American Government and Politics Today, Brief Edition, 2014-2015

216 PART THREE • iNsTiTuTioNs oF AMERiCAN govERNMENT

A bill goes to full committee, then usually to a specialized

subcommittee for study, hearings, revisions, and approval.

Then the bill goes back to full committee, where more hearings

and revisions may occur. The full committee may approve the

bill and recommend passage. Committees rarely give a bill an

unfavorable report. Instead, the bill may “die” in committee.

In the House, many bills go before the Rules Committee for a

“rule” expediting floor action, setting conditions for debate and

amendments on the floor. Some bills are “privileged” and go

directly to the floor. In the Senate, special rules are not used—the

leadership normally schedules action. A bill is debated, usually

amended, and then passed or defeated. If passed, it goes to the

other chamber to follow the same route through committee and

floor stages. If the other chamber has already passed a related bill,

as is often the case, both versions go straight to conference, as

shown in this figure.

HR 100

Introduced

in House

Referred to

House Committee

Referred to

Senate Committee

Referred to

Subcommittee

Referred to

Subcommittee

Reported by

Full Committee

Reported by

Full Committee

Rules Committee

Action

House Debate,

Vote on Passage

Senate Debate,

Vote on Passage

S 20 0

Introduced

in Senate

Compromise version of

bills HR 1 00/S 20 0

sent to House for approval

Compromise version of

bills HR 1 00/S 20 0

sent to Senate for approval

Conference Action

Once both chambers have passed related bills, a

conference committee of members from both

chambers is formed to work out differences. The

compromise version from conference is sent to

each chamber for final approval.

HR 10 0/S 20 0

A Bill

VETOED

HR 1 00/S 20 0

A Bill

SIGNED

A compromise bill approved by both chambers is sent to the president, who can sign it into law

or veto it and return it to Congress. Congress may override a veto by a two-thirds majority vote

in both chambers. The bill then becomes law without the president’s signature.

FiguRE 9–4: How a Bill Becomes Law

This illustration shows the most typical way in which proposed legislation is enacted into law. Most legislation begins as similar bills

introduced into the House and the Senate. The process is illustrated here with two hypothetical bills, House Bill No. 100 (HR 100)

and Senate Bill No. 200 (S 200). The path of HR 100 is shown on the left, and that of S 200, on the right.

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