How A Bill Becomes A Law

The First Thing to Know is What Makes Up Congress Congress is the combination of all of the Senators and Representatives in the Federal Government

What’s a Senator and Representative? A Representative represents a part of the state…1 for every 550,000 people Senators represent the entire state. Every state gets 2 Senators

Requirements to Be a Senator 30 years old Citizen for 9 years From the state you will represent

Requirements to Be a Representative 25 years old Citizen for 7 years From the state you will represent

How a "Bill" Becomes a LAW

Step #1 You Need an Idea… Let’s say Sarah, from Wisconsin, has an idea that the driving age should be lowered to 14 instead of 16

Step #2 Contact Someone in Congress Sarah could write a letter to U.S. Representative Ron Kind from Wisconsin and tell him about her idea

Step #3 The Bill is Studied by Committee A committee is a group from either the Senate or House of Representatives that studies the driving age bill to see if it would be a good idea

Step #4 The Bill is Introduced to the House or Senate The driving age Bill can be introduced to either the House of Representatives or the Senate depending on who started it We’ll say it started in the House of Representatives Senate 100 members Representatives 435 members

Step #5 Representatives Vote on the Bill Representatives vote on the driving age bill If 51% vote “YES” the bill goes to the Senate If 51% vote “NO” the bill dies

Step #6 The Bill is Studied by Committee A committee from the other side studies the driving age bill to see if it would be a good idea

Step #7 Senators Vote on the Bill If 51% vote “YES” the driving age bill goes to the President If 51% vote “NO” the bill dies

Step #8 The President Decides If the President agrees with the original idea…the bill becomes a LAW

If the president disagrees with Sarah’s original idea and says “NO” that is called a “VETO” …but it’s not over yet VETO!

(If VETOED) Step #9 The Bill is Taken Back to Congress If 2/3 of both the House of Representatives and the Senators vote “YES” on the bill, they “check” the President’s veto and the driving age bill becomes a law Senate Representatives

How Far Do Most Bills Get? Step #3 Committee Most Bills die in Committee

What About the 10-day Rule? Step #10? If the President forgets about the bill, or just doesn’t sign it for 10 days the bill AUTOMATICALLY becomes a law I’m Just A Bill School House Rock Video