Legislative Questions
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Legislative
Questions
.......................................
Who Makes our laws? What
are the forms of
Congressional Action?
How do I find
Congressional Information
on the web?
Where can I find a copy
of "The Constitution"?
Who
makes our laws?
The Legislative Process:
"All Legislative Powers
herein granted shall be
vested in a Congress of
the United States, which
shall consist of a Senate
and House of
Representatives."
(Article I, Section 1, of
the
United States
Constitution)
The chief function
of Congress is the
making of laws.
The legislative
process comprises
a number of steps,
and much
information is
available from
this page
concerning the
legislation
introduced and
considered in the
105th Congress. To
help you
understand the
information and
how it
interrelates, a
very brief
overview of the
legislative
process within the
House of
Representatives is
presented below.
There are many
aspects and
variations of the
process which are
not addressed
here. A much more
in-depth
discussion and
presentation of
the overall
process is
available in
How Our Laws Are
Made. Most of
the information
presented below
was excerpted from
that Congressional
document. (Back to Top)
The work of
Congress is
initiated by the
introduction of a
proposal in one of
four principal
forms: the bill,
the joint
resolution, the
concurrent
resolution, and
the simple
resolution.
Bills
A bill is the
form used for most
legislation,
whether permanent
or temporary,
general or
special, public or
private. A bill
originating in the
House of
Representatives is
designated by the
letters "H.R.",
signifying "House
of
Representatives",
followed by a
number that it
retains throughout
all its
parliamentary
stages. Bills are
presented to the
President for
action when
approved in
identical form by
both the House of
Representatives
and the Senate.
- Joint
Resolutions
- Joint
resolutions may
originate either
in the House of
Representatives
or in the
Senate. There is
little practical
difference
between a bill
and a joint
resolution. Both
are subject to
the same
procedure,
except for a
joint resolution
proposing an
amendment to the
Constitution. On
approval of such
a resolution by
two-thirds of
both the House
and Senate, it
is sent directly
to the
Administrator of
General Services
for submission
to the
individual
states for
ratification. It
is not presented
to the President
for approval. A
joint resolution
originating in
the House of
Representatives
is designated "H.J.Res."
followed by its
individual
number. Joint
resolutions
become law in
the same manner
as bills.
Concurrent
Resolutions
- Matters
affecting the
operations of
both the House
of
Representatives
and Senate are
usually
initiated by
means of
concurrent
resolutions. A
concurrent
resolution
originating in
the House of
Representatives
is designated "H.Con.Res."
followed by its
individual
number. On
approval by both
the House of
Representatives
and Senate, they
are signed by
the Clerk of the
House and the
Secretary of the
Senate. They are
not presented to
the President
for action.
Simple
Resolutions
- A matter
concerning the
operation of
either the House
of
Representatives
or Senate alone
is initiated by
a simple
resolution. A
resolution
affecting the
House of
Representatives
is designated "H.Res."
followed by its
number. They are
not presented to
the President
for action.
For more
information on
bills and
resolutions see
Forms of
Congressional
Action in
How Our Laws Are
Made.
(Back to Top)
Many
congressional and
government
documents are
available on the
Web. Your local
library is also an
excellent place to
find information.
The following
guides explain how
to find materials
related to the
Senate and the
legislative
process. You may
also contact your
Senator's office
if you have
additional
questions.
How to find
the Congressional
Record
How to find
committee hearings
How to find
bills
How to find
committee reports
and conference
reports
How to
research the
collections of
former Senators
How to find
the U.S. Code
How to find
the Federal
Register and the
Code of Federal
Regulations
How to
contact U.S.
Senators
How to find
laws, acts, or
statutes
How to find
out about
congressional
voting
How to find
subcommittee
membership rosters
(Back to
Top)
The "Constitution
and other
documents can be
found on the U.S.
Senate Website.
The Constitution (Back to Top)
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How do I find a
Congressman? |
All
Congressmen/women
from each state
and other facts
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Senator? |
All senators
from each
state and
other facts
about a
state's
history in the
U.S. Senate.
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Find bills at
"Thomas" |
|
You can access
legislative
information,
by bill number
or key words,
from the
THOMAS Web
site.
Information
from the
present back
to the 93rd
Congress
(1973) is
available on
THOMAS.
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