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    Kids in The House - Grade School - How A Bill Becomes A Law

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    Laws begin as ideas that are introduced in the House of Representatives as bills. Bills are debated and can be amended before being voted on in committees and on the House floor. If a bill passes the House, it is sent to the Senate and goes through a similar process. If approved by both houses of Congress, the bill is sent to the President, who can sign it into law, veto it, or do nothing and allow it to become law automatically. If vetoed, Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both houses.

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    Kids in The House - Grade School - How A Bill Becomes A Law

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    api-292453967
    356 views2 pages
    Laws begin as ideas that are introduced in the House of Representatives as bills. Bills are debated and can be amended before being voted on in committees and on the House floor. If a bill passes the House, it is sent to the Senate and goes through a similar process. If approved by both houses of Congress, the bill is sent to the President, who can sign it into law, veto it, or do nothing and allow it to become law automatically. If vetoed, Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both houses.

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    kids in the house - grade school - how a bill becomes a law

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    Laws begin as ideas that are introduced in the House of Representatives as bills. Bills are debated and can be amended before being voted on in committees and on the House floor. If a bill passes the House, it is sent to the Senate and goes through a similar process. If approved by both houses of Congress, the bill is sent to the President, who can sign it into law, veto it, or do nothing and allow it to become law automatically. If vetoed, Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both houses.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    356 views2 pages

    Kids in The House - Grade School - How A Bill Becomes A Law

    Uploaded by

    api-292453967
    Laws begin as ideas that are introduced in the House of Representatives as bills. Bills are debated and can be amended before being voted on in committees and on the House floor. If a bill passes the House, it is sent to the Senate and goes through a similar process. If approved by both houses of Congress, the bill is sent to the President, who can sign it into law, veto it, or do nothing and allow it to become law automatically. If vetoed, Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both houses.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    Young Learners

    Grade School

    Middle School

    High School

    Kids in the House


    HOW LAWS ARE MADE
    How a Bill Becomes a Law
    Creating laws is the U.S. House of Representatives most important job. All laws in the United States begin as bills. Before a bill can
    become a law, it must be approved by the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and the President. Lets follow a bills journey
    to become law.

    The Bill Begins


    Laws begin as ideas. These ideas may come from a Representativeor from a citizen like you. Citizens who have ideas for laws can
    contact their Representatives to discuss their ideas. If the Representatives agree, they research the ideas and write them into bills.

    The Bill Is Proposed


    When a Representative has written a bill, the bill needs a sponsor. The Representative talks with other Representatives about the bill in
    hopes of getting their support for it. Once a bill has a sponsor and the support of some of the Representatives, it is ready to be introduced.

    The Bill Is Introduced


    In the U.S. House of Representatives, a bill is introduced when it is placed in the hoppera special box on
    the side of the clerks desk. Only Representatives can introduce bills in the U.S. House of Representatives.
    When a bill is introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, a bill clerk assigns it a number that begins
    with H.R. A reading clerk then reads the bill to all the Representatives, and the Speaker of the House
    sends the bill to one of the House standing committees.

    The Hopper

    The Bill Goes to Committee


    When the bill reaches committee, the committee membersgroups of Representatives who are experts on topics such as agriculture,
    education, or international relationsreview, research, and revise the bill before voting on whether or not to send the bill back to the
    House floor.
    If the committee members would like more information before deciding if the bill should be sent to the House floor, the bill is sent to a
    subcommittee. While in subcommittee, the bill is closely examined and expert opinions are gathered before it is sent back to the committee
    for approval.

    The Bill Is Reported


    When the committee has approved a bill, it is sentor reportedto the House floor. Once reported, a bill is ready to be debated by the
    U.S. House of Representatives.

    The Bill Is Debated


    When a bill is debated, Representatives discuss the bill and explain why they agree or disagree with it. Then, a reading clerk reads the bill
    section by section and the Representatives recommend changes. When all changes have been made, the bill is ready to be voted on.

    The Bill Is Voted On


    There are three methods for voting on a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives:
    1. Viva Voce (voice vote): The Speaker of the House asks the Representatives who support the bill to say aye
    and those that oppose it say no.

    2. Division: The Speaker of the House asks those Representatives who support the bill to stand up and be
    counted, and then those who oppose the bill to stand up and be counted.
    3. Recorded: Representatives record their vote using the electronic voting system. Representatives can vote
    yes, no, or present (if they dont want to vote on the bill).
    If a majority of the Representatives say or select yes, the bill passes in the U.S. House of Representatives. The
    bill is then certified by the Clerk of the House and delivered to the U.S. Senate.

    Electronic Voting Machine

    The Bill Is Referred to the Senate


    When a bill reaches the U.S. Senate, it goes through many of the same steps it went through in the U.S. House of Representatives. The
    bill is discussed in a Senate committee and then reported to the Senate floor to be voted on.
    Senators vote by voice. Those who support the bill say yea, and those who oppose it say nay. If a majority of the Senators say yea,
    the bill passes in the U.S. Senate and is ready to go to the President.

    The Bill Is Sent to the President


    When a bill reaches the President, he has three choices. He can:
    1. Sign and pass the billthe bill becomes a law.
    2. Refuse to sign, or veto, the billthe bill is sent back to the U.S. House of Representatives, along with the Presidents reasons for the veto. If
    the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate still believe the bill should become a law, they can hold another vote on the bill. If
    two-thirds of the Representatives and Senators support the bill, the Presidents veto is overridden and the bill becomes a law.
    3. Do nothing (pocket veto)if Congress is in session, the bill automatically becomes law after 10 days. If Congress is not in session, the bill
    does not become a law.

    The Bill Is a Law


    If a bill has passed in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and has been approved by the President, or if a
    presidential veto has been overridden, the bill becomes a law and is enforced by the government.

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