The Legislative Process

Bill or Legislation

Every change in law or new law that a particular member wants to propose is offered in a written form called a bill. This is a specific written document that dictates exactly what provisions of law would need to be changed in order to make the policy change that is being sought. When the bill is introduced, it is given a number and assigned to a specific committee for debate and approval. Usually, far more bills are introduced than laws enacted. For example in the 104th Congress, 6,808 bills were introduced in the House and Senate and only 333 new laws enacted. Bills that start with “H.R.” or “S.” (H.R. 123 or S. 123, for example) are proposals that would make an actual change in law and must be voted upon by both the House and the Senate and signed by the President before being enacted.

Joint Resolutions

Proposals that start with “HJRes” or “SJRes” are joint resolutions that also must be voted upon by the House and the Senate and signed by the President. The only difference between bills and joint resolutions is that the latter are usually focused on one specific policy question, or are constitutional amendments.

Concurrent Resolutions

Concurrent Resolutions are introduced in either the House or the Senate and start with “HConRes” or “SConRes.” These resolutions must be passed by both the House and Senate, but do not have the force of law, so they do not have to be signed by the President. In general, they deal with internal congressional issues, like the timing for an adjournment, or expressing congressional opinion on various policy matters.

Chairman

The member who leads a committee. This person is always a member of the majority party. Both full committees and subcommittees have chairmen. Chairmen, working with the party leadership, determine what bills they will consider. They cannot consider all the bills that are introduced in a given session.

A Congress vs. the U.S. Congress

Every two-year period for which representatives are elected to serve is numbered and referred to as a “Congress.” For example, the two-year period from 1997 to 1998 was the 105th Congress. Members who were elected or reelected in November 1996 served during this time. Likewise, the two-year period from 1995 to 1996 was the 104th Congress. These designations apply to both the House and Senate even though not all individual senators are up for reelection every two-years. The entire organization is called the U.S. Congress.

Cosponsor

Once one member introduces a bill, other members may show their support by putting their names on the bill as a cosponsor. In general, a bill’s sponsor wants as many cosponsors for the bill as possible to give the bill a greatly likelihood of being passed.

Floor or Chamber

Literally, the place where members of the House or Senate come together to debate bills. When a bill is “on the floor” it means that the bill is being actively considered, or debated, by the House or Senate membership. When a bill is “sent to the floor” it means that the bill will be considered by the members.

Party Leadership or Leadership

Each party, whether the minority or the majority, has a small cadre of members who have been elected by their colleagues to assume responsibility for leading the party. These members are generally very powerful, especially the majority leadership, because they set the agenda and decide which bills (see below) will be considered by the entire House or Senate membership. Some of the positions in the leadership are:

• House
  • Speaker: Head of the majority party.
  • Minority Leader: Head of the minority party.
  • Majority Leader: Second to the Speaker in the majority party.
  • Majority Whip and Minority Whip: focused on "whipping" the membership or convincing them to support the party agenda during votes.
• Senate
  • President of the Senate: under the Constitution, this office is held by the Vice President.
  • President Pro Tempore: a senator designated by the president of the Senate to act in his or her place.
  • Majority Leader: leads the majority party in the Senate.
  • Minority Leader: leads the minority party in the Senate.

A Session

Each Congress is divided into two one-year periods called sessions. The first year of a Congress is the first session and the second year of a Congress in the second session.

1. Advocacy is Always Required

Unlike in some state legislatures, bills in the U.S. Congress generally do not automatically move through the next stage in the process. For example, the fact that a bill made it through the subcommittee does not mean that the full Committee will consider it at all. There are some exceptions, such as appropriations and budget bills, but in general advocacy is required to ensure that legislation continues to progress.

2. Understand When to Communicate

Communicating after the fact, or when it is simply to late to make a change is never a good idea. For example, if you are seeking a provision in an appropriation bill, September is not a good time to ask for that provision, as the appropriations bills must be completed by October. The appropriations cycle starts months in advance, so you need to be prepared to start months in advance. Or, if you want your member to cosponsor a particular bill, asking for his or her support after the full House or Senate has voted on the bill is not effective.

Fortunately, you can monitor legislation on the THOMAS website, which has information on the progress of the appropriations cycle as well as all other bills that have been introduced.

3. Turning a bill in to law is a long, involved, inefficient process

Since only about 5% of the bills that are introduced become law in any given Congress, don’t be disappointed if a bill you support does not pass. Remember that it often takes several years to move legislation through.

4. Moving bills are powerful

If you are very anxious to get a particular provision or amendment passed, work with your Congressional office to identify a “moving vehicle.” We’re not talking about a truck here, we’re talking about a bill that has to be completed, such as an appropriations bill or a budget bill. Although there are rules about what can or cannot be attached to these bills, they can sometimes offer opportunities to attach your provision.

5. Non-controversial bills are powerful

A major portion of the bills that Congress passes are non-controversial, widely supported bills that all members feel comfortable voting for. Working with your Congressional office to make your issue as non-controversial as possible will enhance its chances of passage. In fact, there’s a special process in the House for getting these bill to the floor called the “suspension” calendar. In the Senate, they are passed under “unanimous consent.”