Understanding the Legislative Process
How Congress Functions to Develop Laws
Congress has the responsibility for representing the citizens of the United States of America as policy is developed and updated or eliminated. The work of preparing and considering legislation is done largely by committees of both houses of Congress. All proceedings of Congress are published in the "Congressional Record" which is issued when Congress is in session. Check the index of current proceedings at https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record.
Congress convenes in January and begins committee hearings as soon as possible. It is important to know when a bill or resolution is going to be introduced, discussed, sent to committee, reported, and voted on.
How a Bill Becomes Law: An Overview
Congress uses a committee system to work bills through a screening process, from introduction through committee work to floor action. For advocacy to be meaningful, it is vital to know how a bill moves through a committee to reach the floor for action. Here is a brief summary of the process:
- A member of Congress introduces a bill. Learn how to obtain a copy of legislation.
- The bill is referred to a committee and, in turn, to a subcommittee.
- The subcommittee holds hearings on the bill and then amends (“markup”) and sends it back to the full committee.
- The full committee may amend the bill further (at full committee “markup”) and then issue a report on it.
- The bill is now ready for floor action, where it may be debated and further amended.
- If the bill passes, it is then sent to the other chamber, where the same process is reenacted. Frequently, each chamber is working simultaneously on the same or similar legislation.
- Once both chambers have passed their versions of the bill, they can reconcile any differences by agreeing to, or modifying, the amendments of the other chamber – or by sending the measure to a conference committee.
- The conference committee tries to arrive at language acceptable to both bodies.
- The bill, as agreed upon by the conference committee and now referred to as a “conference report” is sent back to the Senate and the House for approval.
- Once both the Senate and the House agree on the exact language of the bill, the legislation is sent to the President for approval and signature into law.
- Should the President veto the bill, the Congress will normally have the option of trying to override the veto. This action requires a two-thirds majority vote of both the Senate and the House.
Only members of Congress can introduce a bill, and any House or Senate member can either introduce or cosponsor legislation. Each bill or resolution is usually referred to the appropriate committee, which may “report a bill out” in its original form, favorably or unfavorably, recommend amendments, or allow the proposed legislation to die in committee without action. Proposals may also be introduced by the committee or subcommittee chair responsible for a particular subject area.
Learn more about how committees work and how to contact committees.
Once a bill is passed by one chamber, the measure is sent to the other chamber for consideration, and follows a similar path from subcommittee to full committee to floor action. Often a representative and a senator offer similar proposals on the same policy issue, called companion bills, which may be acted on either simultaneously or at different times.
When both the House and the Senate pass similar bills on a single policy issue, the measure is sent to a conference committee, composed of members from the relevant committees of both chambers, who meet to resolve differences between the two versions. Citizens can still influence policy decisions during this process. The resulting compromise “conference report” must be passed, without amendments, by the full House and Senate.
The approved conference report is sent to the White House for executive action, a presidential signature or veto. All proceedings of Congress are published in the “Congressional Record” which is issued when Congress is in session.