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HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW: SIMPLIFIED
STEP 1:
A bill is introduced in either the House of Representatives or the Senate
STEP 2:
There are then committee hearings in the branch of Congress where the bill was introduced. Some of the committees include the Judiciary Committee,
Foreign Relations Committee, and the Education and Labor Committee. Click here to read the full list. The committees can do one of three things:
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Release the bill and advise it to be passed
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Revise the bill and then release it
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Reject the bill so it cannot be voted on
STEP 3:
If the bill is accepted by the committees, then it is passed on to be voted in the branch in which it was introduced. Revisions can be requested
which then prompts step 2 and 3 to be repeated.
STEP 4:
If the bill is passed then it is passed on to the other branch of Congress. If the bill was introduced in the Senate then it would be transferred to the
House of Representatives, and vise versa. The other branch has their own committee hearings, similar to those in step 2.
Click here to read the full list of committees.
STEP 5:
If released, the bill goes to the floor to be voted on. Revisions can be made which prompts steps 4 and 5 to be repeated.
STEP 6:
If the other branch passes the bill with revisions, meaning it is not exactly the same bill the first branch voted on, then then the bill is returned and
steps 2-5 are repeated until both branches agree on a bill and its amendments. If the bill has remained the same then it skips to step 7.
STEP 7:
If it is agreed upon, then the Speaker of the House and the Vice President sign the bill. Once this happens, the bill is sent to the President, who has
ten days to either sign the bill (which means the bill has become a law), or veto the bill. However, the bill can still become law even after the President
vetos it as long as it garners 2/3 of the votes in Congress (which would be extremely difficult).
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