Congress: How a Bill Becomes Law

How Bills Become Laws

Congress is the legislative branch of the United States. It responsible for introducing and passing legislation. It is bicameral. This means it has two chambers. These two chambers are the House of Representatives and the Senate. Both chambers are equal; however, bills for raising revenue can only originate in the House. Bills can be introduced in either chamber, but they have to be approved by both chambers before they go to the President for approval.

If a bill is introduced in the House first, a Congressman writes it up and submits it for consideration. After the bill is introduced, the clerk assigns it a number and title. Once it is printed, it is assigned to the relevant committee. The committee(s) studies it and public hearings are held. The committee has a "mark-up session to determine the final details of the bill. The House committee votes on the bill. The committee can either recommend or table (it dies) the bill. If it is approved, it goes to the floor. At this point, the bill can be discussed further or it can be voted upon. If the bill has a simple majority vote, it passes to the Senate.

Like the House, the bill goes through the same process in the Senate. If the bill passes through the senate but the versions are different between the chambers, it is sent to the Conference Committee.

After a bill passes through both chambers, if there are different versions of the bill in each chamber because of amendments, it goes to the Conference Committee. The Conference Committee reconciles the differences and a conference report is issued. The House and Senate then either vote to adopt or reject the revised bill.

Once the bill passes through both chambers, it goes to the President for his approval and signature. If the President takes no action on signing the bill, if Congress is in session, after 10 days it automatically becomes a law. If the President takes no action after Congress has adjourned it's second session, the bill dies. This is called a pocket veto.

If the President approves and signs the bill, it becomes a law. If the bill is vetoed, it returns to the originating house. Objections are read and discussed. If there are enough objections to the veto, a vote is taken to overule the veto. In order to over rule the bill, two-thirds of Congress has to agree. If they decide not to vote on the over ruling the veto, the bill is stalled.

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