How a Bill Becomes a Law

How a Bill Becomes a Law:

Why so few bills become laws: Approximately 5,000 bills are introduced each year, but only about 125 (2.5%) are made into law. This is because Congress has a complex committee system with many obstacles that defeat most bills.

Creating Bills: Anyone can write a bill. Most bills are not written by members of Congress. Business / labor / agriculture and other interest groups often draft bills, but only members of Congress can introduce bills. They do so by dropping a bill into the “hopper,” a box hanging on the edge of the clerk’s desk

Committee Action: Bills are assigned a number and then sent to an appropriate committee. The bill is usually referred by the committee chair to a subcommittee for study, hearings, revisions and approval. Most bills die in committees, where they are pigeonholed (left in the committee; set aside for future consideration). If a majority of the House of Representatives wishes to consider a bill that has been pigeonholed, it can be blasted out of the hopper / committee with a discharge petition signed by a majority of the House Members.

Floor Action: House of Representatives: The House Rules Committee gives the bill a rule, places it on the calendar, gives a specified time for debate, and determines whether any amendments (changes) to the bill will be allowed; the bill is then debated and a vote is ultimately taken by the full House

Senate: Unlike the House, Senate procedures permit members to speak on the floor as long as they wish. A filibuster is a way of delaying or preventing action on a bill by using long speeches and unlimited debate to “talk a bill to death.” Filibusters can be stopped only if 60 senators (3/5 of the Senate) vote for cloture to cut off debate. Filibusters are so successful that important bills no longer require a simple majority of 51 votes to pass. Instead, supporters need a 60-vote majority so that they can invoke cloture to end a filibuster and then pass their bill. In addition to threatening a filibuster, a senator can ask to be informed before a particular bill is brought to the floor. Known as a hold, this procedure stops a bill from coming to the floor until the hold is removed. If a bill overcomes these obstacles, it will ultimately be voted on by the full Senate.

Conference Action: If a bill is passed in different versions by the House & Senate, a conference committee will be formed to work out the differences. The conference committee bill is then returned to each chamber for a vote. Both the House and Senate must approve a bill by a majority vote to send it to the president.

President’s Action: The President can sign the bill into law or veto (reject it). Congress can override the president’s veto with a 2/3 vote in both chambers (the House and Senate). This rarely happens. Also, the president can exercise a pocket veto by waiting ten full days to sign a bill, and if Congress adjourns (is not in session anymore) before the ten days are up, the bill will die.