Who controls how long debate will be for a bill in the house?
How is a law actually made? What’s the whole process like? That depends, of course, on what type of law we're talking about. For this example, we'll look at how a bill first introduced in the House of Representatives becomes a public law. Show 1. When a Representative has an idea for a new law, he or she becomes the sponsor of that bill and introduces it by giving it to the Clerk of the House or by placing it in the hopper. The Clerk assigns a legislative number to the bill, H.R. for bills introduced in the House of Representatives. The Government Publishing Office (GPO) then prints the bill and makes it available digitally through GPO's govinfo.gov. 2. Next, the bill is assigned to a committee by the Speaker of the House so that it can be studied. The House has 22 standing committees, each with jurisdiction over bills in certain areas. The standing committee, or one of its subcommittees, studies the bill and hears testimony from experts and people interested in the bill. The committee may then take three actions. It might:
Releasing the bill is called reporting it out. Laying it aside is called tabling. 3. If the bill is released, it then goes on the House Calendar. Here the House Rules Committee may call for the bill to be voted on quickly, limit the debate, or limit or prohibit amendments. Undisputed bills may be passed by unanimous consent, or by a two-thirds vote if Members of the House agree to suspend the rules. 4. The bill then goes to the floor of the House for consideration and begins with a complete reading of the bill (sometimes this is the only complete reading). A third reading (title only) occurs after any amendments have been added. If 218 of the 435 Representatives vote for it to pass, the bill passes by simple majority and moves to the Senate. 5. In order to be introduced in the Senate, a Senator must be recognized by the presiding officer and announce the introduction of the bill. 6. Just as in the House, the introduced bill is assigned to a committee. It is assigned to one of the Senate's 20 standing committees by the presiding officer. The Senate committee studies and either releases or tables the bill just like the House standing committee. 7. Once released, the bill goes to the Senate floor for consideration. Bills are voted on in the Senate based on the order in which they come from the committee; however, an urgent bill may be pushed ahead by leaders of the majority party. When the Senate considers the bill, they can vote on it indefinitely. When there is no more debate, the bill is voted on. If 51 of 100 Senators vote for it, the bill passes by a simple majority. 8. The bill then moves to a conference committee, which is made up of Members from each house. The committee may work out any differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. The revised bill is sent back to both houses for their final approval. Once approved, the bill is produced in print and digitally by the Government Publishing Office in a process called enrolling. The Clerk from the House certifies the final version. If a bill originates in the Senate, the Secretary of the Senate certifies the final version. 9. The enrolled bill is now signed by the Speaker of the House and then the Vice President. Finally, it is sent for the President's consideration. The President has ten days to sign or veto the enrolled bill. If the President signs the bill, it becomes law. If the President vetoes it, the bill can still become a law if two-thirds of the Senate and two-thirds of the House then vote in favor of the bill. And that is how laws are made! You can learn even more about this process by checking out Senate Document 105-14, How Our Laws Are Made, in text format or as a PDF. The procedures for introducing legislation and seeing it through committees are similar in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Legislative proposals originate in a number of different ways. Members of the Senate, of course, develop ideas for legislation. Technical assistance in research and drafting legislative language is available at the Senate Legislative Technical Affairs Bureau. Special interest groups—business, religious, labor, urban and rural poor, consumers, trade association, and the like—are other fertile sources of legislation. Constituents, either as individuals or groups, also may propose legislation. Frequently, a member of the Senate will introduce such a bill by request, whether or not he supports its purposes. It must be noted also that much of the needed legislation of the country today considered by Congress originates from the executive branch. Each year after the President of the Philippines outlines his legislative program in his State-of-the-Nation Address, executive departments and agencies transmit to the House and the Senate drafts of proposed legislations to carry out the President’s program. back to topIntroduction of Bills No matter where a legislative proposal originates, it can be introduced only by a member of Congress. In the Senate, a member may introduce any of several types of bills and resolutions by filing it with the Office of the Secretary. There is no limit to the number of bills a member may introduce. House and Senate bills may have joint sponsorship and carry several members' names. Major legislation is often introduced in both houses in the form of companion (identical) bills, the purpose of which is to speed up the legislative process by encouraging both chambers to consider the measure simultaneously. Sponsors of companion bills may also hope to dramatize the importance or urgency of the issue and show broad support for the legislation. back to topTypes of Legislation The type of measures that Congress may consider and act upon (in addition to treaties in the Senate) include bills and three kinds of resolutions. They are: back to top Bill Referrals Once a measure has been introduced and given a number, it is read and referred to an appropriate committee. It must be noted that during the reading of the bill, only the title and the author is read on the floor. The Senate President is responsible for referring bills introduced to appropriate committees. The jurisdictions of the Standing Committees are spelled out in Rule X, Section 13 of the Rules of the Senate. For example, if a bill involves matters relating to agriculture, food production and agri-business, it must be referred to the Committee on Agriculture and Food. back to topIn Committee The standing committees of the Senate, operating as “little legislatures,” determine the fate of most proposals. There are committee hearings scheduled to discuss the bills referred. Committee members and staff frequently are experts in the subjects under their jurisdiction, and it is at the committee stage that a bill comes under the sharpest scrutiny. If a measure is to be substantially revised, the revision usually occurs at the committee level. A committee may dispose of a bill in one of several ways: it may approve, or reject, the legislation with or without amendments; rewrite the bill entirely; reject it, which essentially kills the bill; report it favorably or without recommendation, which allows the chamber to consider the bill at all. It must be noted that under Section 29, Rule XI of the Rules of the Senate, if the reports submitted are unfavorable, they shall be transmitted to the archives of the Senate, unless five Senators shall, in the following session, move for their inclusion in the Calendar for Ordinary Business, in which case the President shall so order. back to topCommittee Reports A committee report describes the purpose and scope of the bill, explains any committee amendments, indicates proposed changes in existing law and such other materials that are relevant. Moreover, reports are numbered in the order in which they are filed and printed. back to topCalendaring for Floor Debates: Consideration of, and Debates on Bills Under Section 45 of Rule XVI of the Rules of the Senate, the Senate shall have three calendars, to wit:
Thus, a bill which has a committee report can be referred to the “Calendar for Ordinary Business.” It may again be moved to its “Special Order of Business” for priority action. On the other hand, the consideration and debate of bills and resolutions are spelled out in Rule XXV, Section 71 of the Rules of the Senate. It provides as follows:
After the bill is approved on Third Reading, it will be submitted to the House of Representatives for consideration. A bill passed by the Senate and transmitted to the House usually goes to a committee, unless a House bill on the same subject has already been reported out by the appropriate committee and placed on the calendar. Under normal procedures, therefore, a bill passed by one chamber and transmitted to the other is referred to the appropriate committee, from which it must follow the same route to passage as a bill originating from that chamber. Amendments may be offered at both the committee and floor action stages, and the bill as it emerges from the second chamber may differ significantly from the version passed by the first. A frequently used procedure when this occurs is for the chamber that acts last to bring up the other chamber’s bill and substitute its own version, then retaining only the latter’s bill number. That numbered bill, containing the Senate and House version, is then sent to a conference committee to resolve all differences. back to topConference Committee Action Calling a Conference Either chamber can request a conference once both have considered the same legislation. Generally, the chamber that approved the legislation first will disagree to the amendments made by the second body and will make a request that a conference be convened. Sometimes, however, the second body will ask for a conference immediately after it has passed the legislation, assuming that the other chamber will not accept its amendments. Selection of Conferees Under the Rules of the Senate (Rule XII, Section 34), the Senate President shall designate the members of the Senate panel in the conference committee with the approval of the Senate. The Senate delegation to a conference can range in size from three to a larger number, depending on the length and complexity of the legislation involved. Authority of Conferees The authority given to the Senate conferees theoretically is limited to matters in disagreement between the two chambers. They are not authorized to delete provisions or language agreed to by both the House and the Senate as to draft entirely new provisions. In practice, however, the conferees have wide latitude, except where the matters in disagreement are very specific. Moreover, conferees attempt to reconcile their differences, but generally they try to grant concession only insofar as they remain confident that the chamber they represent will accept the compromise. The Conference Report When the conferees have reached agreement on a bill, the conference committee staff writes a conference report indicating changes made in the bill and explaining each side’s actions. Once a conference committee completes its works, it can now be submitted to the floor for its approval. Debate on conference reports is highly privileged and can interrupt most other business. Approval of the conference report by both houses, along with any amendments on disagreement, constitutes final approval of the bill. Final Legislative Action After both houses have given final approval to a bill, a final copy of the bill, known as the “enrolled bill,” shall be printed, and certified as correct by the Secretary of the Senate and the Secretary General of the House of Representatives. After which, it will be signed by the Speaker of the House and the Senate President. A bill may become a law, even without the President’s signature, if the President does not sign a bill within 30 days from receipt in his office. A bill may also become a law without the President’s signature if Congress overrides a presidential veto by two-thirds vote. back to topSummary The following is a summary of how a bill becomes a law:
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