How a billl becomes law
...during the markup session. · If a bill includes many amendments, the committee may decide to introduce a "clean bill" with a new number. · The committee votes on the bill after it has been debated and/or amended. · A committee may stop action, or "table" a bill it deems unwise or unnecessary. · THOMAS, a Library of Congress website, posts the status of the bill and updates on major action taken on the bill. Each version of the text of a bill is posted on THOMAS, under Text of Legislation. · If the bill is not tabled, it will be sent either to a subcommittee for intensive study, or reported back to the House Floor. Subcommittee Action · The bill is referred to a subcommittee, and placed on its calendar. · The bill is carefully studied. The subcommittee may hold hearings to obtain the views of experts, supporters, and opponents. · The bill is tabled when the subcommittee deems it unwise or unnecessary. · If changes are needed, the subcommittee will meet to mark up the bill. · Subcommittee members vote to accept or reject the changes. · If the subcommittee accepts the bill, the bill is sent back to the full committee for approval or rejection. · THOMAS, from the Library of Congress website, receives updates on the status of the bill from the subcommittee and posts the most recent major action on the bill. The Bill is Considered on the House Floor · A bill can come to the House Floor for consideration in a variety of ways. Many House bills are debated through a parliamentary device known as the Committee of the Whole, which is a mechanism that permits faster consideration. · Floor action begins and Members debate the bill. · The conduct of debate is dictated by the Rules of the House generally, and may also be governed by a special rule granted specifically for the bill under consideration. · Following debate, the second reading of the bill begins in a section-by-section manner, during which amendments may be offered. · At the conclusion of all amendment debate, the bill is read a third time. · Next, the House is ready to vote on the bill. · Current Floor Proceedings including major actions on bills are posted for public view on the website of the Clerk of the House. · The THOMAS website by the Library of Congress receives an electronic copy of the debate as it appears in the Congressional Record, prepared by the Clerk of the House. The latest major action on a bill is posted on the THOMAS website The Bill is Put to a Vote · The bill is read by title only and put to a vote. · Members in attendance will vote to pass or not to pass the bill. · Members most often vote electronically in the House Chamber using the Electronic Voting System. Members of the Senate cast their votes by non-electronic means. · Roll Call votes cast by the U.S. House of Representatives are recorded in the House Journal, the Congressional Record, and posted on the website of the Clerk of the House. · Members may vote "Yea" for approval, "Nay" for disapproval, or "Present" to record that they were in attendance but chose not to vote. · If a majority of the House votes to pass the bill, the bill is then referred to the Senate to undergo a similar process of approval. · The THOMAS website logs the Roll Number for a vote under "Bill Status." The Bill is Referred to the Senate · When a bill passes in the House, it must also pass in the Senate in order to become a law. The two houses of Congress make up the bicameral legislature, part of a system of checks and balances that ensures that laws are created democratically. · Once the bill and its amendments has been officially passed by the House and certified by the Clerk, it is said to be "engrossed." · In the Senate, the bill again may be sent to a committee for study or markup. · Members may choose to ignore the bill and continue to work on their own legislation. · Members may vote to pass or not to pass the bill. · If the bill passes with different language, it must be sent for review to a conference committee, which is a committee made up of members from both the House and the Senate. · Differences must be agreed upon before the bill is sent to the President for signature. At this point the bill is "enrolled." · The THOMAS website logs the latest major action on the bill under "Bill Status." The Bill is sent to the President · When a bill passes in the House and Senate and is sent to the President for a signature, it is said to be enrolled. · The President can take one of several possible actions: o The president may take no action. If Congress is in session, the bill ...