How a Bill Becomes a LawObjective 5.04

Where do little bills come from???

• Petition• Congressmen/women• A bill is written, often times by an aid

to the Senator or Representative.• The bill is then submitted to either the

House or Senate.• The exception is appropriations bills,

they must always begin in the House.

The First Reading

• This takes place in either the House or Senate, where ever the bill was initiated. (appropriations=House)

• During the first reading they decide which committee will review the bill

Committees

• This is where most of the work is done on a bill. The committee may amend the bill.

• Most bills will “die” here• Some bills may get “pigeon holed”, put aside

and ignored. • Bills that are “pigeon holed” are effectively

dead.• Sometimes bills will be sent to a

subcommittee. • Subcommittees deal with VERY specific

topics under each committees subject.

Types of Committees

• Standing Committee= a permanent committee that always has members assigned to it from session to session.• A session is two years in length (HoR elections)

• Joint Committee= a committee made up of members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate

• Conference Committee= A joint committee formed when the House and Senate pass different versions of a bill. Their job is to come up with a compromise for both houses to approve.

On to the Floor

• IF a committee reports favorably on a bill, it will then be sent to the floor.

• MOST bills never make it this far.• The Representatives debate the bill.• They stand up and speak to everyone

about whether the bill should or should not be a law.

• They may also make changes to and amend the bill.

Floor Vote

• The Representatives will eventually vote on the legislation (bill).

• In the Senate, members may attempt to kill a bill by “talking it to death”

• What is this called?• What can the Senate do to stop this?

• IF the members vote in favor of the bill (legislation), then it will be sent to the other house of Congress.

Here’s what we have so far

First Reading

Committee

If it is reported on favorably by committee,

it is sent to the Floor

Sub CommitteeIf either the Committee or the Sub Committee does not like the bill, it “Dies”!

Floor Vote/Action

If the bill is not passed, it “Dies”!

If the bill is passed by the Floor action, it then goes

to the other house in Congress

It starts all over again…

• Once the bill reaches the other house in Congress the same steps are repeated.• It goes to committee• It may go to a sub committee• If the committee reports on it favorably, it

goes to the floor• The bill may be changed in committee,

subcommittee, or on the floor in this house of Congress too!!!

IF it makes it this far…

• If a bill passes one house in Congress, it can still be killed by the other.

• A bill must pass both houses of Congress in order to be sent to the President.

• IF one house changes the bill after the other house approved it, then it is sent to a conference committee.

Conference Committee

• A Conference Committee is made up of members of both the Senate and House.

• Their job is to come up with one version of the bill.

• This ONE version is then sent back to the floor of both houses for approval.

• If just one of the houses of Congress vote against the bill at this point… It’s dead!

On to the President

• When the President get a bill that has been passed by BOTH houses of Congress, he has ten days to make a decision about the legislation.

• He can sign the bill making it a law.• He may Veto the legislation. If he does, he must send

the bill back to Congress with the reasons why he vetoed it.

• If the President does not veto or sign the bill before the ten days are up, the bill automatically becomes law; UNLESS…

• If the President does not sign or veto the bill in ten days, and Congress ends its session before those ten days are up, then the bill AUTOMATICALLY DIES! This is called a “Pocket Veto”.

The President

Once the President receives a bill,

He has ten days To make a decision

Sign the Bill Veto

Do nothing and the ten day period runs out.

At the end ofthe 10 days…

If Congressis still in sessionit becomes a law

automatically

If congress isno longer in

session, the bill dies!

Pocket Veto

Returned toCongress with

the reason for theVeto.

Overriding a Veto

• If the President “Vetoes” a bill Congress may attempt to “Over Ride”the Veto.

• To Over Ride a Veto, 2/3 of the House and 2/3 of the Senate must vote in favor of the bill.