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  How Laws Are Made

How Does a Bill Become a Law?
Begin
Propose
Introduce
Committee
Subcommittee
Report
Consider
Vote
Refer to Senate
Bill Is Enrolled
Law OR Veto
Veto Override
Refer to Senate cartoon


The Bill is Referred to the Senate

  • When a bill passes in the House, it must also pass in the Senate 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 laws are created democratically.
  • Once the bill and its amendments has been officially passed by the House and certified by the Clerk, it is said to be "engrossed."
  • In the Senate, the bill again may be sent to a committee for study or markup.
  • Members may choose to ignore the bill and continue to work on their own legislation.
  • Members may vote to pass or not to pass the bill.
  • If the bill passes with different language, 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.
  • Differences must be agreed upon before the bill is sent to the President for signature. At this point the bill is "enrolled."
  • The THOMAS website logs the latest major action on the bill under "Bill Status."
 
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A Little Known Fact
High-school-aged Congressional Pages deliver important messages to Members in the House Chamber.

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Currently on the House Floor
History is being made right now on the House Floor!

Glossary Terms
Key Words
Use the glossary to learn key terms.

Act
Amendment
Bill
Calendar
Checks and Balances
Clean Bill
Committee of the Whole
Concurrent Resolution
Constituent
Constitution
Electronic Voting Machine
Engrossed Bill
Enrolled Bill
Hearing
Hopper
Joint Resolution
Jurisdiction
Law
Legislative Day
Line-Item Veto
Markup
Measure
Override (a veto)
Pocket Veto
Private Bill
Public Law
Quorum
Report
Resolution
Simple Resolution
Sine Die
Tabling Motion
Veto



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