How An Idea Becomes A Law
Introducing a new bill
Following introduction
Committee assignment
Life in committee
Floor action
House or Senate debate
House or Senate vote
Conference committee
Presidential review
At long last law
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Every bill begins as an idea
All legislation is born the same way -- as an idea.
Usually, bills get their start when voters recognize a community need and decide they want a law passed to change things for the better or when they believe their government is headed in the wrong direction. These individuals, called constituents, join together with other like-minded neighbors and friends, organize their ideas, then contact their local senator or representative and share their desire for a new law. If the lawmaker agrees that the constituents' issue is important, the senator or representative sits down and writes out a proposal that is then drafted into what is called a bill, or legislation.
Introducing a new bill
Any member of Congress can introduce a piece of legislation, although the process is different for each chamber (House and Senate). The lawmaker who introduces a bill is known as that bill's sponsor. Senate bills can be jointly sponsored by more than one Senator, while members of the House can cosponsor a piece of legislation, though that bill may have only one sponsor.
House members may only introduce legislation in the House and Senators in the Senate. No one else is allowed to introduce legislation, not even the President.
Additionally, the Constitution requires that all measures affecting taxes must begin in the House of Representatives and the House has a specific committee to handle tax policy, the Ways and Means Committee. So, all legislation that impacts taxes, must be considered by the House Ways and Means Committee. For this reason, no legislation may begin in the Senate if that bill impacts taxation. However, the Senate may make changes to tax-related bills after they are passed by the House. However, if they do make changes, as with any legislation, the House must vote again to approve those changes before the bill can be sent to the President for signature to become law.
Following introduction
New legislation is:
- Assigned a bill number beginning with the number "1" (bills that originate in the House start with "HR" while those starting in the Senate begin with "S")
- Labeled with the sponsor(s)' name(s)
- Sent to the Government Printing Office (GPO) where copies are made.
- Posted to the Library of Congress' Web site known as THOMAS, the official online portal for posting federal legislation
Committee assignment
The first step for any piece of legislation is committee consideration.
That means the Speaker of the House or the presiding officer in the Senate refers the bill to the appropriate House or Senate committee for consideration. For example, a Senate bill that would impact public school curriculum would likely be referred first to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (also known as the "HELP" committee.) Bills may be referred to more than one committee and a bill may be split so that parts are sent to different committees based on the areas affected by those parts of the bill. The Speaker of the House may set time limits on House committees.
Then, bills are placed on the calendar of the committee to which they have been assigned. in most cases, failure of a committee to act on an assigned bill is the same as killing it. To release a House bill from committee with a proper committee vote, a majority of House members must first sign a discharge petition.
Life in committee
Committee members may request appropriate government agencies to provide expert comments about a bill's merit and possible impact. The Committee Chair can assign a bill to a subcommittee for closer scrutiny.
Committee members may hold hearings to learn more about the legislation, including testimony by subject matter experts. Subcommittees report their findings to the full committee. The full committee holds a "mark-up" session, which means the committee members will make proposed revisions and additions. This process often begins with a new version of the bill created by the committee chairperson and referred to as the "chair's mark." Finally, if the bill is to proceed, the full committee must vote to recommend the full House or Senate approve the bill. That's when the bill is "ordered to be reported."
After the bill is reported, committee staff prepare a written report that explains why they favor the bill and why they want any amendments adopted. Committee members who oppose a bill sometimes write a dissenting or "minority" opinion in the report. The report is sent back to the whole chamber, either House or Senate.
Floor action
Next, the bill is automatically placed on the full House or Senate general calendar in the order in which it was reported. In the House, most bills go through one additional step known as the rules committee. This committee adopts rules to guide how the House will consider the bill.
House
Bills are usually placed on the calendar in the order they are reported, but they don't usually come to floor in the same order -- and some bills never reach the floor at all. The Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader (almost always of the same political party) decide which bills will reach the floor and when. (In rare cases, legislation can also be brought to the floor by a discharge petition.)
Senate
Legislation is placed on the legislative calendar. The Majority Leader schedules legislation. However, unlike the House, bills can only be brought to the floor for consideration by the full Senate when a majority of the Senate agrees.
House or Senate debate
House
Debate is limited by the rules formulated in the Rules Committee. The Committee of the Whole, which includes all members of the House but does not adhere to all the formal rules of a House session, debates and amends a bill but cannot technically pass it.
Debate is formally guided by the Sponsoring Committee and time is divided between supporters and opponents, typically along political party lines. The floor leaders from the Sponsoring Committee decide how much time to allot to each member. Amendments must relate to the subject of a bill -- no irrelevant provisions or amendments are allowed. The amended bill is then read back to the House (this requirement is often waived) and the final version of the bill is then voted on by the full House.
A "quorum" -- more than half of all House members (at least 218) -- may be required before the House can vote to pass legislation. Any member can request a "quorum call" to make sure a quorum is present. If there is not a quorum, the House will send the Sergeant at Arms out to round up missing House members, or the House may adjourn.
Senate
Senate debate is unlimited unless "cloture" is invoked. Cloture is the term (generally used in the Senate) for a vote to end one discussion and move on to a different subejct or part of the process. For example, cloture is invoked to begin or end debate on a bill. Cloture is a critical point in the Senate process; a cloture vote requires a "super majority" of 60 Senators who agree to the cloture motion. So, even if a standard majority of Senators (51) agrees to the motion to proceed, it's not enough. The 60 votes required for cloture are essential to move legislation forward in the Senate.
Amendments need not be germane (relevant) to the subject of the bill. For example, a Senator could amend a transportation bill to fund a new veteran's hospital. That means Senators can offer entirely unrelated bills as amendments to other bills, including nongermane House-passed bills. Unless cloture is invoked, Senators can use a "filibuster" -- speaking for as long as they want -- to defeat a measure by "talking it to death." Filibuster is an informal term for extended debate or other procedures used to prevent a vote on a bill in the Senate.
House or Senate vote
Once the House or Senate votes on a bill, many different scenarios can play out. If it is the first chamber to pass a bill, it is then sent to the other chamber for consideration unless that chamber already has a similar measure under consideration. Both chambers must pass an identical version of a bill or it dies. If the House and Senate pass the same bill then it is sent to the President for consideration. If the House and Senate pass different bills that address the same topic, both versions are sent to a Conference Committee.
Conference Committee
Most major legislation goes to a Conference Committee. Once a bill is approved, members from each chamber form a conference committee and meet to work out the differences. The committee is usually made up of senior members appointed by the presiding officers of the committee that originally dealt with the bill.
Typically, House or Senate leaders appoint more members who support their chambers' version of the bill than those who oppose it. As a result, conference committee discussions usually center around how to combine the two versions into the best possible single bill that can pass both the House and Senate. Lawmakers consider Conference Committee essential for favorable consideration by the President so a bill can ultimately become a law.
If the Conference Committee reaches a compromise, it prepares a written conference report. The report often includes both majority and minority opinions on the merits and specific provisions of a merged bill. This report is submitted to each chamber for consideration. Both the House and the Senate must approve a merged bill before it can be sent to the President for his or her consideration.
Presidential review
Once both House and Senate approve the same legislation, the bill goes to the President for review. A bill becomes law if signed by the President or if the President takes no action within 10 days and Congress is in session. If Congress adjourns before the 10 days and the President has not signed the bill then it does not become law.
The President may also choose to reject a bill. He or she rejects a bill by issuing a veto and sending it back to both the House and Senate with a note that lists reasons for a veto. The chamber that originated the legislation can attempt to override a veto by a vote of two-thirds of those present. If the originating chamber votes to override the President's veto, the second chamber may also consider voting to override. If both chambers override the veto of a bill, that legislation becomes law without the President's approval.
At long last law
Once a bill is either signed by the President, allowed to become law without the President's signature following the 10-day rule, or both chambers override a veto, the legislation becomes a law and is assigned an official law number. The bill number is designated by "PL" (for public law) and assigned a two-part number separated by a hyphen. This first part denotes the Congressional session during which the law was enacted. The second part is a sequential number that indicates how many laws have been passed during that session of Congress to date.
For example, the 23rd law enacted by the 110th Congress was assigned the law number "P.L. 110-23." If you searched the Internet, you could find out that P.L. 110-23 is the "Trauma Care Systems Planning and Development Act of 2007." Enacted in 2007, it was the 23rd bill that became law during the 110th Congress.
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