How Does a Bill Become Law?
The chief function of Congress is the making of laws. A very brief
overview of the legislative process within the House of Representatives
is presented below. There are many aspects and variations of the process
which are not addressed here. A much more in-depth discussion and presentation
of the overall process is available in How
Our Laws Are Made. Most of the information presented below was
excerpted from that Congressional document.
Forms of Congressional Action
The work of Congress is initiated by the introduction of a proposal
in one of four principal forms: the bill, the joint resolution, the
concurrent resolution, and the simple resolution.
Bills
A bill is the form used for most legislation, whether permanent
or temporary, general or special, public or private. A bill originating
in the House of Representatives is designated by the letters "H.R.",
signifying "House of Representatives", followed by a number
that it retains throughout all its parliamentary stages. Bills are
presented to the President for action when approved in identical form
by both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Joint Resolutions
Joint resolutions may originate either in the House of Representatives
or in the Senate. There is little practical difference between a
bill and a joint resolution. Both are subject to the same procedure,
except for a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution.
On approval of such a resolution by two-thirds of both the House
and Senate, it is sent directly to the Administrator of General Services
for submission to the individual states for ratification. It is not
presented to the President for approval. A joint resolution originating
in the House of Representatives is designated "H.J.Res." followed
by its individual number. Joint resolutions become law in the same
manner as bills.
Concurrent Resolutions
Matters affecting the operations of both the House of Representatives
and Senate are usually initiated by means of concurrent resolutions.
A concurrent resolution originating in the House of Representatives
is designated "H.Con.Res." followed by its individual number.
On approval by both the House of Representatives and Senate, they
are signed by the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate.
They are not presented to the President for action.
Simple Resolutions
A matter concerning the operation of either the House of Representatives
or Senate alone is initiated by a simple resolution. A resolution
affecting the House of Representatives is designated "H.Res." followed
by its number. They are not presented to the President for action.
For more information on bills and resolutions see Forms
of Congressional Action in How
Our Laws Are Made.
Introduction and Referral to Committee
Any Member in the House of Representatives may introduce a bill at
any time while the House is in session by simply placing it in
the "hopper" provided
for the purpose at the side of the Clerk's desk in the House
Chamber. The sponsor's signature must appear on the bill. A public
bill may have an unlimited number of co-sponsoring Members. The
bill is assigned its legislative number by the Clerk and referred
to the appropriate committee by the Speaker, with the assistance
of the Parliamentarian. The bill is then printed in its introduced
form, which you can read in Bill
Text.
If a bill was introduced today, summary information about it
can be found in Bill
Status Today.
An important phase of the legislative process is the action taken
by committees. It is during committee action that the most intense
consideration is given to the proposed measures; this is also the time
when the people are given their opportunity to be heard. Each piece
of legislation is referred to the committee that has jurisdiction over
the area affected by the measure.
For more information on this step of the legislative process
see Introduction
and Reference to Committee of How
Our Laws Are Made.
Consideration by Committee
Public Hearings and Markup Sessions
Usually the first step in this process is a public hearing, where
the committee members hear witnesses representing various viewpoints
on the measure. Each committee makes public the date, place and subject
of any hearing it conducts. The Committee
Meetings scheduled for today are available along with other House
Schedules . Public announcements are also published in the Daily
Digest portion of the Congressional
Record.
A transcript of the testimony taken at a hearing is made available
for inspection in the committee office, and frequently the complete
transcript is printed and distributed by the committee.
After hearings are completed, the bill is considered in a session
that is popularly known as the "mark-up" session. Members
of the committee study the viewpoints presented in detail. Amendments
may be offered to the bill, and the committee members vote to accept
or reject these changes.
This process can take place at either the subcommittee level
or the full committee level, or at both. Hearings and markup
sessions are status steps noted in the Legislative Action portion
of Bill
Status.
Committee Action
At the conclusion of deliberation, a vote of committee or subcommittee
Members is taken to determine what action to take on the measure.
It can be reported, with or without amendment, or tabled, which
means no further action on it will occur. If the committee has
approved extensive amendments, they may decide to report a new
bill incorporating all the amendments. This is known as a "clean bill," which will
have a new number. Votes in committee can be found in Committee Votes.
If the committee votes to report a bill, the Committee
Report is written. This report describes the purpose and scope
of the measure and the reasons for recommended approval. House
Report numbers are prefixed with "H.Rpt." and then a number indicating
the Congress (currently 107).
For more information on bills and resolutions see Consideration
by Committee in How
Our Laws Are Made.
House Floor Consideration
Consideration of a measure by the full House can be a simple or very
complex operation. In general a measure is ready for consideration
by the full House after it has been reported by a committee. Under
certain circumstances, it may be brought to the Floor directly.
The consideration of a measure may be governed by a "rule." A
rule is itself a simple resolution, which must be passed by the House,
that sets out the particulars of debate for a specific bill—how much
time will allowed for debate, whether amendments can be offered, and
other matters.
Debate time for a measure is normally divided between proponents and
opponents. Each side yields time to those Members who wish to speak
on the bill. When amendments are offered, these are also debated and
voted upon. If the House is in session today, you can see a summary
of Current
House Floor Proceedings .
After all debate is concluded and amendments decided upon, the House
is ready to vote on final passage. In some cases, a vote to "recommit" the
bill to committee is requested. This is usually an effort by opponents
to change some portion or table the measure. If the attempt to recommit
fails, a vote on final passage is ordered.
Resolving Differences
After a measure passes in the House, it goes to the Senate for consideration.
A bill must pass both bodies in the same form before it can be presented
to the President for signature into law.
If the Senate changes the language of the measure, it must return
to the House for concurrence or additional changes. This back-and-forth
negotiation may occur on the House floor, with the House accepting
or rejecting Senate amendments or complete Senate text. Often a conference
committee will be appointed with both House and Senate members. This
group will resolve the differences in committee and report the identical
measure back to both bodies for a vote. Conference committees also
issue reports outlining the final version of the bill.
Final Step
Votes on final passage, as well as all other votes in the House, may
be taken by the electronic voting system which registers each individual
Member's response. These votes are referred to as Yea/Nay votes or
recorded votes, and are available in House Votes by Bill number, roll
call vote number or words describing the reason for the vote.
Votes in the House may also be by voice vote, and no record of individual
responses is available.
After a measure has been passed in identical form by both the House
and Senate, it is considered "enrolled." It is sent to the
President who may sign the measure into law, veto it and return it
to Congress, let it become law without signature, or at the end of
a session, pocket-veto it.
From U.S. House of Representatives Educational Resources, Tying
it All Together
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