Congress is the lawmaking branch of the federal government, according to USAGov. USAGov describes a bill as “a proposal for a new law or a change to an existing law.” The Office of the House Historian says all laws in the United States begin as bills, and that the House, the U.S. Senate, and the President of the United States have to approve a bill before it can become a law, or Congress can override a presidential veto.
Where a bill starts
USAGov says the idea for a bill can come from a sitting member of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives. It can also come from a proposal during a congressional candidate’s election campaign. People or citizen groups can petition a member of Congress who represents them and recommend a new or amended law.
The Office of the House Historian says laws begin as ideas that may come from a Representative or from a citizen. Citizens who have ideas for laws can contact their Representatives to discuss those ideas. If the Representatives agree, they research the ideas and write them into bills.
When a Representative writes a bill, that Representative is the bill’s sponsor, the Office of the House Historian says. The sponsor talks with other Representatives to seek support, and those supporters are cosponsors. A Representative may also submit a bill without cosponsors.
In the House, a Representative introduces a bill by placing it in the hopper, a special box on the side of the Clerk’s desk, according to the Office of the House Historian. Representatives may also file bills online using an electronic hopper, the Office of the House Historian says. Introduction of bills in the House is limited to Representatives and Delegates.
A bill clerk gives the bill a number starting with H.R., the Office of the House Historian says. The Speaker of the House, described by that office as the person in charge of the House, refers the bill to a House committee.
What happens in committee
Once a bill is introduced, USAGov says, a committee receives it so members can study it, talk it over, and revise it. That chamber then takes up the bill for a vote.
The Office of the House Historian describes House committee members as groups of Representatives who are experts on topics such as agriculture, education, or foreign diplomacy. Those members review, research, and revise the bill before voting on whether to send it back to the House floor for consideration by all the Representatives.
If the committee members want more information before deciding whether the bill should go to the House floor, the bill is sent to a subcommittee, the Office of the House Historian says. A subcommittee is an even smaller group of Representatives. Its members closely examine the bill and gather expert opinions before sending it back to the committee for approval.
Debate and the House vote
When the committee has approved a bill, its members send it to the House floor, according to the Office of the House Historian. All the Representatives can then debate the bill, and the Speaker decides which bills will be debated on the floor. Representatives explain why they agree or disagree, and on some bills they can offer amendments to make changes.
The Office of the House Historian says three methods for voting on a bill in the House are commonly used. In a voice vote, the Speaker asks Representatives who support the bill to say “aye” and those who oppose it to say “no,” and the bill passes if the Speaker determines that more said “aye.” Under unanimous consent, a Representative asks the Speaker to bring the bill before the House, and the House can consider and pass it as long as no Representative objects.
Representatives can also record a vote with the electronic voting system and vote yes, no, or present if they do not want to vote on the bill, the Office of the House Historian says. In most cases, a yes vote from more than half of the Representatives is enough for the bill to pass the House, that office says. Certain bills need a larger share of the votes.
After the bills are passed and checked for errors, the Clerk of the House delivers the bill to the Senate, according to the Office of the House Historian.
The other chamber and the differences
USAGov says a bill that passes one body of Congress moves to the other body, which studies it, debates it, revises it, and votes in a similar way. The Office of the House Historian says the bill goes through many of the same steps in the Senate. Senators discuss it in committee and then report it to the Senate floor to be voted on.
Senators vote by voice, the Office of the House Historian says. Those who support the bill say “yea,” and those who disagree say “nay.” A “yea” from more than half means the Senate has passed the bill and it can go to the president, that office says.
When no Senator objects, the Office of the House Historian says, the Senate may use unanimous consent to move bills through quickly. Like in the House, some bills will require more than half of the Senate agreeing to pass.
USAGov says the two chambers differ in some procedures even though they function as equals. Tax and revenue-related legislation can be started only in the House. Legislation related to presidential nominations and treaties can be drafted only in the Senate.
The House processes legislation through a majority vote, while the Senate does so through deliberation and debate prior to voting, USAGov says. Once both bodies vote to accept a bill, they must work out any differences between the two versions. Both chambers then vote on the same version of the bill, and if it passes, they present it to the president.
The president’s choices
USAGov says the president then reviews the bill. Approval and a signature turn the bill into law. A refusal to approve it is what USAGov calls a veto.
The Office of the House Historian says a refusal to sign returns the bill to the House with the president’s stated reasons. The House and the Senate may take another vote if they still want the bill to become a law. When two-thirds of the Representatives and Senators support the bill, the veto is overridden and the bill becomes a law.
USAGov says that when the president vetoes a bill, Congress can in most cases vote to override the veto, and the bill then becomes a law. USAGov also says a bill that stays unsigned after Congress is no longer in session is vetoed by default. USAGov calls that action a pocket veto and says it cannot be overridden by Congress.
The Office of the House Historian also treats inaction as a pocket veto. That office says that when Congress is meeting at the Capitol, or is in session, 10 days without action turns the bill into law on its own. If Congress is not in session, the bill does not become a law.
The Office of the House Historian says the bill becomes a law once the House, the Senate, and the president have all approved it, or once Congress has overridden the president’s veto. It is a rule that needs to be followed in the United States.