How a Bill Becomes a Law

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Introducting Bills to Congress

House of Representatives

• ALL REVENUE BILLS START IN HOUSE
• Handle most of the work of drafting, amending, and reviewing bills.
• Oversight of agencies, programs, and policy areas.
• Cannot confirm presidential appointments.
• Cannot ratify treaties.
• More structured with tighter rules because of the larger size of the House.

Once a bill is introduced, the majority leadership of the House Rules Committee consults with the parliamentarian—a legal expert on chamber rules—to determine which committee will review it.

• Parliamentarians give advice but cannot enforce their decisions.
• The committee chair directs the bill’s progress and may assign it to a subcommittee for closer review.

Some bills fall under multiple areas of jurisdiction:

• Multiple referral status allows two or more committees to review a bill at the same time.
• Sequential referral status gives one committee priority before others.
• Example: A military spending bill might be reviewed by both the Armed Services Committee and the Appropriations Committee (Multiple Referral)

Senate

• Perform the same basic legislative and oversight functions as House committees.
• Have the unique responsibility of confirming presidential appointments (judges, cabinet members, ambassadors).
• Must approve treaties with a two-thirds vote.
• More flexible debate rules allow broader discussion in committees and on the floor.

Committees

Types of Committees

With 535 members and countless issues (domestic, international, economic, military, regulatory, etc.), Congress must divide its work.

• Committees function like executive departments, specializing in specific areas and shaping the congressional agenda.
• There are 200+ committees and subcommittees; the core ones are standing committees.
• 20 standing committees in the House and 16 in the Senate.
• Membership is divided proportionally between parties, but majority party chairs hold leadership on committees which can make increase partisanship in policymaking.
• Chairs wield major power, including the ability to prevent bills from reaching the floor.
• Most bills die in committee.

Committee Process

• Information gathering: Hearings with experts, agencies, interest groups, and stakeholders.
• Discussion & amendments: Committees revise legislative language during markup.
• Reporting out: Committee sends a bill to the chamber with a report including:
• Majority opinion supporting the bill.
• Minority opinion against it.
• Estimates of cost and policy impact.
• Senate committees also confirm presidential appointments.

Standing

Select

Joint

Conference

House Rules Committee

The House Rules Committee plays a central role as gatekeeper to the floor. No bill reaches debate without its approval. It sets the terms of debate—including time limits and amendment rules—assigns bills to standing committees, schedules them for consideration, and determines when votes occur. Because it reflects the priorities of House leadership and the majority caucus, the Rules Committee effectively decides which issues and bills the full House will address.

Debate

A modern device that provides a step toward transparency and democracy in the House is the discharge petition. If a committee chair or leadership refuses to advance a bill, members may file a petition to bring it directly to the floor. Today, if 218 members (a simple majority) sign, the bill is discharged from committee and placed on the House calendar. While this does not guarantee passage, it ensures that a reluctant minority cannot block the majority from debating a bill. In this way, the discharge petition serves as a powerful tool to circumvent leadership control.Once a bill reaches the floor, it is debated under the rules established by the Rules Committee (or, in rare cases, by discharge petition), and members may add further amendments. After debate ends, the chamber votes. In the House, a simple majority (50 percent plus one) is enough to pass. From there, the bill moves to the Senate, where it undergoes a similar process. At every stage, many factors can contribute to either the bill’s passage or its failure.

Both the House and Senate follow parliamentary procedure based on Robert’s Rules of Order, which guide discussion and decision-making. Because the House has so many members, it imposes stricter rules to maintain order. Debate is limited: a member may not speak for more than an hour and usually speaks for less. Members may offer only germane amendments—those directly related to the bill—and amendments typically must first be approved by the committee handling the legislation. For this reason, bills can stall or not pass if they are sent back to committee for review on the proposed amendments. Then, the bill would be sent back out to the House floor again for debate further extending the lawmaking process.Debate in the House is overseen by the presiding officer, usually the Speaker of the House or a designated representative. Members must address remarks to “Madam Speaker” or “Mister Speaker” and refer to colleagues by their state (e.g., “the distinguished representative from Iowa”). These formalities, along with time limits and strict procedures, help the House operate efficiently despite its large size.

Senate Debate

The Senate operates with greater flexibility and fewer restrictions:

• Senators may speak as long as they wish unless the body agrees to time limits.
• The presiding officer must recognize anyone who rises to speak, giving priority to party leaders.
• Senators may propose nongermane amendments, attaching unrelated provisions to bills.

Filibuster and Cloture A defining Senate tactic is the filibuster, where a senator delays action by speaking indefinitely to stall or block a bill or nomination. To end debate, the Senate can invoke cloture. In 1917, Rule 22 established cloture, originally requiring a two-thirds vote. In 1975, this threshold was lowered to three-fifths (60 votes), where it remains today (except for judicial nominations, which now require only a simple majority). Filibusters cannot be used on budget reconciliation bills, a rule that enabled the passage of major laws like the Affordable Care Act (2010), the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (2017), and the American Rescue Plan (2021). Holds and Unanimous Consent The Senate often speeds business with unanimous consent agreements. If no one objects, debate can be suspended, and the chamber moves quickly. But if even one senator objects, the action is stalled—a tactic known as a hold, often used as leverage in negotiations.

Reconciling House and Senate Versions

Because both chambers amend bills, the versions they pass often differ. To reconcile and align the bills:

• One chamber may accept the other’s version.
• One chamber may amend the other’s bill and send it back (debate restarts).
• If neither yields, a conference committee—with members from both chambers—drafts a compromise.

The final version must pass both chambers in identical form.

Bill Arrives on President's Desk

Once passed by Congress, the bill goes to the president, who can:

• Sign it → the bill becomes law.

• Veto it → sends the bill back to Congress with objections.

• Do nothing:

• If Congress is in session, the bill becomes law after 10 days without a signature.
• If Congress adjourns within 10 days and the president does not sign, it results in a pocket veto (bill dies).

Committees

In committee (or subcommittee), bills go through three stages: Hearings

• Testimony from experts, executive officials, industry lobbyists, interest groups, academics, and bill sponsors.
• The public can also submit written statements.
• The chair often commissions a published summary and analysis.
• If the chair refuses to schedule a hearing, the bill is pigeonholed (effectively killed).

Markup

• Committee members debate, amend, and rewrite the bill. In the house only germane amendments can be added to the bill--meaning only relevant changes can be made

Committee Vote

• If the bill is rejected, it is tabled (usually dead, though it can be revived later).
• If approved, it is “reported out” to the full chamber for debate.