Legislative Process

UNIT 2 RESOURCES

Creating laws is the Legislative's Branch's most important job. All laws in the United States begin as bills. Before a bill can become a law, it must be approved by both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, and then signed President. Let’s follow a bill’s journey to become law.

How a Bill Becomes a Law

Vocabulary:

Chamber: term used to refer to either the House of Representatives or the Senate

The Bill Begins

Laws begin as ideas--they can come from me, you, or any citizen of the United States. These ideas may come from a Representative or Senator, but often times the idea starts with us! Citizens who have ideas for laws can contact their Representatives or Senators to discuss their ideas. If the Congress member agrees, they research the ideas and write them into bills.

The Bill Is Introduced

When a bill is introduced in either the House of Representatives or the Senate, it is then assigned to a certain committee to be reviewed.

The Bill Goes to Committee

When the bill reaches committee, the committee members—groups of Representatives or Senators who are experts on topics such as agriculture, education, or international relations—review, research, and revise the bill before voting on whether or not to send the bill back to the House floor or Senate.

The Bill Is Reported, Debated, and Voted On

When the committee has approved a bill, it is sent—or reported—to the House or Senate floor. Once reported, a bill is ready to be debated by the House of Representatives or Senate. When a bill is debated, Representatives or Senators discuss the bill and explain why they agree or disagree with it. When all changes have been made, the bill is ready to be voted on.

If a majority of the Representatives or Senate say or select yes, the bill passes in that chamber. The bill is then certified and then sent to the other chamber to be reviewed, debated, and voted on.

The Bill Is Referred to the Other Chamber

When a bill reaches the other chamber, it goes through many of the same steps it went through in the previous chamber. The bill is discussed in a committee and then reported to the chamber floor to be voted on.

Conference Committee and Final Vote

If the bill is passed in both chambers, it then goes to a conference committee, which is made up of members of both chambers. They meet to resolve any differences between the House and Senate version of the bill.

The final draft of the bill will be voted on in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. If it passes in both chambers, it is sent to the president.

The Bill Is Sent to the President

When a bill reaches the President, he has couple of choices. He can:

Sign and pass the bill—the bill becomes a law.
Refuse to sign, or veto, the bill—the bill is sent back to the U.S. House of Representatives, along with the President’s reasons for the veto. If the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate still believe the bill should become a law, they can hold another vote on the bill. If two-thirds of the Representatives and Senators support the bill, the President’s veto is overridden and the bill becomes a law.

The Bill Is a Law

If a bill has passed in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and has been approved by the President, or if a presidential veto has been overridden (2/3 of congress approve the bill), the bill becomes a law and is enforced by the government.

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