster, where a Senator talks a bill to death. Filibusters are prohibited in the House.

Bills must be signed into law by the President

The President's signature is the final step in the process of a bill becoming a law. The President has three options when a bill reaches their desk: they can sign it into law, veto it, or do nothing (pocket veto). If the President chooses to veto a bill, Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and the Senate, and the bill will become a law. However, if Congress is not in session and the President does nothing, the bill will not become a law. This is known as a pocket veto and cannot be overridden by Congress.

The President's role in the law-making process is an important check and balance in the US system of government. The founders believed that efficiency was a hallmark of oppressive government and wanted to ensure that laws were well-considered before passing. The requirement for Presidential approval adds another layer of scrutiny to the legislative process, helping to ensure that only carefully considered bills become laws.

Bills must be passed during the same congressional session of their proposal

The legislative process is a long and complex one, and it is no surprise that less than 10% of proposed bills become laws. In the US, a bill must be passed during the same congressional session of its proposal, which is a period of one year. If it does not complete the process within this time frame, it is dropped and can only be revived through reintroduction and by going through the entire process again.

The legislative process begins with the introduction of a bill. In the US 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 US House of Representatives. Once introduced, a bill is assigned a number (e.g. HR 1 or S 1) and is sent to the Government Printing Office (GPO) where copies are made.

The bill is then referred to the appropriate committee by the Speaker of the House or the presiding officer in the Senate. Bills are placed on the calendar of the committee to which they have been assigned. If a committee fails to act on a bill, it is equivalent to killing it. Bills can be assigned to a subcommittee by the Chairman, where they are closely examined and expert opinions are gathered before being sent back to the committee for approval.

Once a bill has been approved by a committee, it is sent or "reported" to the House floor, where it is debated by the US House of Representatives. 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 US House of Representatives: viva voce (voice vote), division, and recorded. If a majority of the Representatives vote yes, the bill passes in the US House of Representatives and is then certified by the Clerk of the House and delivered to the US Senate.

The bill then goes through many of the same steps in the US Senate. It is discussed in a Senate committee and then reported to the Senate floor to be voted on. Senators vote by voice, and if a majority say "yea", the bill passes in the US Senate and is ready to go to the President.

The President has three choices: they can sign and pass the bill, refuse to sign or veto the bill, or do nothing (pocket veto). If a bill has passed in both the US House of Representatives and the US Senate and has been approved by the President, or if a presidential veto has been overridden, the bill becomes a law and is enforced by the government.

Bills must be assigned a number and a sponsor

The process of a bill becoming a law is a long and detailed one. Once a bill has been proposed and introduced, it must be assigned a number and a sponsor.

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. A bill clerk then assigns it a number that begins with H.R. The bill is then read by a reading clerk to all the Representatives, and the Speaker of the House sends the bill to one of the House standing committees.

The number assigned to the bill is crucial for identification and tracking purposes. For example, 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, on the other hand, is designated by 'S.' followed by its number.

The bill also needs a sponsor—the Representative who has written the bill talks to other Representatives to get their support. The sponsor will discuss the bill with other Representatives, hoping to gain 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 Senate, the process is slightly different. 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. Senate bills can also be jointly sponsored.

Frequently asked questions