Peyton Litterick
American Government and Politics Final Exam
August 7, 2020
3. Describe the process by which a federal bill becomes a law. What are some of the major
steps and hurdles over which a bill must pass? What are some of the main differences in
the legislative processes between the two houses of Congress? Do you feel that the federal
legislative process is working sufficiently? Why or why not?
Anyone can come up with an idea for a bill. Some examples of these can be a member of
congress, the voting public, the executive branch or even the president. But, only a member of
congress can propose the bill and the bill can be introduced in either the Senate or the House of
Representatives. Once introduced, the bill begins its journey in the Senate. From there, it is then
reviewed by a small committee in the senate and picked apart for pros and cons. Then, the entire
Senate will debate the bill and it is at this phase in the process that up to one hundred
amendments. A vote is taken, and then the bill is sent to the House of Representatives and they
will do the same process of debating the bill that the Senate did. If the HOR approves the bill, it
goes back to the Senate for more debate until both the Senate and the House agree on the exact
wording of the bill. The bill becomes a law when the president signs it, but he can refuse the bill
by not signing it. However, the bill can still become a law if two-thirds of the members of
Congress agree. Their power can override the president (We The People
, pg. 500). As I stated
previously, some major hurdles that a bill needs to survive is the simple fact that it must pass the
approval of not only the Senate, but the House of Representatives, and all of the back and forth
that goes along with it. As for what are some of the main differences in the legislative processes
between the two houses of Congress, in a nutshell, The Senate makes the laws while Congress
has the power of the purse to pay for them. Also, debate is more restricted on the House floor
than on the Senate floor, and the amendment process is more restricted in the House than in the
Senate (We The People
, pg. 501). Personally, I think that our legislative process is efficient. I
think having the opportunities for anyone to be able to make a bill is a good way to make
everyone feel heard but not overwhelm with bills. Having the bill have to go through many
hands before it is looked at by the “big men” makes me feel like the bill is really picked apart
