HOW CONGRESS WORKS
THE MAKING OF A FEDERAL LAW
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HOW CONGRESS WORKS: THE MAKING OF A FEDERAL LAW
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Tens of thousands of bills are introduced in the Congress each year, but only a relatively low number ever
become law. As a result, elected officials rely heavily on grassroots advocates to help them decide which
bills to support or oppose, and which ones deserve the extra work of that legislator to making it become law.
That is why FEW members are so important – they are integral to the achievement of our legislative goals.
To increase your effectiveness in the political arena, you must be thoroughly comfortable and familiar with
the legislative process. We all know how laws are made, but here’s a refresher in case you’ve forgotten a
few of the finer points.
CONGRESSIONAL POWER STRUCTURE
Congress is divided into two main bodies: the House of Representatives and the
Senate. The House has 435 members who are elected into office every two years; the
Senate has 100 members who are voted into office every six years. The House and
Senate are each controlled by whichever party has the most members in that chamber.
Party leaders have great influence over the legislative process, and rarely does a bill
become law without the support of the majority leadership, especially the Speaker of
the House and Majority Leader in the Senate.
Although congressional committees are not mentioned in the Constitution, committee
consideration of legislation is perhaps the most important phase of the entire legisla‑
tive process. Committees do most of the work on bills, and they have a decisive say in
whether a bill ever becomes a law. Therefore, Committee and Subcommittee Chairs
are extremely important when lobbying on a particular bill.
INTRODUCING A BILL
While a large portion of legislative proposals are conceived
by the legislator, many are introduced following constitu‑
ent requests – either individually or through organizations
such as professional associations and coalitions. Legislative
proposals may be introduced in both the House and Senate
together as companion bills or in just one chamber. There is
only one Constitutional restriction regarding the introduction
of a bill – revenue bills must be introduced in the House of
Representatives first.
After a bill is introduced, it is referred to one of the standing
committees of Congress by the Speaker of the House or the
Senate Majority Leader or, under a process called “unani‑
mous consent,” it can be considered directly by the House or
Senate. However bypassing the committee process is very
unusual.
There are several key House and Senate Committees whose
areas of jurisdiction affect federal workers:
House of Representatives Committees
Oversight and Government Reform – has the most influ‑
ence over legislative issues that impact federal workers The
Committee is the main investigative committee in the US
House of Representatives and has jurisdiction to investigate
any federal program and any matter with federal policy impli‑
cations.
Education and Labor – has jurisdiction over education and
labor generally, including labor standards, human services
programs and wages and hours. Its jurisdiction over health
care includes employer mandates, the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act (ERISA), and the Family and Medical
Leave Act.
Rules Committee – has jurisdiction over the rules and order
of business of the House. Every bill being considered on the
floor of the House must go through the Rules Committee.
Budget – compiles the federal government budget that
serves as a blueprint for funding levels allocated to each
federal agency.
Ways and Means – has one of the broadest and most im‑
portant jurisdictions in the House, including Social Security,
revenue bills and taxes. (NOTE: It is also the only committee
in Congress that can originate a bill that includes taxes.)
Senate Committees
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs – has
jurisdiction over most federal worker issues, including federal
government reform.
Finance – comparable to the Ways and Means Committee,
this committee controls all tax measures, Social Security, and
all government health programs financed by taxes or trust
funds.
Health, Education and Labor Committee (HELP)
– oversees a wide range of social domestic programs. It has
jurisdiction over education, labor, health and public welfare in
general.
Budget – compiles the federal government budget that
serves as a blueprint for funding levels allocated to each
federal agency.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Once a bill has been referred to a committee, the chairs may
decide to further refer the bill to a relevant subcommittee. If
so, then the subcommittee Members decide whether or not
the legislation is worth considering and in what manner.
Committee action generally follows this process: hearings are
held on a bill; it is amended during mark up sessions; and,
finally, it is voted on by the committee or subcommittee.
Hearings are an important way committees and subcommit‑
tees get advice on often complex issues. In the hearing pro‑
cess, other members of Congress, public officials, business
people, private citizens, experts, and other interested groups
are invited to offer their opinions on the issue being con‑
sidered by the committee. The purpose of the hearing can
be to: determine the impact of proposed legislation; gather
information; test public opinion; build support for proposals;
delay action on a bill; provide a forum for parties to be heard;
and provide an opportunity for the lawmakers to examine the
performance of an agency or program to see if it is meeting
the intent of the law as it was passed by Congress.
mittee and report the bill to the full House or Senate, or to be‑
gin the hearing, mark up and reporting process all over again.
In both the House and Senate, committees must write a
report for every bill they report favorably. Committee reports
explain the justification for the measure, describe the pur‑
pose, scope, and impact of the bill, and elaborate on any
changes the committee made to the original version. If a
committee fails to report a bill, the measure is basically dead.
One exception: the bill may be discharged from the commit‑
tee only if its sponsor can get a majority of his or her chamber
to agree to bring it out. This is the stage where most bills die
as comparatively few are ever reported from committees.
SCHEDULING A BILL FOR A VOTE
If the bill is reported favorably out of committee, it is placed
on the legislative calendar for debate. In the House, contro‑
versial bills, or bills that violate any budget or House rules
must get a waiver from the Rules Committee. In addition,
the Rules Committee must grant each bill a rule before it can
be considered on the House floor. The rule determines how
much time will be permitted for debate, and whether or not
the bill may be amended by the full House.
Although the Senate also has a Rules Committee, its function
is more of a formality; it does not exercise any of the power
of the House Rules Committee. The Senate Majority Leader
determines if and when a bill comes to the floor for debate
and there are fewer time constraints on its consideration.
Scheduling is another stage of the legislative process that
often is fatal to bills.
FLOOR ACTIONS
Most votes are decided by a simple majority although some
require a larger percentage. For example, a two-thirds vote of
the total membership in each chamber is necessary to adopt
a resolution to amend the Constitution, to override a Presi‑
dential veto, or to suspend the rules of the chamber.
The House and the Senate utilize two principal types of
votes--the voice vote and roll call or recorded vote. The voice
vote is used primarily for routine or non-controversial mat‑
ters, whereas the roll call or recorded vote is used for more
substantive or controversial issues.
Mark‑up sessions are where the actual decisions on the bill
are made. All viewpoints are considered; the bill is examined-usually line by line--and it is amended. Then a vote is taken
to determine the action of the subcommittee. Members may
decide to report the bill out favorably to the full committee
with or without amendments; to report it unfavorably; or to
“table” the measure and take no further action. The full com‑
mittee may then decide to approve the action of the subcom‑
The Senate also has another hurdle to overcome for those
bills that are slightly controversial. Any member of the Senate
can “filibuster” a bill – meaning that the debate continues
forever and no vote can be taken on the bill. In order to end
the filibuster, the Senate must vote in favor of “cloture” which
ends debate (after an additional 30 hours of debate). Invok‑
ing cloture requires 60 votes in favor – a feat hard to ac‑
complish when the Senate is closely split down the middle
between the two parties.
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The first chamber to pass a bill sends it to the presiding
officer of the other chamber--the Speaker of the House or
the President of the Senate--to repeat the steps taken in the
originating chamber. If both chambers are working simultane‑
ously on identical or similar measures, the first one completed
will be sent to the other body for consideration.
CONFERENCE
The House and the Senate often pass different versions
of the same bill. Before it can be finalized and sent to the
President for executive action, identical language must be ap‑
proved by both congressional chambers. To reach this goal,
a conference committee, composed of members of both
parties from both chambers, is created to resolve conflicts in
the legislation.
Members of the conference committee are selected by the
Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader. Usu‑
ally, the appointees are members of the House and Senate
committees which first handled the legislation. Conferees
from either side generally have three options available to
them in trying to reconcile two bill versions:
• Recommending the other chamber withdraw from its provisions;
• Recommending their own chamber withdraw from its provisions to accept those of the other house: or
• Recommending that both chambers withdraw on some of their provisions in exchange for keeping others--in
effect, a compromise.
Most bills that survive a conference are approved using the
third option--the compromise. In this case, the conference
committee’s function is similar to that of the original legisla‑
tive committees during the mark--up stage. The conferees
analyze the differences line by line, voting on amendments
and compromises throughout the process.
If the conference committee is able to resolve all the points
of disagreement, it votes to issue a conference report--much
like the original committee voting to report the bill. Occasion‑
ally, however, conferees are unable to come to agreement,
and any bill which is not reported back to the full House and
Senate “dies in conference.”
FINAL FLOOR ACTION
Since a bill may undergo considerable rewriting in confer‑
ence, both the Senate and House must approve it in its
amended form. At this stage legislators no longer have the
opportunity to offer amendments. The bill is usually brought
up on the floor for a limited amount of debate and is then
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subject to a “yea” or “nay” vote. If both chambers vote to ac‑
cept the final language, the bill is put in final form and signed
by the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore
of the Senate.
EXECUTIVE ACTION
The bill is then forwarded to the President who has ten days
to sign or veto it. If he chooses to sign it, it becomes public
law. If he vetoes it, it is sent back to Congress for a chance
to override the veto. If, however, the President chooses not
to sign a measure during the ten-day period and Congress
adjourns at the end of a session, the bill dies by “pocket
veto” without Congress having the chance to reconsider. If
Congress remains in session, the bill becomes law without
the President’s signature.
A bill vetoed by the President still has an opportunity for en‑
actment. When it is returned to Congress, the measure can
be subjected to an override vote, in which both houses can
decide whether to honor the President’s veto or to enact the
law without his signature. However, unlike the simple majority
required to initially pass the legislation, an override action re‑
quires a two-thirds vote in both chambers. If this occurs, the
bill becomes public law, having the same effect and power as
if it had been approved by the President.
To have an impact on legislation, usually you will need to
communicate with lawmakers more than once as a bill
moves through the legislative process. FEW’s Washington
Representative will keep members apprised of the status of
important bills and good times to conduct grassroots lobby‑
ing efforts. However, it is good for FEW’s Legislative Chairs
to also be aware of effective grassroots lobbying strategies.
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STRATEGIC POINTS IN THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS:
WHEN TO CONTACT CONGRESS
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Drafting of a Bill. Working with legislators and key staff
members before a bill is introduced is the best time to suc‑
cessfully impact legislation. By providing credible information
and making well-argued suggestions for sound public policy,
you can become an important resource for your legislators.
Legislation usually is drafted by staff, so be sure to work
closely with them.
During Subcommittee and Full Committee
Deliberations. Ushering legislation through the Congress
is much more difficult than preventing passage, which can be
accomplished by a single subcommittee blockage or a crip‑
pling amendment. On the other hand, approval of a measure
by a congressional panel frequently ensures approval by the
full chamber. Therefore, one of the best times to contact your
legislators is when the bill you are interested in is at the com‑
mittee and subcommittee levels. Arrange to meet or speak
with committee staff and members of the committee so you
can present your views to them. The sooner you contact
them, the more time they will have to consider your concerns
and suggestions. You can also volunteer to testify before the
committee to submit pertinent information.
At Floor Action. While it is best to address any concerns
you may have with a bill proactively during committee consid‑
eration, sometimes controversial issues must be resolved on
the floor (i.e., when it is being considered by the full House or
Senate). At this stage in the legislative process, contacting
the House and Senate party leaders (majority and minority
leaders, whips, etc.) can be very effective.
While Conference/Committee Negotiations Proceed.
You can take advantage of the political considerations that
often dominate these negotiations to shape a bill’s final form
in the best interests of the dental profession. You will need to
find out which legislators are on the conference committee
and lobby them directly.
Other strategies smart lobbyists follow include:
• Establish liaisons with other individuals or groups that share your position. Maintain a good relationship with
other organizations that share the same legislative goals as
FEW. This includes not only other federal workers organiza‑
tions, but also others who might be impacted by the issue.
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• Report on issues of importance to you through
local publications. Use your state newspapers to educate
other members about the issue and about your efforts to
influence the process by submitting editorials or “Letters
to the Editor” to your newspaper or other local publica‑
tions. FEW’s Washington Representative can assist you in
drafting these pieces. If information about a bill or legislator
is published, be sure to provide a copy of the article to the
relevant congressional office.
To sum up….FEW and its members continue to influence
legislators, but we can do more. With the proactive sup‑
port from FEW’s Legislative Chairs in urging their Chapter
members to send letters to their legislators and meet with
them when they are in the district offices, we can become a
much stronger and audible force on Capitol Hill. This will lead
to more effective lobbying that will in the end greatly benefit
federal workers in general, and federally employed women in
particular. Legislators cannot be blamed for not supporting
federal workers if they do not hear from their constituents.
Remember – we CAN make a difference!
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Suite 440
Washington, DC 20006
202-898-0994
www.few.org
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