How a bill becomes law

House – Legislation is handed to the clerk of the House or placed in the hopper.

Senate – Members must gain recognition of the presiding officer to announce the introduction of a bill.

• The bill is assigned a number. (e.g. HR 4662 or S 4662)
• The bill is labeled with the sponsor’s name.
• The bill is sent to the Government Printing Office and copies are made.
• Senate bills can be jointly sponsored.
• Members can cosponsor the piece of Legislation.

 Committee Steps:

1. Comments about the bill’s merit are requested by government agencies.
2. Bill can be assigned to subcommittee by Chairman.
3. Hearings may be held.
4. Subcommittees report their findings to the full committee.
5. Finally there is a vote by the full committee – the bill is “ordered to be reported.”
6. A committee will hold a “mark-up” session during which it will make revisions and additions. If substantial amendments are made, the committee can order the introduction of a “clean bill” which will include the proposed amendments. This new bill will have a new number and will be sent to the floor while the old bill is discarded. The chamber must approve, change or reject all committee amendments before conducting a final passage vote.
7. After the bill is reported, the committee staff prepares a written report explaining why they favor the bill and why they wish to see their amendments, if any, adopted. Committee members who oppose a bill sometimes write a dissenting opinion in the report. The report is sent back to the whole chamber and is placed on the calendar.
8. In the House, most bills go to the Rules committee before reaching the floor.

Legislation is placed on the Calendar

House: Bills are placed on one of four House Calendars. They are usually placed on the calendars in the order in which they are reported yet they don’t usually come to the floor in this order – some bills never reach the floor at all. The Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader decide what will reach the floor and when.

Senate: Legislation is placed on the Legislative Calendar. There is also an Executive calendar to deal with treaties and nominations. Scheduling of legislation is the job of the Majority Leader. Bills can be brought to the floor whenever a majority of the Senate chooses. 

Debate

House: Debate is limited by the rules formulated in the Rules Committee.

Senate: Debate is unlimited unless cloture is invoked.

Vote – the bill is voted on. If passed, it is then sent to the other chamber unless that chamber already has a similar measure under consideration. If either chamber does not pass the bill then it dies. If the House and Senate pass the same bill then it is sent to the President. If the House and Senate pass different bills they are sent to Conference Committee. Most major legislation goes to a Conference Committee.

1. Members from each house form a conference committee and meet to work out the differences.  The representatives from each house work to maintain their version of the bill.
2. If the Conference Committee reaches a compromise, it prepares a written conference report, which is submitted to each chamber.
3. The conference report must be approved by both the House and the Senate.

1. A bill becomes law if signed by the President or if not signed within 10 days and Congress is in session.
2. If Congress adjourns before the 10 days and the President has not signed the bill then it does not become law.
3. If the President vetoes the bill it is sent back to Congress with a note listing his/her reasons. The chamber that originated the legislation can attempt to override the veto by a vote of two-thirds of those present. If the veto of the bill is overridden in both chambers then it becomes law.