A Bill Becomes a Law
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Unit 4
 
Legislative Lingo
 
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The Legislative Junkie

Bill Drafting and Floor Introduction

Unit 4

 

1. Whatever the origin, members of Congress and their staffs draw up the formal legislation, attempting to avoid unanticipated consequences and conflicts with existing law. A bill can be introduced in either chamber by a congressman or senator (except for revenue bills which, according to the Constitution, must go to the House first).

Video: Members of Congress Introducing Bills Time: 0:36 [Requires most recent version of the RealPlayer. To find which version you have installed, open the RealPlayer and click on Help >> About RealPlayer.]

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A bill being placed into the "hopper" for consideration.

 

2. Bills originating in the House are numbered with an "H.R." indicating their source and those in the Senate have an "S."

 
Bills with numbering.

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Copyright © 2005 The Dirksen Congressional Center

Home Unit 1: Introduction Unit 2: From Problems to Solutions Unit 3: Origin of Bills Unit 4: Bill Drafting and Floor Introduction Unit 5: Referral to Committee Unit 6: Subcommittee Review Unit 7: Mark-up and Subcommittee Voting Unit 8: Committee Action Unit 9: Scheduling Floor Consideration Unit 10: Floor Debate Unit 11: Floor Votes Unit 12: Ironing Out Differences Unit 13: Presidential Action and Congressional Reaction Unit 14: The Legislative Processes