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The chief function of Congress is the making of laws. The process involves four major stages: introduction, committee action, floor action, and enrollment. The first three stages must occur in each of the houses consecutively. After the House in which the bill is introduced completes action on the measure, the bill is sent to the second House, where the process is repeated through the three stages. The fourth stage, enrollment, occurs in the originating house after both Houses have agreed on the final form of the proposal.

Forms of Congressional Action: The legislative process 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.

Introduction and Referral to Committee: Any Member in the Congress may introduce a bill at any time while it is in session by simply placing it in a box, called the "hopper".The bill is assigned its legislative number and referred to the appropriate committee.

Consideration and Action by Committee: An important phase of the legislative process is the action taken by committees. The standing committee (or often a subcommittee) studies a bill and hears testimony from experts and people interested in the bill. 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. The committee then may release the bill with a recommendation to pass it, or revise the bill and release it, or lay it aside. Releasing the bill is called reporting it out, while laying it aside is called tabling.

Floor Consideration: A measure is ready for consideration by the full House after it has been reported by a committee. 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. After all debate is concluded and amendments decided upon, the House is ready to vote on final passage. If the bill passes by simple majority (218 of 435 in the House of Representatives, and 51 of 100 in the Senate), it goes to the second House for consideration.

Resolving Differences: A bill must pass both bodies in the same form before it can be presented to the President for signature into law. If the second House (e.g. Senate) changes the language of the measure, it must return to the House of Representatives for concurrence or additional changes. This back-and-forth negotiation may occur on the 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.

Enrollment: After a measure has been passed in identical form by both Houses, 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.

• Enactment of a Law
• How a Senate Bill Becomes a Law - Flow Chart
• How Laws Are Made
• How Our Laws Are Made
• House and Senate Rules of Procedure: A Comparison - CRS Report
• Legislative Process on the House Floor: An Introduction - CRS Report
• Legislative Procedure in Congress - CRS Report
• Senate Legislative Process

• Electronic Sources for Federal Legislative History Documents Law Librarians Society of Washington
• USA.gov
• Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids

• Tracking Current Federal Legislation and Regulations: A Guide to Resources - CRS Report
• LLSDC's Legislative Source Book

• Constitution of the United States
• Law Librarians Society of Washington for federal legislative histories
• WashLaw Legal Research on the Net

• Introduction to the Federal Budget Process - CRS Report
• The Appropriations Process
• The Basic Stages of the Budget Process
• The Budget Process and the Budget Resolution
• The Budget Reconciliation Process
• The Congressional Budget Process - CRS Report

• Glossary of Terms in the Federal Budget Process
• Time Table of the Budget Process
• Stages of the Budget Process
• Floor Procedures for Appropriations Bills
• Legislating & Appropriating in the House
• Points of Order in the Appropriations Process
• Points of Order in the Congressional Budget Process - CRS Report
• Summary of the Byrd Rule