"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."
Article I, Section 1, of the United States Constitution
The chief function of Congress is the making of laws. The legislative process comprises a number of steps, and this page provides information concerning the legislation introduced and considered in Congress.
A much more in-depth discussion and presentation of the overall legislative process is available in How Our Laws are Made and Enactment of a Law.
Here is the legislative process in a nutshell:
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First, a representative sponsors a bill.
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The bill is then assigned to a committee for study.
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If released by the committee, the bill is put on a calendar to be voted on, debated or amended.
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If the bill passes by simple majority (218 of 435), the bill moves to the Senate.
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In the Senate, the bill is assigned to another committee and, if released, debated and voted on.
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If the Senate makes changes, the bill must return to the House for concurrence.
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The resulting bill returns to the House and Senate for final approval.
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The President then has 10 days to veto the final bill or sign it into law.
Introduction and Referral to Committee
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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” at the side of the Clerk's desk in the House Chamber. The sponsor's signature must appear on the bill, which may have an unlimited number of cosponsoring members. The bill is assigned its legislative number by the Clerk and referred to the committee of jurisdiction, which is the committee charged with review of the involved in the bill. |
Committee Hearings and Reports
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The House of Representatives divides its work among over twenty permanent committees.
After a bill is introduced and referred to the committee of
jurisdiction, the committee will often send the measure to its
specialized subcommittee(s) for study, hearings, revisions and approval. |
Debate and Vote on the House Floor
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Consideration of a measure by the full
House can be a simple or very complex operation. Sometimes,
consideration may be governed by a “rule.” A rule is itself a simple
resolution, which must be passed by the House and that sets out the
particular rules of debate for a specific bill (i.e. how much time will
be allowed for debate, whether amendments can be offered and other
matters). |
Senate Action
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After a measure passes in the House, it goes to the Senate for consideration. This includes consideration by a Senate committee or subcommittee, similar to the path of a bill in the House. A bill must pass both bodies in the same form before it can be presented to the President for signature into law. |
Resolving Differences
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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. |
Consideration by the President
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After a measure has been passed in identical form by both the House and Senate, it is considered “enrolled.” The enrolled bill 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. |
Other Resources
House Rules and Precedents: the official documents that spell out the process by which legislation is considered by the House and its committees; as well as specifying the authority of the officers and committees of the House. Additional material explaining the rules and precedents of the House are available through the Democratic Office of the House Rules Committee.