HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW Ideas for

HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW

Ideas for new laws can come from several places: Citizens The President Congress

No matter where the idea comes from, a Representative or Senator writes it as a bill and then introduces it into Congress. See an actual House Bill

Once a bill is introduced, it is first assigned to a _____ committee that _____ issue deals with that ______. U. S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works

The committee members get information, and influence them, listen to others who want to _____ citizens & _____ lobbyists including _____

The committee members have three options: 1. _____ Vote yes and the bill goes to the whole floor of the House or Senate. 2. Put ______ aside the bill without a vote. (called tabling the bill or pigeonholing it) Kill the bill (vote “no”) and the bill 3. _____ dies in committee

If the committee votes “yes” on the bill, it then moves to the whole floor of the House or Senate for discussion, debate and changes. Can you tell which picture below is the House and which one is the Senate? How do you know? U. S. House of Representatives U. S. Senate

THE FLOOR Once the bill is on the floor, several things can happen. pass a ____ 1. The members can vote yes to _____ new house bill – this sends it over to the other ______. 2. The members can vote yes to _____ pass the ______ same exact bill as the other house – this sends it to the President.

THE FLOOR 3. The members can vote yes to _____ pass a _____ different version of the bill – this sends it to a conference committee. kill the 4. The members can vote ___ no to _____ bill – the bill stops here, dead.

If both houses pass different versions of the same bill, the bill is sent to a conference committee. The conference committee includes members of the House and Senate and they try to work out a compromise. 1. Who do you think the animals represent? 2. What do you think the cartoonist means?

In the conference committee, if the agree the committee members all ______, bill goes back to each house for a final vote. don’t If the members _____ come to an agreement, the bill stops here and dies.

Once the bill is finally passed by both houses, it goes to the President. 1. _____ Sign - The President approves the law bill and signs it. Now it is a ____.

But what if the President does not like the bill and won’t sign it? VETO What is that called?

But, there is still hope for the bill! Congress has the power to ____ override the President’s veto. This can be difficult because it takes 2/3 of both houses to agree to override.