The primary task of Congress is to make laws. The legislative process has a number of steps and much information is available on this page about how laws are made. In addition to the information here, the House of Representatives has a page that provides a brief overview of the legislative process. There are, however, many aspects and variations of the process which are not addressed on this page or in the House’s summary. For in-depth information, please see How Our Laws are Made and Enactment of a Law.The Office of the Clerk also provides information about the legislative process specifically for students.

Sponsored and Co-Sponsored Legislation:

Before a proposed piece of legislation can be considered by the House of Representatives, a Member of Congress (either a Member of the House or a Member of the Senate) must sponsor it. Members of Congress who are not the primary sponsor of a piece of legislation may express their strong support for a piece of legislation by becoming a co-sponsor. Take a look at legislation that Congressman Dingell has sponsored or co-sponsored during the 111th Congress.

Committee Hearings:

After a bill is introduced on the House or Senate floor, it is referred to the committee of jurisdiction (i.e., the committee charged with reviewing measures in the area of law or policy with which the bill is concerned). The committee of referral most often sends the measure to its specialized subcommittee(s) for study, hearings, revisions and approval.

Most bills are not acted upon by the committee or subcommittee to which they have been referred, effectively "killing" most measures at this point. (Occasionally, a committee will report a measure "unfavorably," with explicit recommendations against its passage, or it will report a bill "without recommendation," which has the same effect as an unfavorable report.)

If the bill passes the subcommittee with a favorable vote, however, it is sent back to the full committee for further consideration, hearings, amendment and vote.

• List of Today's Hearings Compiled by the House Radio-Television Correspondents' Gallery
• Congressional Committee Materials via GPO Access

Committee Reports:

The House of Representatives divides its work among over twenty permanent committees.  Normally, before a piece of legislation is considered by the House, it has been reviewed by at least one of the committee, which issues a report that describes the legislation and indicates (on section-by-section basis) how the proposed law would change existing statute. Congress divides its work among over two hundred committees and subcommittees, each of which issues regular reports on its activities.

Proceedings of the House:

The Congressional Record is the official transcript of the proceedings and debates of the U.S. Congress. The full text of the Congressional Record is published the day after each meeting of the House or Senate. The House Committee on Rules for more information about the Congressional Record.  The Office of the Clerk provides a summary of what is currently happening on the Floor of the House, as well as schedules for this week and the calendar for the current year.

Rules and Precedents of the House:

The Rules and Precedents of the House is the document that spells out the process by which legislation is considered by the House and its committees, as well as specifies the authority of the officers and committees of the House.  A collection of material explaining the rules and precedents is available through the House Committee on Rules:

• General Parliamentary Procedure
• House Committee Procedure
• House Floor Procedure
• House and Senate Parliamentary Procedure (originally compiled by the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress)

Roll Call Votes:

A roll call vote records how each member of the House voted, but only a minority of bills receive a roll call vote. Learn more about compiling a member voting record and how to read the roll call information.

Federal Laws:

The U.S. Code is the official compilation of the current Federal statutes of a general and permanent nature. The code is arranged according to subject matter under 50 subject headings (“titles”).  The code sets out the current status of the laws, incorporating all amendments into the text. Prior to being added to the U.S. Code, individual laws are published in pamphlet form as "slip laws" which are later collected together in chronological order (not in subject order) as the Statutes at Large.

Schedules of the House:

There are several schedules that offer information about the upcoming activities of the House.  Each legislative day, the Majority Leader publishes the Daily Leader and the Majority Whip issues the Daily WhipLine. Each week, the Clerk of the House prepares Weekly House Program, while the Majority Leader distributes the Weekly Leader. In addition, the Clerk compiles a schedule for the year that indicates the days that the House will likely meet.