The law-making process

To become law a bill must pass through seven stages during a congressional session. As one might anticipate, the first reading is simply a formality. There is neither a debate, nor a vote. The first reading is simply a statement of intent. It is the second stage that is the most important of all. At this point, a bill is referred to a standing committee in both chambers. A significant number are simply pigeonholed with little or no chance of receiving sufficient time in the nation’s legislature. Even if a proposed item of legislation goes through, it can be significantly amended by the members. As policy specialists, they have full power of amendment and what comes out of this ‘sausage-making process’ is largely in the hands of those in the committee. Once the committee hearing is over a mark-up session is held, and the committee report is then issued. This will summarize its aims and outline a review of the amendments made. It will also include an estimate of the cost of implementation and a recommendation for future action to be taken by the full chamber.

                The next stage refers to timetabling. Each chamber deals with the inevitable legislative log-jam. The Senate insists upon a unanimous agreement between the majority and minority leaders. In contrast, the House deals with the timetabling stage via the House Rules Committee; known informally as the ‘traffic cop’ of the lower chamber. If the House Rules Committee chooses not to give a rule to a popular bill, members of the House may resort to the discharge petition. If an absolute majority is gained, the bill is discharged and comes automatically to the House floor for debate.

The main arena for debate occurs during the fourth stage (sometimes called the second reading). Most bills are debated via the Committee of the Whole House where each member of the chamber may take part in proceedings. Further amendments can be made and votes are taken on both the amendments and on the entire bill. A simple majority is required for the bill to proceed to the next stage of the legislative process. Votes are taken either on the basis of a voice vote (for non-controversial items) or a recorded vote. In the Senate members can of course filibuster – although that can be halted via a cloture motion.

The final opportunity to debate the bill occurs during the third reading. This stage is likely to be brief if merely a few amendments were made during the second reading. If however significant and numerous amendments were made then the third reading may take some period of time. A further vote is taken at the end of the third reading. As previously mentioned, conference committees are merely an optional stage. A bill may go back and forth between the two chambers until agreement is reached. This is more likely to arise when one party is in control of the lower chamber, and the opposing party is in control of the Senate. The frequency of conference committees has grown due to the trend towards ideological polarization.

During the final stage of the legislative process, the bill is sent to the White House. The President can either sign a bill into law, use his power of regular veto or may leave the bill on his desk. In the case of the latter such bills will become law without his signature within ten congressional working days. If the President uses his veto then Congress is left with three options. Firstly, Congress can amend the bill in accordance with the demands of the President and return the bill back for his signature. Secondly, they can override the veto provided they can secure a supermajority in both chambers. Thirdly, Congress may accept the President’s position as it is. The President may also use the threat of veto in order to make Congress reconsider. It must be acknowledged here that the President may well seek to score political points when making such a threat.