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How Laws Are Enacted
Introduction of a Bill:
Bills may be introduced in either the House or the Senate
(except for tax bills, which must originate in the House.)
While the idea for a given piece of legislation can come
from any number of sources, only a Member of Congress can
actually introduce a bill.
Upon introduction, each bill is assigned a bill number.
Sponsoring member(s) seek out co-sponsors.
| HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
SENATE |
| Referred
to Committee |
| The House Speaker refers to
Committee based on precedent and Committee jurisdiction. |
Majority Leader refers bills
to Committees. |
| Referred to Subcommittee |
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The Committee Chair refers bill to at least on Subcommittee.
Hearings, while not mandatory, are usually held to
seek opinions on, and to draw attention to the bill.
The bill then faces the markup procedure, where line
by line analysis takes place for possible amendments.
The Subcommittee may then choose among several options.
Pass the bill on to the full recommendations, vote it
down, or allow it to die by not taking any action.
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Subcommittee procedures are similar in both chamber.
However, Senators serve on a far greater number of Committees
and Subcommittees the House Members.
The Subcommittee may then choose among several options.
Pass the bill on to the full Committee with or without
recommendations, vote it down, or allow it to die by
not taking any action.
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| Reported
Out to Full Committee |
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The Committee Chair may hold additional hearings or
markups.
The committee may then choose among several options.
They may pass the bill on to the Full House with or
without recommendations, vote it down, or allow it to
die by not taking any action.
A bill that is not reported out of Committee may be
released through a discharge petition requiring 218
signatures (a majority of Members).
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Senate Committees follow similar
procedures. There is no equivalent to discharge petition
in the Senate, although there are procedures to bypass
committee consideration of the bill. |
| Rules
Committee Action |
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Committee assigns a time limit for general debate on
the floor an decides which amendments, if any, will
be voted on.
Rules Committee may be bypassed and a bill brought
to the floor by agreement between the Majority and Minority
Party leadership through the process known as Suspension
of the Rules. Suspension requires a two-thirds majority
of the Full House for passage and is designed to expedite
consideration of non-controversial matters.
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No such Rules Committee process
exist in the Senate. Any amendments may be offered from
the floor. |
| Floor
Action |
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The rule for consideration of the legislation is voted
on. If it passes, opponents and supporters debate the
bill under the terms of the rule. The rule prevents
filibusters in the House.
If passed, the bill then moves to the Senate.
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Senate Majority Leader may bring legislation to the
floor at any time.
Traditionally, there are no set limits on debate. An
attempt to delay, or kill a bill through continual debate,
is known as a filibuster.
To stop a filibuster, a cloture petition with 16 signatures
must be filed, and a cloture vote (60 votes for passage)
must be held to shut off debate.
If passed, the bill then moves to the House.
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Conference Committee
When the House and Senate pass different versions of the same
bill, a Conference Committee is appointed by the leaders of
both chambers. Members are selected from the Committees that
originally considered the bill. The Conference Committee is
given the task of resolving differences between the House
and Senate versions. If they fails to do so, the bill dies.
If the committee agrees on a compromise bill, it reports
the bill out as a Conference Report, which goes back to both
chambers for a final vote. No amendments to the Conference
Report are allowed.
The President's Desk
Once the bill reaches the White House, the President has three
choices:
- Sign the bill into law.
- Veto the bill, and send it back to Congress. A two-thirds
vote in both Chambers is needed to override a veto and pass
the bill into law.
- Take no action on the bill for ten days. If Congress has
not adjourned in that time, it becomes law: if Congress
has adjourned, the bill has been "Pocket Vetoed"
and Congress cannot vote to override.
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