Senate Health, Labor, Education, and Pensions Committee

HOW LEGISLATION IS MADE

The Legislative Process

I. Legislation is introduced

Any member of the House or Senate can introduce legislation.

		House-Legislation is handed to the clerk of the House or placed in the hopper.
		Senate-Members must gain recognition of the presiding officer to announce the introduction of a bill during the morning hour. If any senators object, the introduction of the bill is postponed until the next day.
		The bill is assigned a number. The bill is labeled with the sponsors' name. The bill is sent to the government printing office and copies are made. Senate bills can be jointly sponsored or members can cosponsor a piece of legislation.

II. Committee Action

The Speaker of the House or the presiding officer in the Senate refers a bill to the appropriate committee. Bills may be referred to more than one committee and can be split so that specific parts are sent to specific committees. If a committee fails to act on a bill that was referred to it, the bill may die for lack of action, but not the proposal that embodies it. In the Senate, the Senator sponsoring the bill may introduce a new bill with exactly the same provisions as the first, and have the second bill placed on the Calendar. It is at committee that a bill is examined carefully and its chances for passage are determined.

Comments about the bill's merit are requested by government agencies.
The bill can be assigned to subcommittee by chairman.
Hearings may be held.
Subcommittees report their findings to the full committee.
There is a vote by the full committee, the bill is "ordered to be reported."
The committee will hold a mark-up session during which it will make revisions and additions.
After the bill is reported, the committee staff prepares a written report explaining why they favor the bill and why they wish to see their amendments, if any, adopted.
In the House, most bills go to the Rules Committee before reaching the floor.

III. Floor Action

Calendar-Legislation is placed on the calendar.

Debate-

		House-Debate is limited by the rules formulated by the Rules Committee. The Committee of the Whole debates and amends the bill but cannot technically pass it. Amendments must be germane, pertaining to the subject matter, to the subject of the bill. The bill is then reported by to the House (to itself) and is voted on.
		Senate-- Debate is unlimited and amendments need not be germane. If either chamber does not pass the bill then it dies. Senators can filibuster to defeat a measure.

Vote-The bill is voted on. If passed, it is then sent to the other chamber unless that chamber already has a similar measure under consideration. If either chamber does not pass the bill then it dies. If both the House and Senate pass the same bill then it is sent to the President. If the House and the Senate pass different bills they are sent to the Conference Committee. Most major legislation goes to Conference Committee.

IV. Conference Committee

Members from both houses form a Conference Committee and meet to work out the differences. The committee is usually made up of senior members who are appointed by the presiding officers of the committee that originally dealt with the bill. The representatives from each house work to maintain their version of the bill. If the Conference Committee reaches a compromise, it prepares a written conference report that is submitted to each chamber. The conference report must be approved by both the House and the Senate.

V. The President

The bill is sent to the President for review. It becomes law if signed by the President or if not signed within 10 days and Congress is in session. If Congress adjourns before the 10 days and the President has not signed the bill then it does not become a law. If the President vetoes the bill it is sent back to Congress with a note listing his/her reasons. The chamber which originated the legislation can attempt to override the veto by a vote of two-thirds of those present. If the veto of the bill is overridden in both chambers then it becomes law.

VI. The Bill Becomes a Law

Once a bill is signed by the President, or his veto is overridden by both houses, it becomes a law and is assigned an official number.

Legislative process taken from Project Vote Smart, "How a Bill Becomes a Law."

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