Making a Bill Into a Law

By Amanda BoothPeriod 1

Friday November 7, 2003

How a Bill

Becomes Law

The Fire-Prevention Bill• The federal government will appropriate five million dollars, annually, to the funding for the removal of dead or diseased trees and underbrush in national forests. Additionally, the federal government will appropriate $100,000 per state park to each state, annually, for the funding of the removal of dead or diseased trees and underbrush in state parks.

Example of an appropriation legislation…

Introducing the Bill

• Appropriation bills must start in the House of Representatives.

• Congressperson either hands it to the clerk or places it in the “hopper”

• The bill is then numbered and sent to the printer.

Committee Action

• The bill is referred to a committee for consideration by the Speaker of the House.

• Rules committee then decides which committee gets which bill

• *My bill is given to the Ways and Means committee because they handle appropriation bills.

Sub-Committee Action

• The bill is now assigned to a sub-committee for a hearing. At the hearing…– witnesses appear– evidence is taken– questions are asked

•After the hearing, the sub-committee will “mark-up” the bill. All changes must be approved by the House.

Now for the Committee Vote...

• The committee then takes a vote on whether the bill will be reported to the rest of the House. (majority rules)

• If the bill passes, the bill is accompanied by a report explaining why the committee favors that bill.

If it doesn’t pass…

• *Because most of the members of the committee were environmentalist and voted with their own opinions (attitudinal view of representation) my bill was not passed. But I issued a discharge petition and it was signed by at least 218 representatives. Therefore it can go directly to the floor.

The Long Waiting Period...

• Before a bill can come to the House, it must be placed on one of the House’s five calendars.

Debate Pre-Requisites

• First the Rules Committee adopts a rule for the debate.

• * The Rules committee adopted an open rule to my bill, meaning that the bill could be amended directly on the floor.

• Now the bill can brought to the floor for debate.

The Great Floor Debate

• The committee that is sponsoring the bill guides the discussion, divides the time, and decides how long each member can speak.

• The bill is discussed by the Committee of the Whole who debates, amends, and decides the final shape of the bill.

• The Committee of the Whole then reports back to the House for final action.

House of Representatives Floor Debate

Voting Time!

• Now the entire House votes on the bill by one of several methods.

• *I choose the roll-call vote for my bill, which operates electronically in the House due to the large number of people. By majority vote, my bill passed! Hurray!

• Unfortunately, that’s not all...

Bill Arrives in the Senate

• Bill is introduced to the Senate. The congressperson is recognized by the presiding officer and the bill is announced.

Senate Committee Action• The bill is referred to a committee by the

Speaker of the House. Then, like the House of Rep., the bill is assigned to a sub-committee for a hearing. Once all witnesses have testified and all questions have been answered, the committee votes on the bill, just like in the House. (see house sub-committees for more details)

• *My bill passes with a majority vote, and now gets to move forward.

Waiting Period

• The bill is placed on one of the two calendars of the Senate and awaits the floor debate. The majority leader schedules the bill for consideration.

Senate Floor Debate

• There is no rule limiting the debate. As a result, it creates an opportunity for a bill to be filibustered. If a filibuster does happen, then the senators can use the cloture rule. 16 members have to sign the petition to move for cloture.(*My bill was not filibustered, because each senator knew that if it started, it would be almost impossible to stop.)

• The is no Committee of the Whole.• Amendments don’t need to be relevant, which

produces a lot of riders and changes.

Senate Debate Filibuster can halt the progress of a bill

Example of what the bill might look like after the Senate floor debate...

• The federal government will appropriate 3.5 million dollars annually to the funding of the removal of dead or diseased trees and underbrush in national forests. Additionally, each state will be mandated to fund its own removal of dead or diseased trees and underbrush in each of its state parks.

Voting Time Again!

• After the debate, the bill goes back to the Senate to be voted on.

• *My bill used a roll-call vote again which can be done orally because there is only 100 members.

• Once again, my bill passes! YAY!

• But the bill still isn’t a law...

After a Bill Passes in Both Houses

• Differences must be reconciled before it can become a law.

• If the differences are minor, the last house to have it may simply refer it back to the other house which accepts alterations

• If the differences are major...

Conference Committee

• A Conference Committee is formed to resolved the differences between the two versions of the bill. The committee is made by the standing committees of each house, who choose 3-15 members to represent each house. No decision can be made unless approved by the majority of each delegation.

My bill after the Conference Committee...

• The federal government will appropriate 4 million dollars annually to the funding of the removal of dead or diseased trees and underbrush in national forests. Additionally, each state will be mandated to fund its own removal of dead or diseased trees and underbrush in each of its state parks every three years.

Bill Meets the President• The bill is now sent to the

president for his signature or veto.– If he signs it, it becomes

a law– If he vetoes it, it goes

back to the house of its origin and starts all over.

– *My bill got vetoed! Oh no…but wait! There’s still hope!

The Bill Can Still Be Passed...

• With a 2/3 vote in the House and a 2/3 vote in the Senate, Congress can override the veto and make the bill a law.

• *My bill was passed by 2/3 of each house and now is officially a law!