Voting On A Bill In The House Of Representatives Essay

The process in which a bill becomes a law can be a lengthy one, it must go through many steps in order to become the law of the land. It is believed that this process should be a matter that every American citizen should be informed of in order to fully understand and appreciate the inner workings of congress with regard to The House of Representatives and the Senate. The steps in which a bill becomes a law is an example of the democratic way of life here in The United States. “The fact that a proposal cannot become a law without consideration and approval by both houses of congress is an outstanding virtue of our bicameral legislative system.” (Sullivan 1-2)

The Role of the Senate and House of Representatives The Congress of the United States consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives which means the USA is bi-cambial. The Congress of the United States was created by Article I, Section 1, of the Constitution, adopted by the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787. The Senate is composed of 100 Members, 2 from each State, who are elected to serve for a term of 6 years.

Firstly the members of congress, executive branch, or members of outside community draw up a bill. After that the members of the house only will have to introduce the bill on the floor of house of representative. Then the bill is sent to the committee. Only bills that are necessary and reasonably appropriate make it to the next step, which is the rules of a committee for debate. Then it goes back to the floor of the house for a debate and members of the house then will vote for the bill. If the bill is in favor by most of the members of the house, hence the bill is sent to the senate. The senator introduces the bill on the floor. If the majority of the committees agree then the bill goes to the entire senate to consider the bill. As it follows the same process of the house, there is a debate and if majority votes for the bill then the bill is returned back to the house of representative.

Once the bill reaches its date, the members initiate a debate regarding the proposed legislation (“The Legislative Process,” 2014). At this time, amendments may be approved and the bill is voted on by the members. If the bill is passed, it is referred to the other chamber and undergoes the same process. If the bill is accepted by both the House and Senate, it is sent to the President. The President has the option to approve or veto the bill. If signed by the President, it becomes law. Congress may try to override the President’s veto by two thirds vote of the members (“The Legislative Process,” 2014).

After introduction of the bill, the referral or assignment to house or senate then takes place. In other words, the bill is assigned to standing committee. The Speaker and Lieutenant Governor appoint committee members and chairs. This gives the presiding officers great power and these vital decisions can

The House uses an electronic voting system, while the Senate cast their votes using non electronic methods. After voting has happened, roll call begins. The votes are recorded Yea for approval, Nay for disapproval, and present to acknowledge their presence but choose not to vote. If the votes a in favor of the bill, it is sent to the Senate for a similar process of approval. Once it reaches the senate the clerk will certify the bill and its amendments. Upon certification, the bill will have been “engrossed”. Just like the House, the bill can be sent to a committee for further review. They can choose to ignore it a proceed with their own legislations. If its not ignored it can be proceed to be voted on. Once all difference has been settled, the billed will have become “enrolled” where a bill had passed both House and Senate.

The bill is referred to a committee where they will have a hearing, most bills theoretically “die” from either being declined by the subcommittee or the full committee. Very rarely, a bill can be revived by a discharge petition, a petition signed by all two hundred and eighteen members of House that forces a bill onto the floor to be considered. The congressional committee goes over any issues, makes necessary markups, and reports are made to the full committee. The bill can later be declined entirely or the full committee will accept the actions of the subcommittee.

The process for each bill submitted is the same yet different; they all have to be accepted by several offices including the House of Representatives, Senate, and the president. In addition to that, they have to have the public's attention in order to make an impact on whether the bill is approved or not. Issues dealing with immigration are very common and bill H.R 3923, has the attention of representatives in the Senate including its sponsor, Representative Adam Smith, and important interest groups like the

All of the laws in the United States begin as a bill, which must be approved by the Senate, House of Representatives, and the President. The bill stars as an idea from a representative or a citizen who has an idea and tells their representative about the idea. The representative then decides if the idea is

In the Senate, member can speak as long as they want. Once the debate is over the Senate will then vote on the bill. If fifty-one members vote in favor of the bill then it will be passed. The bill will then move on to a conference committee, which is made up of member from each House. The committee works out any differences between the House and Senates versions of the bill. The revised bill will then be sent back to both Houses for their final approval. Once approved, the bill is printed by the Government Printing Office in a process called enrolling. The clerk from the introducing house will certify the final version.

All things first start with an idea. This idea, then becomes an action and this action in turn has a result. This same concept can be applied to the legislative process. The first step begins with an idea, this idea is shared and if it gains the support of the masses this idea will then become sponsored by a representative. Once this idea has sponsorship it then proceeds to the congressional level where this idea gets the new title of a bill. Upon the name change from idea to bill also comes the benefit of becoming a proposed piece of legislation. For a bill this means that it will be sent to both the House of Representatives and Senate awaiting it’s future through debate. If the debate proves favorable for the bill, that is both the House of Representatives and the Senate approve then this bill is sent off to the desk of the president. From the moment the bill arrives at the desk of the president a countdown of ten days begins, this is

<br>At this moment, the bill has been permitted by both the Senate and the House, therefore members of both houses meet to revise the bill to be placed on the President's desk. A conference committee made up of members of both houses works out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. The modified bill is then sent back to both houses for their final approval. Then the bill is printed by the government printing office in a process called enrolling. The clerk of the house of congress that originated the bill certifies the final version. Afterwards, the Speaker of the House signs the enrolled bill, and then the Vice President signs it. Finally, Congress sends the proposed new legislation to the White House for consideration by the President. The President then has three choices: approval, veto, or no action. If the President decides to approve the bill, all that is necessary is that he or she signs, dates and sometimes write approved on it. If the President decides to veto, the bill must be sent back to congress with an explanation of the objections. The bill is then reconsidered and if two-thirds of those members present approve the vetoed

It goes to a first reading in a government department, outlining plans for the bill

The House Bill 2 has become a huge topic these past few months with its main hot button issue being the accessibility of public bathrooms to the transgender community. For those whom are unfamiliar with the bill it was created and issued by North Carolinas governor, Pat McCrory. The bill focuses on sticking to the gender norms of public and business owned bathroom. Thus making it illegal for someone whom identifies as a different gender than they sex they are born with to enter the bathroom that they see fit. One of the points that McCrory tosses around in order to keep HB2 in a positive light is that it will help protect the women and children in the community from “predators.” Well how does this bill work when it is applied to public schools in North Carolina were children are the main concern? The answer is that it does not work at all. For now, the previous policy for public school bathrooms are going to stay the same thanks to the federal government, but when applied to schools it becomes a toxic environment for everyone who is not cis gendered.

The next step for the green paper to be passed as an act is to go through the legislative process in Parliament, where it now becomes a bill or white paper. Public bills go straight into the first reading but Private Bills are put into a ballot box, which twenty of these bills a year are picked out to go through the legislative process, and is conducted over seven stages. A date is given for the first reading for a bill and no debate is taken place during this. The bill will then go through the debate process at a second reading, after the MPs would have taken the bill to their constituencies. A vote is carried out and a simple majority of 51% allows the bill to progress onto the Committee Stage, where the bill is examined and scrutinised. The bill would be sent to a specific departmental committee i.e education. This is very important and essential part of passing the bill and formalising the law. This then goes onto the