The Legislative Process

An Overview

To the average person, the process of getting a bill through Congress may seem highly complex and technical. Actually, the process itself is fairly simple.  What can be confusing to the layperson is (1) the volume of legislation pending before Congress and (2) the system Congress has for distributing its work. It is true that Congress handles a great deal of legislation each year.  As long as you keep your sights on the legislation that affects you and your work, you should have no trouble following the progress of those bills. And once you familiarize yourself with the key committees responsible for handling your issues, following the progress of legislation will become much easier.

The key to deciphering the legislative process is in understanding that legislation is grouped into three main categories:

Authorizing legislation.  A bill that creates a new federal program, extends the life of an existing program, or repeals existing law. Authorizing bills usually set a limit on the amount of funds that can be spent annually by a program over a period of three to five years. But it’s important to remember that an authorizing bill only establishes the framework for a federal program - it does not provide funds to operate the program.

Appropriations bill:  A bill that allocates funding for specific federal programs.  Unlike authorizing legislation, which remains in effect for three or more years, an appropriations bill must be enacted into law every year. Each year, in fact, Congress must pass a series of 13 appropriations bills to keep federal departments and agencies operating.

Entitlement legislation:  A measure that guarantees a certain level of benefits to persons who meet eligibility requirements set by law, such as Medicare, Medicaid and college student loan programs. Entitlement programs typically do not need to be reauthorized, nor do they require annual appropriations.

The Role of Individual Members of Congress

Generally speaking, the earlier you get involved, the better your chances of having an impact on decision making.  The further along a bill advances in the legislative process, the more difficult it becomes to change or modify.  This is especially true now that Congress often groups several issues into one bill.

The first formal step in the legislative process occurs when one or more Members of Congress introduce a bill.  But from an advocate's perspective, the work begins much earlier than that.  For example, once you have identified an issue or problem that merits special attention, you should identify one or two Members of Congress whose philosophy and voting record indicate that they would be willing to play a leadership role in supporting the issue.  After extensive discussions with the senator or representative and their staff, formal legislation is prepared for introduction.  Bills introduced in the House are assigned an "H.R." number (e.g. H.R. 2037) and bills introduced in the Senate are given an "S." number.

Of course, having legislation introduced and getting it enacted into law are two different things.  Preventing a bill from languishing in someone's files requires broad support for the issue.  Constituents must contact their own senators and representatives and convince them to co-sponsor the bill.  The way that is done is by having the lawmaker's staff contact the original sponsor and ask to have his or her name listed as supporting the bill.

The Importance of the Committee System

Congressional committees are the "workhorses" of Congress.  As the number of issues brought before Congress grows, lawmakers increasingly rely on the committee system to sift through the facts and determine how issues should be resolved.  Congress is made up of both standing committees and select committees. Generally, standing committees have the power to generate legislation in their particular areas of jurisdiction, such as tax writing or appropriations. Select committees, such as the Senate Special Committee on Aging, are primarily advisory in nature.
Most committees have delegated specific issues under their jurisdiction to subcommittees, whose job is to analyze each issue and eventually make a recommendation to their parent committee (or full committee, as it is sometimes called). Here again, it is vitally important that constituent contacts be made with the subcommittees as early in the process as possible.  In their earliest stages of review, subcommittees welcome input from interested organizations and individuals. At this point, e-mails, letters, and personal visits with members of the subcommittee and their staff can have a significant effect on the panel’s recommendations.   In many instances, a subcommittee will hold public hearings, either in Washington, DC or elsewhere, where constituents may ask to present their positions.

If your senator or representative is not on the relevant subcommittee, does that mean you have no influence over the outcome?  It is true that members of a subcommittee are regarded as "specialists" by their colleagues and, therefore, can wield considerable power in deciding whether or not an issue will be advanced through the legislative process.  However, your own senators or representatives, whether or not they are on the subcommittee, often can be effective intermediaries, depending on their personal or political relationships with the subcommittee members.

Floor Action:  Once a committee has approved legislation, it becomes eligible for debate on the House and Senate floors, where it may be passed, defeated or amended.  Because floor debates often are scheduled on short notice, you should prepare your messages (e.g., e-mails, phone calls, etc.) well in advance. However, keep in mind that timing is extremely critical. Any communications about legislation that is coming up for floor debate should arrive as close to the time of voting as possible.

Conference Action:  It is usually the case that the House and Senate pass different versions of the same bill.  When that occurs, a handful of members from each chamber are appointed to serve on a conference committee that attempts to work out a compromise.  A conference committee usually consists of selected members of the House and Senate subcommittees that originally developed the legislation. In some instances, conference committees may need to resolve only a few issues; in the case of appropriations bills, there may be several hundred to be reconciled. Constituents whose senators or representatives happen to be on a conference committee can play a crucial role in the deliberations.  The end product of the meetings is a conference report containing a compromise bill and a section-by-section explanation of the agreed-upon compromise.  Once both the House and Senate agree to the conference report, the measure is sent to the President for approval (or veto).