The Legislative Process 101

How Bills Become Laws or Not

Each session, the United States Congress considers thousands of bills.. Yet, only a small percentage of them will ever reach the top of the President's desk for final approval or veto. Along their way to the White House, bills traverse a maze of killer committees and subcommittees, debates, and amendments in both chambers of Congress.

The following is a very simple explanation of the typical process required for a bill to become a law. This is about as basic as it gets and Congressional gurus will find some details missing.
But here are the basics...

Step 1: Introduction

Anybody -- you, me, the President, can write a bill; but only a member of Congress (House or Senate) can introduce the bill for consideration. The Representative or Senator who introduces the bill becomes its "Sponsor." Other legislators who support the bill or work on its preparation can ask to be listed as "Co-sponsors." Important bills usually have several Co-sponsors.

Four basic types of legislation are considered by Congress: Bills, Simple Resolutions, Joint Resolutions, and Concurrent Resolutions.

A bill or resolution has officially been introduced when it has been assigned a number (H.R. # for House Bills or S. # for Senate Bills), and printed in the Congressional Record by the Government Printing Office.

Step 2: Committee Consideration

All bills and resolutions are "referred" to one or more House or Senate committees according their specific rules.
There are three types of committees.
House Committees
Senate Committees
Joint (House and Senate) Committees

Step 3: Committee Action

The committee considers the bill in detail. For example, the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee consider a bill's potential impact on the Federal Budget. "Can we afford this thing?"

If the committee approves the bill, it moves on in the legislative process. Committees reject bills simply by not acting on them. Bills that fail to get committee action are said to have "died in committee." Many do.

Step 4: Subcommittee Review

The committee sends some bills to a subcommittee for further study and public hearings. Just about anyone can present testimony at these hearings. Government officials, industry experts, the public, anyone with an interest in the bill can give testimony either in person or in writing. Notice of these hearings, as well as instructions for presenting testimony is officially published in the Federal Register.

Step 5: Mark Up

If the subcommittee decides to report (recommend) a bill back to the full committee for approval, they may first make changes and amendments to it. This process is called "Mark Up." If the subcommittee votes not to report a bill to the full committee, the bill dies right there.

Step 6: Committee Action -- Reporting a Bill

The full committee now reviews the deliberations and recommendations of the subcommittee. The committee may now conduct further review, hold more public hearings, or simply vote on the report from the subcommittee. If the bill is to go forward, the full committee prepares and votes on its final recommendations to the House or Senate. Once a bill has successfully passed this stage it is said to have been "ordered reported" or simply "reported."

Step 7: Publication of Committee Report

Once a bill has been reported (See Step 6:) a report about the bill is written and published. The report will include the purpose of the bill, its impact on existing laws, budgetary considerations, and any new taxes or tax increases that will be required by the bill. The report also typically contains transcripts from public hearings on the bill, as well as the opinions of the committee for and against the proposed bill.

A Typical Published Committee Report

Step 8: Floor Action -- Legislative Calendar

The bill will now be placed on the legislative calendar of the House or Senate and scheduled (in chronological order) for "floor action" or debate before the full membership. The House has several legislative calendars. The Speaker of the House and House Majority Leader decide the order in which reported bills will be debated. The Senate, having only 100 members and considering fewer bills, has only one legislative calendar.

Step 9: Debate

Debate for and against the bill proceeds according to the rules of the House or Senate.

Step 10: Voting

Once debate has ended and any amendments to the bill have been approved, the full membership will vote for or against the bill. The vote may be a voice vote or a roll-call vote.

Step 11: Bill Referred to Other Chamber

Bill approved by one "chamber" of Congress (House or Senate) are now sent to the other chamber where they will follow pretty much the same track of committee to debate to vote. The other chamber may approve, reject, ignore, or amend the bill.

Step12: Conference Committee

If the second chamber to consider a bill changes it significantly, a "conference committee" made up of members of both chambers will be formed. The conference committee works to reconcile differences between the Senate and House versions of the bill. If the committee cannot agree, the bill simply dies. If the committee does agree on a compromise version of the bill, they prepare a report detailing the changes they have proposed. Both the House and Senate must approve the report of the conference committee or the bill will be sent back to them for further work

Step 13: Final Action - Enrollment

Once both the House and Senate have approved the bill in identical form, it becomes "Enrolled" and sent to the President of the United States. The President may sign the bill into law. The President can also take no action on the bill for ten days while Congress is in session and the bill will automatically become law. If the President is opposed to the bill, he can "veto" it. If he takes no action on the bill for ten days after Congress has adjourned their second session, the bill dies. This action is called a "pocket veto."

Step 14: Overriding the Veto

Congress can attempt to "override" the President's veto of a bill and force it into law, but this requires a 2/3 vote by a quorum of members in both the House and Senate.

That's the "simple" version? You start to wonder how any bills ever become laws. Fact of the matter is, not many do. The 105th Congress (1997-98) considered 13,882 pieces of legislation. A total of 354 became Public Laws.

BILLS

A bill is the form used for most legislation, whether permanent or temporary, general or special, public or private. The form of a House bill is as follows:

A BILL

For the establishment, etc. [as the title may be].

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, etc.

The enacting clause was prescribed by law in 1871 and is identical in all bills, whether they originate in the House of Representatives or in the Senate.

Bills may originate in either the House of Representatives or the Senate with one notable exception provided for in the Constitution. Article I, Section 7, of the Constitution provides that all bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives but that the Senate may propose or concur with amendments. By tradition, general appropriation bills also originate in the House of Representatives.

There are two types of bills--public and private. A public bill is one that affects the public generally. A bill that affects a specified individual or a private entity rather than the population at large is called a private bill. A typical private bill is used for relief in matters such as immigration and naturalization and claims against the United States.

A bill originating in the House of Representatives is designated by the letters "H.R." followed by a number that it retains throughout all its parliamentary stages. The letters signify "House of Representatives" and not, as is sometimes incorrectly assumed, "House resolution". A Senate bill is designated by the letter "S." followed by its number. The term "companion bill" is used to describe a bill introduced in one House of Congress that is similar or identical to a bill introduced in the other House of Congress.

A bill that has been agreed to in identical form by both bodies becomes the law of the land only after--

1. Presidential approval; or

2. failure by the President to return it with objections to the House in which it originated within 10 days (Sundays excepted) while Congress is in session; or

3. the overriding of a presidential veto by a two- thirds vote in each House.

It does not become law without the President's signature if Congress by their final adjournment prevent its return with objections. This is known as a "pocket veto".

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JOINT RESOLUTIONS

Joint resolutions may originate either in the House of Representatives or in the Senate--not, as is sometimes incorrectly assumed, jointly in both Houses. There is little practical difference between a bill and a joint resolution and the two forms are often used interchangeably. One difference in form is that a joint resolution may include a preamble preceding the resolving clause. Statutes that have been initiated as bills have later been amended by a joint resolution and vice versa. Both are subject to the same procedure except for a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution. When a joint resolution amending the Constitution is approved by two-thirds of both Houses, it is not presented to the President for approval. Following congressional approval, a joint resolution to amend the Constitution is sent directly to the Archivist of the United States for submission to the several states where ratification by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states within the period of time prescribed in the joint resolution is necessary for the amendment to become part of the Constitution.

The form of a House joint resolution is as follows:

JOINT RESOLUTION

Authorizing, etc. [as the title may be].

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all, etc.

The resolving clause is identical in both House and Senate joint resolutions as prescribed by statute in 1871. It is frequently preceded by a preamble consisting of one or more "whereas" clauses indicating the necessity for or the desirability of the joint resolution.

A joint resolution originating in the House of Representatives is designated "H.J. Res." followed by its individual number which it retains throughout all its parliamentary stages. One originating in the Senate is designated "S.J. Res." followed by its number.

Joint resolutions, with the exception of proposed amendments to the Constitution, become law in the same manner as bills.

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CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS

A matter affecting the operations of both Houses is usually initiated by a concurrent resolution. In modern practice, and as determined by the Supreme Court in INS v. Chadha, 462 U.S. 919 (1983), concurrent and simple resolutions normally are not legislative in character since not "presented" to the President for approval, but are used merely for expressing facts, principles, opinions, and purposes of the two Houses. A concurrent resolution is not equivalent to a bill and its use is narrowly limited within these bounds. The term "concurrent", like "joint", does not signify simultaneous introduction and consideration in both Houses.

A concurrent resolution originating in the House of Representatives is designated "H. Con. Res." followed by its individual number, while a Senate concurrent resolution is designated "S. Con. Res." together with its number. On approval by both Houses, they are signed by the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate and transmitted to the Archivist of the United States for publication in a special part of the Statutes at Large volume covering that session of Congress.

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SIMPLE RESOLUTIONS

A matter concerning the rules, the operation, or the opinion of either House alone is initiated by a simple resolution. A resolution affecting the House of Representatives is designated "H. Res." followed by its number, while a Senate resolution is designated "S. Res." together with its number. Simple resolutions are considered only by the body in which they were introduced. Upon adoption, simple resolutions are attested to by the Clerk of the House of Representatives or the Secretary of the Senate and are published in the Congressional Record.

Source: About.com
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