How A Bill Becomes Law - Sorrow to Strength 2007

Anyone may draft a bill; however, only members of Congress can introduce legislation, and by doing so become the sponsor(s). There are four basic types of legislation: bills, joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions, and simple resolutions.

The official legislative process begins when a bill is numbered, (H.R. signifies a House bill and S. signifies a Senate bill), referred to a committee, and printed by the Government Printing Office.

The Legislative Process:

Step 1
Referral to Committee: With few exceptions, bills are referred to standing committees in the House or Senate according to carefully delineated rules of procedure.

Step 2
Committee Action: When a bill reaches a committee it is placed on the committee