1. A slow and tedious process
Bill to Law
A slow and tedious process

2. Some Facts Bills fall into two categories
Private concern individual people or places
Public bills apply to the entire nation and involve matters like taxation
A bill can become law

3. Other types of Legislation
Congress also considers resolutions which are formal statements expressing lawmakers’ opinions or decisions
Do not always have the force of law
H. Res

4. Joint Resolutions
Joint resolutions if passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the President do be come law
Involve constitutional issues and to designate money for specific purposes
balance budget amendment

5. Step 1: Bill begins with an idea
Ideas for bills can come from private citizens, the White House, or from special-interest groups
Whatever the source-a member of Congress must introduce the bill

6. Step 2: Bill is Proposed
When a Representative has written a bill, the bill needs a sponsor. The Representative talks with other Representatives about the bill in hopes of getting their support for it. Once a bill has a sponsor and the support of some of the Representatives, it is ready to be introduced.

7. Step 3: Bill is Introduced
Representatives introduce bills by placing them in the bill hopper attached to the side of the clerk’s desk.
A bill clerk assigns it a number that begins with H.R.
A reading clerk then reads the bill to all the Representatives, and the Speaker of the House sends the bill to one of the House standing committees.
Bills are retrieved from the hopper and the Speaker of the House refers to committees with the appropriate jurisdiction.

8. Step 4: The Bill Goes to Committee
After a bill is introduced it is sent to a standing committee that is related to the bill’s subject
The Committee can:
PASS THE BILL/Reported
MARK UP THE BILL
REPLACE IT WITH A NEW BILL
IGNORE THE BILL AND LET IT DIE (Pigeonholing)
KILL THE BILL (by a majority vote)

9. Step 5: Bill is Debated
If a bill manages to make it out of committee it is ready for consideration by the full House or Senate.
During the debate members of the house speak for or against the legislation and can offer amendments
House can only offer relevant amendments
Senate allows riders completely unrelated to bill (pork barrel projects)

10. Rules of the Debate
Both the House and the Senate have Rules Committees that establish the rules of the debate
Example how long can the Reps or Senators speak
Because the Senate is smaller – debate is less regulated this can lead to a
filibuster-which is essentially talking a bill to death
The only way to end a filibuster is through cloture (3/5th of the members vote to end debate

11. Step 6: Bill is voted on
After the debate, the bill is brought up to vote
Three types of votes in the House:
Simple voice vote “yea” or “no”
Standing vote where members stand to be counted
Recorded vote where members cast their votes electronically
Bill passes with a simple majority

12. Senate Voting
Uses the voice vote, standing vote and a “roll-call vote”
During a roll-call vote each Senator votes when their name is called
Bill passes with a simple majority

13. Step 6:House bill is sent to Senate
Back to Step 2: committee assignment and the whole process starts again in the other house of Congress

14. Step 7: Conference Committee
The bill must be passed by both houses of Congress in the identical form
If not a conference committee meets (comprised of both Senators and Representatives) to iron out the differences
It is then sent back to both houses for a final vote/no amendments are added

15. Step 8: Bill goes to the White House
Once the bill has made it out of both houses of Congress it is sent to the President
President has 4 options
Sign the bill and declare it a new law
Veto it or refuse to sign the bill
Do nothing for 10 days
If Congress is in session the bill becomes law
If Congress is not in session the bill dies (Pocket Veto)