Government 101: How Laws are Created
Every year, thousands of measures, or bills, are introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate, yet fewer than 10 percent typically become laws. The basic steps in the lawmaking process are the same, but there are some critical differences. Here, we guide you through the process of how a bill becomes a law.
The First Steps in the House
According to the Constitution, only Congress has the authority to pass legislation. But before a law can be enacted, it must of course be signed by the president and eventually stand up to judicial review. Article I, Section 7, Clause 1 of the Constitution states, “All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other Bills.”
In short, either chamber of Congress can propose a bill to become a law, but all bills dealing with money, taxes, the budget, and so on must originate in the House of Representatives. This goes back to the earliest concern of the founders regarding “no taxation without representation.”
A bill is a proposed law presented for consideration to the House or Senate. However, most bills do not originate with members of Congress. Instead, most bills are a result of measures drafted by interest groups and the executive branch. Business, labor, and agriculture interest groups, as well as private citizens draft measures that they propose to their elected officials. The executive branch, especially the various departments, draft legislation to implement policies. Still, members of Congress draft legislation as part of the work of standing committees. Only members may introduce bills in the House of Representatives. In order to do so, a member must drop off a bill for consideration to the clerk of the House by placing it in the hopper.
The First Reading
The clerk of the House must assign a number to each bill that is introduced. In the House all bills are assigned the prefix H.R. and all bills originating in the Senate are assigned the prefix S. For example, H.R. 1234 would be the 1,234th measure introduced in the House during that term, and similarly, S. 123 would be the 123rd measure introduced in the Senate that term. The clerk also assigns a descriptive title to the bill. It is then formally entered into the House Journal and the Congressional Record. Members have five days to make any changes before the first reading is conducted. After the first reading, the Speaker of the House refers the bill to the appropriate committee for debate and review.
The Bill in House Committee
The Constitution makes no mention of standing committees, but Congress has created them in order to sift through the many proposed bills and do most of the work on behalf of the entire legislative chamber. In fact, whether a bill is referred to the whole body for a vote depends on how successful it is in the standing committee. Most bills that are proposed are sent to committee and then pigeonholed—that is, they die in committee and are never acted upon.
If, however, a committee tries to bury a measure that has support from a majority of the House, members can force the bill to the floor for a vote by issuing a discharge petition. A discharge petition must have the support of at least 218 members of the House. The committee then has seven days to report on the bill to the entire House. This maneuver almost never occurs, as it is rare that a majority of members challenge the prerogatives of the House leadership. A bill that a committee wishes to consider, or at least the powerful chair of the committee wishes to consider, has to go through an information gathering process. This is usually done through their several subcommittees.
The Bill on the Floor of the House
When a bill reaches the floor of the House, it receives its second reading. Most minor bills are called from a calendar and then get their second reading by title only. Nearly all major bills are considered in the Committee of the Whole. This committee includes all the members of the House, but only requires 100 members to be present in order to conduct business.
When the House operates as the Committee of the Whole, the Speaker removes him or herself from presiding over the House and another member presides. The rules of the Committee of the Whole are less strict than the rules for the House and it is much easier to conduct business in this manner. General debate is limited to five minutes per member and amendments may be offered. Votes are taken on each section and each amendment that is proposed. Once the Committee of the Whole has completed its work, it dissolves and the Speaker resumes his or her role and the House adopts the work that has been completed.
Limits on Debate
Due to its size, the House has placed strict limits on floor debate, rules that were first adopted as far back as 1841. Since 1880, the Speaker has had the authority to have any member cease debate after his or her allotted time is up. Debate on a bill is usually predetermined by the majority and minority leaders. Bills are debated usually only for a period of one hour. However, any member may move that a vote be taken, and if it is adopted, debate ends and a vote on the measure itself takes place. This is a very important tool that is used in the House to limit debate.
Voting on a Bill
A bill is usually subjected to several votes. If amendments are offered to a bill, every amendment must be voted on. Several motions can be made on a bill, such as setting the bill in question aside, and all these motions must be voted on, too. These votes usually indicate whether a bill is likely to pass the entire House or not. The House has four different methods it uses for taking floor votes:
- Voice votes are registered by a chorus of “ayes” (yes) and “nays” (no). The Speaker announces the result.
- If a member believes the Speaker has misheard the count, then they can demand a standing vote. Members stand and are counted by the clerk either in favor or opposed.
- In a teller vote, the Speaker assigns one member from each party to serve as a teller. Members pass the tellers and are counted either for or against a measure. This method is rarely used.
- In a roll-call vote, members are individually called and their vote recorded. This is now done electronically.
Once a measure has been approved, it is printed in its final form and given its third and final reading. A final vote is then taken. If the bill is approved, the Speaker signs the bill and it is delivered to the Senate for review and approval.
Rules for Debate in the Senate
Bills must be formally introduced by senators, who are recognized for that purpose, rather than dropping off a measure into a clerk’s box. Just as in the House, however, much of the initial phase is the same: a measure is given a number starting with “S” and given a title, read twice, and referred to committee for review. It is then put on the only calendar the Senate has. In some ways, the process is much less strict than in the House. Bills in the Senate are called to the floor for consideration only at the discretion of the majority leader.
The major difference between the House and Senate procedures for passing legislation involve the debate segment of the process. As we have seen, floor debate is strictly limited in the House. In the Senate, debate has almost no restrictions. As a general rule, senators may speak on the floor as long as they please, unlike the 10-minute limit usually enforced on House members. Additionally, senators can speak about whatever they like. Senators are not restricted to speak only about the measure at hand. Senators are usually limited to speak twice on a given question. Still, with 100 members and the ability to speak at quite some length, debate can last a very long time. The Senate is dedicated to freedom of debate in order to encourage the most discussion possible on a matter before it becomes law.
Conference Committees
In order for a bill to be enacted by Congress, it must pass both chambers in identical form. Given all the rules and procedures, this is very difficult to accomplish in some cases. When the House and the Senate pass different versions of the same bill, the second chamber to pass the bill traditionally concurs with the version of the first chamber to have passed the bill so that the measure can be completed.
There are times, however, when the two chambers are unwilling to accept the other’s version of a bill. When this occurs, the bills are sent to a conference committee to reconcile. The conference committee is a temporary committee established with members from both chambers to work out differences and create a compromise bill. Once the conference committee produces the compromise bill, it must be considered by both chambers without the ability to make any changes. Rarely do bills that result from the conference committee’s work ever get rejected.
Presidential Action
Once a bill has passed both the House and the Senate, the Constitution provides the president with the following four options:
- The president can sign the bill and it becomes law.
- The president may veto the bill, refuse to sign it, and send it back to Congress. Congress may overturn a presidential veto by a two-thirds vote in each chamber. Presidential vetoes are very difficult to overturn.
- The president may allow the bill to become law without signing it. By taking no action for 10 days, the bill automatically becomes law.
- The president can pocket veto a bill by not acting on a bill if Congress is adjourned during the 10-day period after submitting a bill for presidential action.
Seeing all of the steps it takes to make a bill a law, it’s no wonder the process takes such a long time!
From The Complete Idiot’s Guide to U.S. Government and Politics by Franco Scardino
