The Legislative Process in the United States

Prepared by NORPAC2/2/2015

The U.S. Congress

Members of Congress meet each year in Washington, D.C.

Each Congress has a two-year cycle between elections, consisting of 2 sessions.

Senate

House of Representative

s

Our Congressional legislature is “bicameral”. That means that it is composed of “two chambers”. They are the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The U.S. Senate has one hundred members who serve six-year terms, and is presided over by the Vice President or members of the leadership party.

Two Senate members represent each of the 50 states.

The Senate

The number of voting representatives in the House is fixed by law at no more than 435, proportionally representing the population of the 50 states. The House of Representatives has members who serve two year terms, and is presided over by the Speaker of the House.

There can be fewer House members in a state than Senators

Alaska, Delaware Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Vermont are the states that have only one representative in the House of Representatives.

The House of Representatives

The Idea

Bills, and ultimately laws, all begin as ideas.

An idea can come from a legislator, group of legislators, a committee, the President, a professional group, a lobbyist, an individual citizen, etc.

The idea for a bill can come from you!

The Bill An idea for a bill may

come from anybody, however only Members of Congress can introduce a bill in Congress. Bills can be introduced at any time the House is in session.

Therefore, your idea must be communicated to one of these folks, who will “sponsor” the bill.

Introduction and Reading

In the House, bills are officially introduced by placing them in a special box known as the hopper, which is located at the rostrum, or Speaker's platform. In the Senate, a bill is introduced by placing it on the presiding officer's desk or by formally introducing it on the Senate Floor.

The first reading of a bill means the bill's title is read on the House Floor. The bill is then referred to a committee for markup.

Types of Legislation

Two types of Legislation: Bills

New Laws Resolutions

Statements from Congress

In the House, a bill clerk assigns the bill a number. House bills begin with "H.R." Resolutions begin with "H. Res.," "H. Con. Res.," or "H. J. Res," depending what type they are. Senate bills begin with "S."

Legislative Committees

Each body has many committees which consider issues within their jurisdictions. They include:

Education Finance Health Judiciary Homeland Security Foreign Affairs Science, Space &

Technology Agriculture Small Businesses ..And many more!

Once a bill has been referred to committee, a hearing(s) may be held.

The sponsor presents the bill to the committee, public testimony is heard and the committee members discuss and argue (debate) the matter.

Modifications, additions or deletions to the bill may be suggested and adopted. These are called “amendments”.

When formal debate has concluded, the members vote to move the bill out of committee.

If the bill is not tabled (rejected), it will be sent either to a subcommittee for intensive study, or reported back to the House or Senate Floor.

After the bill has moved through all its committees of referral, it is scheduled for floor action in the house of origin.

Once a bill does not require further amendment, Members may vote "Yea" for approval, "Nay" for disapproval, or "Present" to record that they were in attendance but chose not to vote.

Once the bill passes the House, it must go through the same process in the Senate, and vice versa.

Members of the other house who receive the bill may vote to pass or not to pass it.

If the bill passes with different language, it must be sent for review to a conference committee, which is a committee made up of members from both the House and the Senate.

Differences must be agreed upon before the bill is sent to the President for signature. At this point the bill is "enrolled."

At this point, the President may sign the bill into law, allow the bill to become law without his/her signature, or veto the bill.

When the President issues a veto, the bill returns to its House of origin. If that house does not vote on a veto override (requires a 2/3 majority vote), the bill is stalled and does not become a law.

If the president takes no action and Congress is in session, the bill automatically becomes law after ten days.

If the President signs the bill, it becomes law.

From a Bill to an Act to a Law

New public and private laws are prepared and published by the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and are given a corresponding number.

The website THOMAS.gov lists public laws by law number and provides votes and a summary of the bill.

That which began as an idea has become law and is now part of the codified body of laws, enacted by our Congress.

Thinking about the U.S.-Israel Relationship

What ideas for laws can you think of to bolster the U.S.-Israel relationship?

Which committee(s) do you think should consider legislation pertaining to the U.S.-Israel relationship? Why?

Who are your local Representatives and Senators? Do you know which committees they sit on?

NORPACAmerica’s leading pro-Israel, non-

partisan Political Action Committee (PAC)

www.norpac.net