Private Bills: deal with specific people or places Types of Bills 2 Types of Bills: Private Bills: deal with specific people or places Public Bills: deal with entire nation

Step 1 of: Bill to Law-7 steps - Bill to Law Process 1. Idea: members of Congress, lobbyists, and the President come up with ideas for bills. But only members of Congress (House of Rep or The Senate can formally introduce a bill) Every Bill is given a Title and a Number once it is introduced

Step 2 of: Bill to Law-7 steps 2. Bill is written up and proposed on the floor of one house (Either senate or House of Reps) Must be written and proposed by a member of the house that it is introduced (Senator writes and proposes in the senate)

Step 3 of: Bill to Law-7 steps 3. Each bill goes to the appropriate committee where experts are consulted and amendments are discussed. Five things can happen to a bill in committee: bill is passed with no changes. 2) bill is passed with changes. 3) bill is replaced with an alternative. 4) “pigeonholing”: Chair of the committee ignores the bill. 5) bill is killed.

Step 4 of: Bill to Law-7 steps 4. Floor Debate: Both houses allow all members to debate the bill and propose changes. But only In the Senate: Senators can add amendments that are totally unconnected to the bill. These are called “riders”. Riders became famous with “pork barrels” or the use of government funds for projects designed to please voters or legislators and win votes There are also no time limits on debate in the Senate, so a Senator can speak continuously for hours to prevent a vote on a bill. This is called a filibuster. Filibusters can only be ended by a “Cloture” vote of 3/5 of the Senate.

Step 5 of: Bill to Law-7 steps Voting on a bill: a simple majority of 51% is needed to pass a bill

Step 6 of: Bill to Law-7 steps 6. Conference Committee: members of both houses meet to compromise on a single version of a bill. The bill must again be passed by both houses

Step 7 of: Bill to Law-7 steps 7. Presidential Action: The President can do three things. sign the bill into law. veto the bill (a 2/3 vote of Congress is needed to overturn a Presidential veto) Pocket-veto: If Congress is not in session when the President receives the bill, he can ignore it for 10 days. After 10 days, the bill can no longer be passed.  

House Senate Passage by President 1. Signs bill OR 2.Vetoes bill Floor Action 1. Referred to standing committee 2. Referred to subcommittee 3. Reported by committee 4. Rules of debate set House 1. House debates, votes 2. Bill passes goes to senate or conference committee Passage by President 1. Signs bill OR 2.Vetoes bill 3. Pocket veto 1. Bill introduced 2. Bill is given HR# Conference Action Works out differences and send identical compromise bill to both chambers for final approval Committee Action Senate 1. Referred to standing committee 2. Referred to subcommittee 3. Reported by committee 1. Senator announce bill. 2. Bill is given S# 1. Senate debates, votes 2. Bills passes, goes to House or conference committee If President vetoes bill, Congress can… Override a veto by a 2/3 majority in both chambers. Floor Action