Anyone may draft a bill; however, only members of Congress can introduce legislation, and by doing so become the sponsor(s). There are four basic types of legislation: bills, joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions, and simple resolutions. The official legislative process begins when a bill or resolution is numbered—H.R. signifies a House bill and S. a Senate bill—referred to a committee and printed by the Government Printing Office. Throughout the legislative process, MBA members should communicate their views to lawmakers.
When a member of either the House of Representatives or the Senate introduces a bill, it is then referred to the appropriate committee with jurisdiction. Note: all spending or tax bills must originate in the House of Representatives.A bill sent to committee can be referred to the committee’s appropriate subcommittee for relevant action or it can be taken up by the full committee. At this point the subcommittee or full committee will hold hearings, debate the bill, make any changes and vote on the bill. If a bill is submitted to a subcommittee, that body will deliberate and vote to move the bill—with any changes—to the full committee. If no action is taken, the bill is considered “dead.”
After a bill is reported back to the chamber where it originated, the Speaker and majority leader in the House of Representatives largely determine if and when the bill will be debated by the full chamber. In the Senate, the Majority Leader decides when to take action on a bill.
When a bill reaches the floor of the House or Senate, there are rules or procedures governing the debate on legislation. These rules determine the amount of time allocated for general debate and if any amendments can be offered. Amendments will be debated and voted on. After all amendments are voted on, a vote on the final bill will proceed.
If a final bill is passed, the bill “crosses over” to the other chamber, and the process begins again. When a bill “crosses over,” it usually follows the same route through committee and floor action. This chamber may approve the bill as received, let it die or amend it.
If only minor changes are made to a bill by the other chamber, it is common for the legislation to go back to the first chamber for concurrence. However, when the actions of the other chamber significantly alter the bill, a conference committee is formed to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions. If the conferees are unable to reach agreement, the legislation dies. If agreement is reached, a conference report is prepared describing the committee members’ recommendations for changes. Both the House and the Senate must approve of the conference report.
A final, agreed-upon bill is then sent to the President. The President can either sign it or kill the bill by veto. To overcome a presidential veto, each chamber of Congress must acquire a two-thirds vote in support of the bill for it to become law. If two-thirds is not reached in each chamber, the bill is dead.
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