How a Bill Becomes a Law Chapter 6

How a Bill Becomes a Law Chapter 6 Section 4 Civics Mr. Collins and Mrs. Kozlik CE 7 a

Step 1: Bill Must be Introduced • A Senator or member of the House must draft a bill or put it in writing • He or she then introduces the bill to the other members of his or her house • Bills are given numbers to identify them – Ex. H. R. 1, S. 1

Step 2: Bill is sent to a Committee • Bill goes to the standing committee that is concerned with the subject of the bill (Ex. Airline Safety Bill would go to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the House) • Committees can decide to kill the bill, or to modify the bill or leave it as is for the entire House or Senate to vote on

Step 3: Debate and Vote • If the bill is approved by a committee then the House or Senate debate the bill • When debating, Senators sometimes filibuster (talking until other Senators give up on the bill) • Filibusters may be stopped by cloture-no one speaks • After the debate the bill is brought to a vote in 1 of 4 ways – Voice Vote – say yea or nay – Standing Vote – stand if you support it – Roll-call vote – vote individually when called – House uses computerized voting

Step 4: Signing or Vetoing a Bill • After the bill is passed by both houses of Congress, the President has two options 1. Sign the bill into law 2. Veto the bill *Also, may pocket veto

Step 5: Override of a Presidential Veto • If the President vetoes a bill, Congress can override the veto with a majority of at least 2/3’s in both house – 67 votes in the Senate – 290 votes in the House