How a Bill Becomes Law Essay example -- American Government

It seems the Founders wanted to make the passage of legislation difficult. The Constitution settles how bills become law in the United States. The procedure is operose and can take significant time to complete. The course materials of week three offer more than enough information on how the procedure works. This essay will, mainly, use the course materials to describe the process of how a bill becomes a law. The process of transforming a bill into a law requires the participation of both the Legislative branch and Executive branch of government. Before there is a law, there is a bill – and bills have many phases to pass through before these may become laws. The course materials of week three point out that a bill can originate in the House of Representatives or in the Senate – but different versions of the same bill could begin simultaneously in both chambers of Congress (Unit 3 the Congress, 9). It is possible for the President – or someone else – to write a bill, but a member of Congress must introduce the legislation through sponsorship. New bills receive a number and receive assignment to the committee best suited to examine the bill. Project Vote Smart reveals â€Å"Bills may be referred to more than one committee and it may be split so that parts are sent to different committees† (Project Vote Smart 2010). If the bill passes through the committee – or committees – the bill may get a new number before passing on to floor action. But it is not necessary for the bil l to receive a new number. The foregoing stages describe the initial actions of the Legislative branch in the procedure of a bill becoming law. Depending on the chamber of Congress where the bill exists, the procedures for floor action differ. I... ...ences American Military University Faculty. Course Materials Unit 3 the Congress. American Public University System. https://online.apus.edu/educator/student/ [the rest of the URL is deleted as it contains information tied to my student ID number, etc. in the URL and this piece of html code presents a security risk] (accessed November 22, 2010). Harris, Lawrence S. Discussion Board 3, Response to Joshua Jordan . American Public University System. https://online.apus.edu/educator/student/ [the rest of the URL is deleted as it contains information tied to my student ID number, etc. in the URL and this piece of html code presents a security risk] (accessed November 22, 2010). Project Vote Smart. GOVERNMENT 101: How a Bill Becomes a Law . Project Vote Smart. http://www.votesmart.org/program_about_pvs.php (accessed November 22, 2010)