Lawmaking at the Federal Level Text Version
Have you ever wondered how a bill becomes a law? It all starts in the legislative branch.
About 9,000 bills are introduced each year in Congress, but roughly 10 percent become law.
Bills may be introduced in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. The bill is given a number and referred to a committee. The letters in front of the bill number tell you whether it began in the House or the Senate.
The bill starts in a subcommittee, where legislators can edit the language, make additions, or take things out. Then it moves to the full committee, which is the hardest step for a bill to pass. Only one in six bills will pass this step. The full committee can also make edits and will then vote on advancing the bill.
In the House, there is an extra step – the House Rules Committee, which makes special rules for debating and changing the bill. Then it's time for floor action, which is a debate by the full House or Senate. They can still make edits before taking a vote. The bill needs approval from a majority in both chambers to advance.
Next, members from both the House and the Senate meet to discuss differences between each chamber's version of the bill. They compromise on the differences to create a single bill. Then, each chamber takes a final vote on the exact same version of the bill. If it passes,
The bill is sent to the president to either sign into law or veto.
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