How Does A Bill Get Approved In Congress?
The United States Congress is a bicameral legislative body of the federal government of United States and includes both Houses of Congress. The Congress meets usually in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., each session. Each session of Congress considers and debates bills and other legislation that are introduced and passed by the Houses of Congress. In choosing which bills to pass, the members of Congress are not obliged to follow the advice of their constituents. The members of Congress can choose which bills they want to pass and which they do not. But, if the bills have controversial clauses, the bill might not be passed by the requisite majority in both Houses of Congress and hence it will need an override vote by the States either through a majority vote or by a majority vote of States.
Majority rules in both Houses of Congress means a bill has more support among the voters than any other bill. If a bill has the required supermajority, (more than half of the members in both Houses of Congress and a corresponding number of States) it will be enacted into a law. If a bill does not have the required super-majorities, then the members of Congress may divide their support amongst the different bill sponsors to make the bill obtainable. The members of Congress are sworn to support the constitution of United States and cannot set aside the Constitution for any reason. Hence the members of Congress cannot be allowed to alter or abolish the Constitution.
If a bill is to be passed into a constitution, then two thirds of both Houses of Congress must pass the bill. The legislature of every State is directly elected. The U.S. House of Representatives is chosen by the voters and every member of a House is elected on the basis of his/her personal qualification. No person can be a member of either House of Congress for a consecutive term. Once a member of Congress is elected to a consecutive term, he/she cannot be chosen for subsequent terms.
A bill once passed into a constitution, becomes law when it is signed by the President. The same thing happens when a bill becomes a law by an override resolution passed by both Houses of Congress. If a bill becomes law through an override resolution, then the same bill is signed by the President. If a house passes a bill with a disapproval resolution, and that house’s bill becomes law, then the same bill is signed by the President.
The two-thirds rule applies even in the case of a simple majority rule. If two-thirds of both the Houses of Congress to pass a bill and it is not disapproved by the President, then the bill becomes law. If the two-thirds rule is not applied, then the law will only be passed by a simple majority, meaning that one-third of all the members of Congress must agree for the bill to become law. If a majority of members of Congress to oppose the bill, then the bill is considered to be a law with a slim majority, which cannot possibly gain the required two-thirds vote in both houses.
If a bill ultimately becomes law, it is sent to the U.S. President for his signature. If the bill has passed the U.S. House and Senate, then it is sent to the U.S. President for his signature, but if it has not passed the U.S. President, then the bill becomes laws with Presidential Review. If the bill is then signed by the President, it becomes law. However, if the two-thirds rule does not apply and the bill passes both Houses of Congress with a disapproval resolution, then the bill becomes a law with Presidential Review, but it will never become law if it receives no signatures from either the President or the U.S. Congress.
