The roadmap of how a bill becomes an actual is designed to include considerable opportunity for debate and clarification of its content. There are four primary steps in the process of a bill becoming law; introduction, committee action, debate and signing. (factmonster.com).
A bill’s introduction takes place either in the House of Representatives or the Senate, depending on where it originates. Bills that originate in the Executive Branch must also be introduced by a Senator or member of Congress. Once introduced, it is assigned a number and given a title by either the Senate or House clerk. It is then passed on to the appropriate committee for further review.
After arriving in committee, discussions take place concerning contents and purpose of the bill. In the case of Senate bills, these discussions usually occur after the bill has been passed on to a sub-committee. The sub-committee may hold hearings or implement revisions before passing it back to the full committee. (senate.gov)
Another action which might be taken is called “tabling” of the bill, which causes it to die in committee. Once the committee completes its debate and revisioning, a vote is taken to determine if the bill should proceed to the next step, which is on to the Senate or House floor for additional debate. (factmonster.com)
In cases where a bill survives the committee process, the next step takes place on either the Senate or House floor. This essentially is a debate among lawmakers arguing either for or against passage to their respective membership at large. This process is also known as the “floor action” with each chamber having a different method of execution. (Lesson, Week 3)
In floor actions taking place in the House, set of rules designed specificall...
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...ntent to be determined or revised. Once a bill becomes law, there is still an opportunity for it to be reversed based on its constitutionality. The question as to whether or not a bill meets or violates provisions of the United States Constitution are ultimately decided by the Supreme Court. However, the court may opt to not take up a particular case and let the law stand as passed.
Works Cited
“Committee Action – Attachment 1.” Senate.gov. http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/legprocessflowchart.pdf “How a Bill Becomes Law." Factmonster.com http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/.html." Fact Monster.2000–2013 Pearson Education, publishing as Fact Monster (accessed November 30, 2013)
“Ted Cruz Filibuster.” Nydailynews.com. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ted-cruz-filibuster-talks-21-hours-votes-house-bill-article-1.1467344 (accessed November 30, 2013)
The law making process is a lengthy process. First, a representative must have an idea for a new law and they become the sponsor of this bill. The representative must present to the bill to the Clerk of the House if it is in the house (H.R. Bills), or in the Senate (S Bills). The Government Printing Office, GPO, then prints the bill and distributes it to each representative. The Speaker of the House, for further study, then assigns this bill to a standing committee within the house. The standing committee studies the bill and its contents and has two options, either to release the bill with a recommendation to pass it or lay it aside so it cannot be voted on. If the bill is released, it may be voted on or sent into debate within the house and needs a majority vote for the bill to move onto the Senate. Within the Senate, the bill must go through one of the Senate’s sixteen standing committees, and as with the House of Representatives, the bill is either released or pigeonholed. If it is released, a simple majority passes the bill. The bill takes another step into a conference committee, which is made up of members of the Hou...
The Constitution of the United States sets out the procedure of a bill becoming a law in Article 1, Section 7. Scholars have interpreted the Constitution to read that a president can only sign or veto a bill, but the section that many other scholars have looked over that would allow for the line-item veto is that, “if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to r...
A great deal of bills have been written and passed as legislation under the pretense that they would better outline the citizen’ rights and ensure their freedoms. Yet occasionally these laws are created with disregard to what is stated in our Constitution. At times they distort and twist the original meaning of the work, counter acting the purpose of creating the Amendments. The intention of Amendments was to be an outline of the rights of the people. They were to ensure that there would not be a repeat of what the framers had experienced when they set out on their mission to draft a document that would govern our country for years to come. Little by little our elected officials have been discounting our Constitution. There are many resulting repercussions; the most dear to everyone being the individuals rights. The end result of these interpretations being that our people are hurt, as we are slowly being stripped of our rights as U.S. citizens.
The procedure for approving a bill and making it a law involves many steps. The following description is a short summary from “How Our Laws are Made”, an in depth description of the legislative process that can found on the website of the Library of Congress. After a bill is drafted, a member...
The legislative branch is responsible for making laws and includes Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate has 100 members, two from each state. The house of representatives is made up of 435 members, and the larger the population of the state is, the more representatives it will have. The House and the Senate are also known as Congressional Chambers, and they both have particular exclusive powers. The consent of both chambers is required to pass any legislation. But it can only become law if it is signed by the President. The President has the power to veto a bill though, which will deny the legislation and kick the bill back to Congress. It may then only be passed if 2/3 of both houses of Congress vote to pass the bill.
Contrasts in the lawmaking methodology utilized as a part of the House and Senate reflect the distinctive size of the two chambers and individual terms of its parts. In the House, the dominant part gathering is inflexibly in control, stacking advisory groups with lion 's share party parts, and utilizing principles to seek after enactment supported by its parts. In the Senate, singular parts are better ready to hold up the procedure, which prompts lower similarity costs, however higher exchange costs. The complication of the lawmaking procedure gives rivals different chances to murder a bill, making a solid predisposition for the present state of affairs.
Congress and The Presidency Congress as a whole makes laws. When Bills are addressed they must meet the approval of both the House and the Senate in order to become a Law, and then the President can always veto it. Congress also deals with matters of public concern be it something that needs to be investigated or something that needs to be put before the public to raise awareness. Congress is made up of two parts: The Senate and the House of Representatives. Each is granted different powers and responsibilities.
Otto von Bismarck once said, “Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.” The arduous process that a bill undergoes in order to become a law may seem grueling and pointless; however, the processes high caliber of difficulty allows for the extreme prestige and exclusivity of bills that are passed. Because the process is so exhausting, and filibusters, subsequently requiring a super-majority vote to pass a bill, have always been such a threat in Congress, historically, bills that attempt to reform sensitive issues have not fared well in the legislative branch. However, when Congress does pass controversial laws, it then also faces the task of effectively enforcing them. But, when the process is carried out to completion, laws that are enforced have significant impacts on the everyday lives of the American people—such as laws concerning abortion rights. In the United States, the government and Congress have significantly affected the rights of women with regard to abortions through laws that either restrict or guarantee their legality and availability, while the government’s capacity to do so is affected by the principle of federalism along with that of the separation of powers.
Before a law is passed it spends a great deal of time in the hands of officials in Congress, and even
West Virginia Legislature. (2011). How a bill becomes a law. Retrieved October 14, 2011, from
First, in the long process of a bill becoming a law is introducing a bill. After someone from Congress in either chamber has come up with an idea for a bill they must introduce it. For members of the House of Representatives this is easy. All they have to do is put their idea in a mahogany box at the front of the chamber called the hopper. Now for a Senator to introduce a bill they must either hand it to the clerk of the Senate or they must talk about it in a presentation to their peers in a floor speech. Sometimes though Senators can cut down this process by adding their bill as an amendment to legislation that is already being processed. This saves them a lot of time. Also, new ideas for bills are labeled depending on what chamber they come from. Bills from the house will always be labeled with an H.R. with its number behind it. Well bills from the Senate will always be labeled with an S. followed by its number.
The membership of the standing committees of each House is chosen by a. vote of the entire body; members of other committees are appointed. under the provisions of the measure establishing them. Each bill and resolution is usually referred to the appropriate committee. committee, which may report a bill in its original form, favorably. or unfavorably, recommend amendments, or allow the proposed amendments.
This source simply explains to me what my bill is and what stage of process it is in committee.
Now for such legislation to be put into law, a bill would have to be proposed in the House of Representatives. A committee would devise a Bill and once debaters of both sides finished their arguments, a vote would take place.
Van, B. S. D., & University of Pittsburgh. (1995). Post-passage politics: Bicameral resolution in Congress. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. 6th edition http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/text idx?idno=31735057897302;view=toc;c=pittpress