- Differences Between the House and Senate Procedures
The Senate and the House have some procedural differences between them. Learn more about each body’s process:
Search for the status and historical record of congressional bills and documents.
A Bill is Introduced in Congress
A bill is usually introduced in either the House or Senate by its sponsor. Bills can also have multiple cosponsors. Once the bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee.
The Senate and the House have some procedural differences between them. Learn more about each body’s process:
Committee Hearings, Reports, and Prints
The congressional committee or subcommittee decides on whether or not to consider the bill; many are not considered and "die in committee." Committees may choose to hold hearings where relevant experts are gathered before the committee to testify, giving their opinions and relevant data on the subject matter of the bill. Committees can choose to make changes or amendments to the bill with markups. Committees may issue a report to the Congress about their deliberations. Other relevant materials may be gathered and published as a committee print.
Floor Action and Debate
Bills that are reported on favorably by committee are brought forward for floor action. If the bill is approved for consideration on the floor it may be debated or amended before being passed by the House or Senate. All congressional actions are published verbatim in the Congressional Record. Once the bill passes one chamber of Congress it becomes an engrossed bill or act.
Conference Committee Reports
The act goes to the other chamber of Congress and proceeds through a similar process of being referred to a committee, marked-up, debated, and amended. If the bill is not substantially changed then it can be passed by the second chamber and sent to the President.
If the bill is substantially changed then a conference committee may be convened. The conference committee is composed of members from both chambers who try to agree on a compromise for the bill. If they are successful, then a conference report is issued with a version of the agreed-upon bill and an explanation for any changes. This newly amended bill must be approved, without changes, by both the House and the Senate before being sent to the President.
The final version of the bill is called the enrolled bill.
Presidential Actions
The enrolled bill is sent to the President for signature. The President must sign the bill within 10 days to become law, or the President can choose to veto the bill and send it back to Congress with a veto message. Congress can override a veto with 2/3 majority vote from both chambers. If the President does not sign the bill within 10 days, and congress is in session, then the bill automatically becomes law. If the President doesn't sign the bill, and Congress is not in session, then the bill fails. This is known as a pocket veto. When the President signs a bill it immediately becomes law, and a signing statement may be issued to accompany it. The bill is assigned a Public Law number.
Slip Laws, Statutes, and Codes
When a bill becomes a law and is assigned a Public Law number it is first published by the Office of the Federal Register as slip law. The law will next be published in sequential order with other passed laws from the congressional session in the Statutes at Large. Statutes at Large indicates if and how the law is codified by the Law Revision Counsel in the United States Code.
Regulations
Congress grants authority to executive agencies, such as the Department of Agriculture, to interpret the Statutes at Large and US Code in the drafting of administrative law (general rules and regulations). This administrative law is published and organized by agency in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The CFR is revised annually. Any proposed changes are published daily in the Federal Register.
*Information obtained from congress.gov and usa.gov
Federal laws apply to people living in the United States and its territories.
Congress creates and passes bills. The president then may sign those bills into law. Federal courts may review the laws to see if they agree with the Constitution. If a court finds a law is unconstitutional, it can strike it down.
*Information compiled from usa.gov.
The United States Code contains general and permanent federal laws. It does not include regulations, decisions, or laws issued by:
Federal agencies
Federal courts
Treaties
State and local governments
New public and private laws appear in each edition of the United States Statutes at Large. There is a new edition for each session of Congress.
Find bills and resolutions introduced by the current and earlier sessions of Congress. This includes new laws that have not yet been assigned a public law number.
Find laws and joint resolutions that have been assigned public law numbers.
Visit the Law Library of Congress to research U.S. code, statutes, and public laws.
To find older laws, visit a law library or a Federal Depository Library.
*Information compiled from usa.gov.
Regulations are issued by federal agencies, boards, and commissions. They explain how agencies plan to carry out laws. Regulations are published yearly in the Code of Federal Regulations.
Federal regulations are created through a process known as rulemaking (PDF, Download Adobe Reader). If an agency wants to make, change, or delete a rule, it will:
Publish the proposal in the Federal Register
Consider the public's comments and change the rule if necessary. The agency then publishes the final version in the Federal Register along with:
A description of the comments received
The agency’s response to those comments
The date the rule goes into effect
*Information compiled from usa.gov.
Federal courts do not write or pass laws. But they may establish individual “rights” under federal law. This happens through courts' interpretations of federal and state laws and the Constitution.
An example is the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. The court decided that state laws that segregated public school students by race violated the 14th Amendment. It said that "separate but equal" schools cause minority children to feel inferior. And that hurts their educational opportunities.
Research decisions of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts.
*Information compiled from usa.gov.
State legislatures make the laws in each state. State courts can review these laws. If a court decides a law doesn't agree with the state's constitution, it can declare it invalid.
Find state laws and regulations with the Law Library of Congress’s guide for each state.
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Inside Congress by
Required reading for anyone who wants to understand how to work within Congress. The House and Senate have unique rules and procedures to determine how legislation moves from a policy idea to law. Evolved over the last 200 years, the rules of both chambers are designed to act as the engine for that process. Each legislative body has its own leadership positions to oversee this legislative process. To the novice, whether a newly elected representative, a lawmaker's staff on her first day at work, or a constituent visiting Washington, the entire process can seem incomprehensible. What is an open rule for a House Appropriations bill and how does it affect consideration? Why are unanimous consent agreements needed in the Senate? The authors of Inside Congress, all congressional veterans, have written the definitive guide to how Congress really works.
Members of Congress : Qualifications, Duties, and First Day of Office by
The qualifications required to hold the office of U.S. Senator or Representative to Congress are established and set out within the U.S. Constitution. These constitutional qualifications are the exclusive qualifications for congressional office, and may not be changed or added to by the Congress, nor may these qualifications be added to or changed unilaterally by a state. The duties carried out by a Member of Congress are understood to include representation, legislation, and constituent service and education, as well as political and electoral activities. The expectations and duties of a Member of Congress are extensive, encompassing several roles that could be full-time jobs by themselves. This book discusses in further detail the qualifications and duties of a Member of Congress.