Who passes bills, first, House or Senate?
First, a representative sponsors a bill. The bill is then assigned to a committee for study. If released by the committee, the bill is put on a calendar to be voted on, debated or amended. If the bill passes by simple majority (218 of 435), the bill moves to the Senate.
After a measure passes in the House, it goes to the Senate for consideration. This includes consideration by a Senate committee or subcommittee, similar to the path of a bill in the House. A bill must pass both bodies in the same form before it can be presented to the President for signature into law.
If the House and Senate pass different bills they are sent to Conference Committee. Most major legislation goes to a Conference Committee.
All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.
While the House processes legislation through a majority vote, the Senate does so through deliberation and debate prior to voting.
Under the doctrine, the speaker will not allow a floor vote on a bill unless a majority of the majority party supports the bill. Dennis Hastert explicitly adopted the majority of the majority rule after becoming Speaker of the House. Under House rules, the speaker schedules floor votes on pending legislation.
The resulting bill returns to the House and Senate for final approval. The Government Publishing Office prints the revised bill in a process called enrolling. The President has 10 days to sign or veto the enrolled bill.
Most bills require a majority vote (it must pass by 21 votes in the Senate and 41 votes in the Assembly), while urgency measures and appropriation bills require a two-thirds vote (27 in the Senate, 54 in the Assembly).
Only the House can originate revenue legislation, and only the Senate confirms presidential nominations and approves treaties, but the enactment of law always requires both chambers to separately agree to the same bill in the same form before presenting it to the President.
The Framers of the Constitution gave the President the power to veto acts of Congress to prevent the legislative branch from becoming too powerful. This is an illustration of the separation of powers integral to the U.S. Constitution.
Can Senate pass a bill without the House?
A bill must pass both houses of Congress before it goes to the President for consideration. Though the Constitution requires that the two bills have the exact same wording, this rarely happens in practice.
The Constitution does not explicitly require the speaker to be an incumbent member of the House of Representatives, although every speaker thus far has been, and as a member the speaker also represents their district and retains the right to vote.
The House of Representatives brings articles (charges) of impeachment against an official. Learn more about the House's role in impeachment. If the House adopts the articles by a simple majority vote, the official has been impeached. The Senate holds an impeachment trial.
As outlined in the Constitution , the House represents citizens based on district populations, while the Senate represents citizens on an equal state basis.
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.
The Constitution specifically grants Congress its most important power — the authority to make laws.
Article I, Section 7, of the Constitution provides that all bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives but that the Senate may propose, or concur with, amendments. By tradition, general appropriation bills also originate in the House of Representatives.
If the President vetoes the bill, it is returned to the congressional chamber in which it originated; that chamber may attempt to override the president's veto, though a successful override vote requires the support of two-thirds of those voting.
Removing the speaker of the House necessitates the use of a motion to vacate. As part of negotiations for McCarthy's speakership, any single representative can initiate a motion to vacate. The motion takes the form of a simple resolution. The provision had only been used twice in the House of Representatives.
In the complex and unique scenario where a president is considered to be unable to do their job but does not want to step down, Section 4 authorizes the vice president and a majority of the president's cabinet or Congress to decide if the president is unable to perform their duties.
Can the President override a bill?
In the United States, the president can use the veto power to prevent a bill passed by the Congress from becoming law. Congress can override the veto by a two-thirds vote of both chambers. Ronald Reagan signing a veto.
The Constitution explicitly assigns the president the power to sign or veto legislation, command the armed forces, ask for the written opinion of their Cabinet, convene or adjourn Congress, grant reprieves and pardons, and receive ambassadors.
The majority leader serves as the chief representative of their party in the Senate, and is considered the most powerful member of the Senate.
Under the Constitution, the House of Representatives has the power to impeach a government official, in effect serving as prosecutor. The Senate has the sole power to conduct impeachment trials, essentially serving as jury and judge.
Although senators are members of Congress, they are not normally referred to or addressed as "Congressman" or "Congresswoman". Members of Congress in both houses are elected by direct popular vote. Senators are elected via a statewide vote and representatives by votes in each congressional district.
