What happens if the House Senate versions of a bill are different?

How is a law actually made? What’s the whole process like? That depends, of course, on what type of law we're talking about. For this example, we'll look at how a bill first introduced in the House of Representatives becomes a public law.

1. When a Representative has an idea for a new law, he or she becomes the sponsor of that bill and introduces it by giving it to the Clerk of the House or by placing it in the hopper. The Clerk assigns a legislative number to the bill, H.R. for bills introduced in the House of Representatives. The Government Publishing Office (GPO) then prints the bill and makes it available digitally through GPO's govinfo.gov.

2. Next, the bill is assigned to a committee by the Speaker of the House so that it can be studied. The House has 22 standing committees, each with jurisdiction over bills in certain areas.

The standing committee, or one of its subcommittees, studies the bill and hears testimony from experts and people interested in the bill. The committee may then take three actions. It might: 

1. release the bill with a recommendation to pass it;
2. revise the bill and release it; or 
3. lay it aside so that the House cannot vote on it.

Releasing the bill is called reporting it out. Laying it aside is called tabling.

3. If the bill is released, it then goes on the House Calendar. Here the House Rules Committee may call for the bill to be voted on quickly, limit the debate, or limit or prohibit amendments. Undisputed bills may be passed by unanimous consent, or by a two-thirds vote if Members of the House agree to suspend the rules.

4. The bill then goes to the floor of the House for consideration and begins with a complete reading of the bill (sometimes this is the only complete reading). A third reading (title only) occurs after any amendments have been added. If 218 of the 435 Representatives vote for it to pass, the bill passes by simple majority and moves to the Senate.

5. In order to be introduced in the Senate, a Senator must be recognized by the presiding officer and announce the introduction of the bill.

6. Just as in the House, the introduced bill is assigned to a committee. It is assigned to one of the Senate's 20 standing committees by the presiding officer. The Senate committee studies and either releases or tables the bill just like the House standing committee.

7. Once released, the bill goes to the Senate floor for consideration. Bills are voted on in the Senate based on the order in which they come from the committee; however, an urgent bill may be pushed ahead by leaders of the majority party. When the Senate considers the bill, they can vote on it indefinitely. When there is no more debate, the bill is voted on. If 51 of 100 Senators vote for it, the bill passes by a simple majority.

8. The bill then moves to a conference committee, which is made up of Members from each house. The committee may work out any differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. The revised bill is sent back to both houses for their final approval. Once approved, the bill is produced in print and digitally by the Government Publishing Office in a process called enrolling. The Clerk from the House certifies the final version. If a bill originates in the Senate, the Secretary of the Senate certifies the final version.

9. The enrolled bill is now signed by the Speaker of the House and then the Vice President. Finally, it is sent for the President's consideration. The President has ten days to sign or veto the enrolled bill. If the President signs the bill, it becomes law. If the President vetoes it, the bill can still become a law if two-thirds of the Senate and two-thirds of the House then vote in favor of the bill. 

And that is how laws are made! You can learn even more about this process by checking out Senate Document 105-14, How Our Laws Are Made, in text format or as a PDF.

Want to know what happens next? Check out How Laws Are Implemented.

The legislative process can be a complicated one. The following information will help you better understand how a bill becomes law.

• Definitions
• Introducing the Bill and Referral to a Committee
• Committee Action
• Floor Debate and Votes
• Referral to the Other Chamber
• Conference on a Bill
• Action by the President

Definitions

Here are some terms that you should know to understand the how a bill becomes law:

Speaker of the House: The leader of the House of Representatives. This person does NOT have to be of the majority party, but because members determine who holds this position, it nearly always is.

Majority Leader: The leader of the party holding the majority of seats in Congress.

Minority Leader: The leader of the party holding the minority of seats in Congress.

Rules Committee: A committee unique to the House of Representatives that is responsible for assigning each bill introduced in the House a “rule” determining how much debate will be allowed on the measure.

Motion to Suspend the Rules: when 2/3 of voting members in the House of Representatives vote to override the rule attached to a bill, or to allow it to be brought to the House floor without a rule.

Quorum: The number of members who must be present in order for the House, Senate, or their committees to do business.

Cloture: A procedure in the Senate that allows the Majority leader to stop all debate on a bill. This requires 2/3 of the Senate to approve.

Riders: A legislative amendment or measure attached to a bill that is non-related. This can happen in the Senate because amendments are not required to be germane (or related) to the measure being debated or voted on.

Filibuster: A procedure unique to the Senate that allows any member to speak on a bill for as long as they would like, as long as they continue without stopping or sitting down. This is used to halt debate or block measures from being voted on.

Introducing the Bill and Referral to a Committee

Any member of Congress may introduce legislation. Each bill that is introduced by a member of Congress is assigned a number—H.R. number for bills originating in the House of Representatives and S. number for bills originating in the Senate. After a bill has been introduced and assigned a number, it is referred to the committee, which has jurisdiction over the issue. For example, an education bill would be referred to the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce or the U.S. Senate Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions.

Conference Committee: A committee called with a set number of members from the House and Senate that are tasked with reconciling differences between different versions of legislation passed by each chamber. The conference committee is usually composed of the senior Members of the standing committees of each House that originally considered the legislation. Each house determines the number of conferees from its house. The number of conferees need not be equal from the two houses of Congress. In order to conclude its business, a majority of both House and Senate delegations to the conference must sign the conference report.

Introducing the Bill and Referral to a Committee: Any member of Congress may introduce legislation. Each bill that is introduced by a member of
Congress is assigned a number—H.R. number for bills originating in the House of Representatives and S. # for bills originating in the Senate. After a bill has been introduced and assigned a number, it is referred to the committee, which has jurisdiction over the issue. For example, an education bill would be referred to the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce or the U.S. Senate Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions.

Committee Action

After the bill has been referred to the appropriate committee, the chairman of the committee will decide whether or not to hold a hearing or a “mark-up” on the bill. If there is a hearing, members of the committee gather information about the bill and its effects from a number of people who are knowledgeable about the issue and invite individuals to provide expert testimony during the hearing. If there is a mark-up, members of the committee will make changes (called amendments) to the original text of the bill. After the mark-up is complete, the committee will vote the bill out.

Floor Debate and Votes

 In the House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House determines if and when a bill will come before the full body for a vote. In the Senate, this is the function of the majority leader. Each chamber of the legislative branch has a different process for voting on and amending bills after they are introduced.

In the House, the Rules Committee sets the time allotted for debate and rules for offering amendments (in the House, all amendments offered must be relevant to the bill). After proponents and opponents debate a bill, the bill is reported back to the House for a vote. A quorum must be present (218 Representatives) to have a final vote. If a quorum is not present, the Sergeant at Arms is sent out to round up missing members. For non-controversial bills, the Speaker of the House may make a motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill.

In the Senate, there are no time restrictions for debate, unless cloture is invoked. Senators can offer amendments, even if amendments are not relevant to the bill, such as riders. Bills pass the Senate by a majority vote or unanimous consent. Senators can obstruct passage of a bill by prolonging the debate called a filibuster or by placing a hold on the bill. A majority of non-controversial bills passed by the Senate are “hotlined,” meaning they pass without an actual voice or recorded vote, but by unanimous consent, without any debate or amendments. “Holds” are placed when a Senator wants to object to a unanimous consent request or to simply review and negotiate changes to the bill.

Referral to the Other Chamber

After a bill has been passed by one chamber of Congress; it is then referred to the other chamber. Upon receiving a referred bill, the second chamber may consider the bill as it was received, reject it, or amend it.

Conference on a Bill

If the House and Senate versions of a bill vary after passing both chambers, a conference committee is created to reconcile the two different versions of the bill. If no agreement can be reached, the bill dies. If the conference committee is able to come to a consensus, both the House and Senate must pass the new version of the bill. If either house does not pass this version, the bill dies. Often, the House and the Senate committees of jurisdiction will negotiate provision of non-controversial bills to avoid conference.

Action by the President

After the final version of the bill is passed in both chambers of Congress, it is sent to the president to be signed into law. If the president does not agree with the bill, they may veto it. The president may also “pocket-veto” a bill by taking no action on it for ten days after Congress has adjourned. If the president vetoes a bill, Congress may override it by a two-thirds roll call vote. If they succeed, the bill becomes a law.