User:Tj91~enwiki/How U.S. laws are made

A Bill Starts With an Idea
Anyone can come up with the idea for a bill, but only Members of Congress can

introduce a bill in Congress. Bills can be introduced whenever the House is in session.

The Bill's Proposal
After the bill has been written, a Member of Congress becomes the bill's sponsor

by officially introducing the bill in Congress. Representatives usually sponsor bills

that are important to their constituents(people who live in their district).

The Bill's Introduction
A bill can be introduced whenever the House is in session. Bills are officially

introduced once put in the hopper, a special box that holds the bills that are waiting

to be introduced. The hopper is located at the rostrum, also known as the Speaker's platform.

In the Senate, a bill is introduced by placing it on the presiding officer's desk or

it can also be formally introduced on the Senate Floor. In the house, there is a bill

clerk who assigns numbers to the bills. House bills begin with "H.R.", Resolutions

begin with "H. Res.," "H. Con. Res.," or "H. J. Res," depending what type they are,

and Senate bills being with "S". A bill is first read on the floor, and is then

referred to a committee where it is marked up. The Library of Congress is then

presented with an electronic form of the bill, where it is put up on a public

web page called Thomas.

The Bill's Committee
The bill is referred to the appropriate committee. The 19 House standing

committees and 16 Senate committees each have jurisdiction over different

areas of public policy, such as agriculture, education and the workforce,

and international relations. The bill is then placed on the committees calender.

The bill is then debated on and then edited, or "marked up" where changes could

be made to the bill, or not made to the bill. During this process the committee

then votes to either accept or reject the bill. Depending on the number of

mark ups, the committee may decide to introduce a "clean bill", which would

be introduced with a new bill number. The committee then votes on the bill again.

THOMAS, the Library of Congress web page, puts the status of the bill up online

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,when

the committee stops action, it will be sent either to a subcommittee for

intensive study, or reported back to the House Floor.

The Bill's Sub-Committee
The bill is then sent to a subcommittee where it is then put on their calender also.

The bill is carefully studied. The subcommittee may hold hearings to see the various

views of different experts, supporters, and opponents. The bill is tabled when the

subcommittee deems it unwise or unnecessary, and is then marked up if need be.

Subcommittee members then 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 recent major actions on the bill.

The Bill is Reported
The bill is released from the committee, along with a report explaining the provisions of the bill,

and is then ordered as reported. The reported bill is then put on one out of five House Calenders,

where it is most likely put on the Union Calender or House Calender, for they are the most commonly used.

The bill is then considered on the House Floor. The Library of Congress website, Thomas,receives

updates of the bill from the committee and posts the most recent major action.

The Bill is Considered by the House
A consideration by the House Floor can be held in a variety of ways. The

Committee of the Whole is a parliamentary device that is used to debate on

House bills, this provides faster consideration. Then, floor action begins

by members debating the bill. The conduct of debate is usually dictated by

Rules of the House, and may also be governed by a special rule granted

specifically for the bill under consideration. Following the debate,

amendments may be put out during the second reading in a section-by-section

manner.After the debates of amendments, the bill is read a third time.

Current Floor Proceedings including major actions on the bill is posted for a

public basis on the website of the Clerk of the House. The THOMAS website of

the Library of Congress receives an electronic copy of the debate as it appears

in the Congressional Record, which is prepared by the Clerk of the House. The

latest major action on a bill is posted on the THOMAS website.

The Bill is Voted On By Congress
The bill is voted on by only being read its title to pass or not to pass the bill.

Members most often vote electronically in the House Chamber using the Electronic

Voting System, however Senate does their voting without electronics. 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.

Voters have three different choices to place on their ballets, "yea" for approval,

"nay" for disapproval, or "present" to note that they had been in attendance, however

decided to not make a vote on that bill. Majority rules in the House, so if the majority

approve of the bill, it is then sent to the other end of the building where Senate will

undergo a similar process. The Library of Congress uses the THOMAS website yet again to

post updates on the status of the bill.

The Bill is Referred to the Senate
The Senate must also approve of the bill once the House has passed the bill 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 the laws are created democratically.

Once amendments have been officially passed, along with the bill, and has been certified

by the Clerk, it is said to be "engrossed". Like the House, the bill is able to be sent

to a committee to be marked up and study. Members of the Senate committee have the choice

to just completely ignore the bill, and continue with their own legislature. If the bill

passes with different language, or has been amended, 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, to make

sure the House is still okay with the amendments since it would not be the same version they

had approved. Differences must be agreed upon before the bill is sent to the President for

his signature. At this point the bill is "enrolled." After this has been agreed upon, THOMAS

website posts updates on the status of the bill.

The Bill is Sent to the President
Once both Senate and House agree on the bill it is sent to the President in order

to be signed, this process is calling being enrolled.

The President can take one of several possible actions:


 * The president can make no action. If Congress is in session, the bill then

automatically becomes law after a ten day period


 * A pocket veto occurs when the president takes no action and Congress has ended

its session. In this case, the bill dies and does not become a law.


 * The president may decide that the bill is unwise or unnecessary and veto the bill.


 * The president may sign the bill, and the bill becomes law.

The Library of Congress again posts updates on the bill using THOMAS in order for the public to see.

The Bill Becomes a Law
The bill may become a law in one of three ways, first the president may sign the bill,

a president can not sign the bill and with Congress still in session after a ten day

period of time the bill automatically becomes a law, or the Congress can over ride the

veto of the President. The law is then numbered in to a system for the public using THOMAS.

 OR 

The Bill is Vetoed
If the President does not agree with the bill or thinks it is unwise or unnecessary

then the President does not have to sign the law, but makes an announcement of an

official veto. A pocket veto is another way for the President to veto a law, this

is done by withholding approval of the bill until Congress has adjourned. The house

where the bill was originally brought up is given the bill back where objections to

the veto are announced and discussed on the house floor. With enough objections the

House may then vote on a "veto override", however if not then the bill is "stalled"

and does not become a law. Historical numbers of all presidential vetoes and pocket

vetoes are available on the Clerk's website in Historical Highlights. .

The Veto is Overridden
If enough Members do not agree with the presidential veto then they vote to override

the veto. Two-thirds or greater of a vote from both houses is needed to overturn the

veto, if this process does happen then the bill becomes a law. If two-thirds of the

vote is not reached then the bill then dies, and does not become a law. All presidential

veto overrides are available on the Clerk's website in Historical Highlights.