Introduction to the Legislative Process in the U.S. Congress

Introduction to the Legislative Process in the

U.S. Congress

Updated November 19, 2025

Congressional Research Service

https://crsreports.congress.gov

R42843

Introduction to the Legislative Process in the U.S. Congress

Summary

A bill (or other item of business) may travel through a series of steps in the legislative process—

from introduction to committee and floor consideration to possible presidential consideration.

However, the process by which a bill can become law is rarely predictable and can vary

significantly from bill to bill. In fact, for many bills, the process will not follow the sequence of

congressional stages that are often understood to make up the legislative process.

Congressional action on bills is typically planned and coordinated by party leaders in each

chamber, though majority party leaders in the House have more tools with which to set the floor

agenda than do majority party leaders in the Senate. In both chambers, much of the policy

expertise resides in the standing committees, panels of Members who typically take the lead in

developing and assessing proposed legislation within specified policy jurisdictions.

Introduction and Referral of Legislation. Once a Member of the House or Senate introduces a

bill, it is typically referred to the committee (or committees) in that chamber with jurisdiction

over its elements. Committees do not formally consider each of these referred bills. The

committee chair has the primary agenda-setting authority for each committee and identifies which

bills will receive formal committee attention during the course of the two-year Congress.

(Committees are not limited, however, to consideration of measures referred to them and may

initiate legislative action on their own.)

Committee Consideration. A committee may conduct hearings on a bill to provide committee

members and the public an opportunity to hear from selected parties (e.g., a federal agency or

organized interest) about the bill’s strengths and weaknesses. If the committee wants to formally

recommend that the bill receive consideration from its parent chamber, it will hold a markup on

the bill, at which committee members vote on any proposed amendments. The markup concludes

when the committee agrees, by majority vote, to report the bill (with any recommended changes

adopted in the markup) to its chamber.

Floor Scheduling. In the House, majority party leaders generally decide which bills will receive

floor consideration; typically, they schedule a bill for a type of streamlined floor consideration, or

instead ask the Rules Committee to propose a set of tailored parameters for floor consideration. In

the Senate, bills are brought to the floor only after the Senate agrees to a motion (typically offered

by the majority leader) to proceed to a specific bill or, alternatively, if no Senator objects to a

unanimous consent request to bring it up.

House Floor Consideration. In the House, most bills that receive consideration do so under a

procedure called “suspension of the rules,” which limits debate to 40 minutes and prohibits floor

amendments, but requires two-thirds of Members voting to agree. Most other bills are considered

under tailored debate and amending parameters set by the terms of a special rule reported by the

House Rules Committee (which often operates as an arm of the majority party leadership). The

House first votes to adopt the special rule, and then can proceed to debate and potentially amend

the bill (typically accomplished in a setting called Committee of the Whole). After any debate and

amending process is complete, the House then typically votes on a motion to recommit offered by

a minority party member before proceeding to a final vote on passage.

Senate Floor Consideration. In the Senate, once the chamber has agreed to bring up a bill, it can

be considered under rules and practices that allow for a wide-ranging debate and amendment

process. A defining feature of Senate floor consideration is that no rule permits a numerical

majority to end debate and proceed to a final vote on most questions (e.g., a bill or amendment).

Thus, Senators may wage a filibuster, effectively threatening extended debate or other actions that

would delay or prevent a final vote. The Senate’s cloture rule provides a process, however, by

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Introduction to the Legislative Process in the U.S. Congress

which a supermajority of the Senate (usually three-fifths) can, over a series of days, place a limit

on debate (as well as limits on amendments) and eventually reach a final vote. These rules and

practices provide extraordinary leverage to individual Senators, but frequently the Senate decides

it can more effectively act by putting aside the formal rules and instead agreeing—by unanimous

consent—to tailored parameters on debate and amending.

Executive Business in the Senate. The Senate has the unique constitutional responsibility to

confirm certain presidential nominations and to approve treaties. Nominations and treaties are

referred to committees, where they may be considered and reported to the chamber. On the floor,

a ratification of a treaty requires the support of two-thirds of voting Senators. Nominations

considered on the floor are subject to debate, such that reaching a final vote may require a

successful cloture process. Unlike on other questions, the vote threshold to invoke cloture on a

nomination (or certain groups of nominations) is a numerical majority pursuant to changes in

Senate procedure made in 2013, 2017, and 2025.

Resolving Differences Between the Chambers. At some point in the legislative process, either

the House must act on a Senate bill, or the Senate must act on a House bill, since only one can be

presented to the President. One chamber frequently agrees to a bill—without changes—that was

sent to it by the other, but sometimes a chamber proposes changes to a bill sent to it by the other.

The chambers resolve their differences on the competing proposals either through a back-andforth trading of alternative proposals (called amendments between the houses), or by convening

an ad hoc conference committee in which Representatives and Senators from the relevant

committees are appointed to hammer out a compromise called a conference report. After both

chambers have agreed to identical text (either by agreeing to the other chamber’s proposal during

amendments between the houses or by agreeing to the conference report), the bill can be

presented to the President.

Presidential Action. The President has 10 days, excluding Sundays, to sign or veto a bill. If it is

vetoed, it can only become law if Congress agrees—by two-thirds in each chamber, separately—

to override the veto. Successful overrides of presidential vetoes are rare, so Congress typically

must accommodate the President’s position earlier in the process.

CRS has a variety of reports, cited herein, that describe specific elements of congressional

procedure. CRS also has many other reports that address some procedural issues in additional

detail (including congressional budget and appropriations processes). These reports are organized

by subissue at https://www.crs.gov/iap/legislative-and-budget-process.

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Introduction to the Legislative Process in the U.S. Congress

Contents

Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 1

Introduction and Referral of Legislation ......................................................................................... 2

Committee Consideration ................................................................................................................ 3

Hearings .................................................................................................................................... 4

Markups .................................................................................................................................... 4

Role of Subcommittees ............................................................................................................. 5

Floor Scheduling ............................................................................................................................. 5

House Floor Consideration .............................................................................................................. 6

Senate Floor Consideration ............................................................................................................. 7

Executive Business in the Senate .................................................................................................... 8

Resolving Differences Between the Chambers ............................................................................... 9

Presidential Action ........................................................................................................................ 10

Contacts

Author Information......................................................................................................................... 11

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Introduction to the Legislative Process in the U.S. Congress

Overview

Article I of the U.S. Constitution grants all legislative powers to a bicameral Congress: a House

of Representatives and a Senate that are the result of a “Great Compromise” seeking to balance

the effects of popular majorities with the interests of the states. Our system currently provides for

a two-year term of office for House Members from the 435 population-based districts.1 In the

Senate, voters of each state elect two Senators, who serve six-year terms that overlap (such that

only one-third of the chamber is up for election in any given election cycle).

The two chambers are fundamentally equal in their legislative roles and functions. Only the

Senate confirms presidential nominations and approves treaties. Only the House can originate

revenue legislation, but the Senate can amend revenue legislation, and 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.

Because each chamber has the constitutional authority to make its own rules, the House and

Senate have developed very different ways of processing legislation, perhaps partially flowing

from their constitutional differences. In general, House rules and practices allow a numerical

majority to process legislation relatively quickly. Senate rules and procedures, on the other hand,

favor deliberation over quick action, as they provide significant procedural leverage to individual

Senators.

Congressional action is typically planned and coordinated by party leaders in each chamber, who

have been chosen by Members of their own caucus or conference—that is, the group of Members

in a chamber who share a party affiliation. Majority party leaders in the House have important

powers and prerogatives to effectively set the policy agenda and decide which proposals will

receive floor consideration. In the Senate, the leader of the majority party is generally expected to

propose items for consideration, but formal tools that allow a numerical majority to take action

are few. Instead, majority party leadership typically must negotiate with minority party leaders

(and often all Senators) to effectively conduct Senate floor action.

In both chambers, much of the policy expertise resides in the standing committees—panels of

Members from both parties that typically take the lead in developing and assessing legislation.2

Members typically serve on a small number of committees, often for many years, allowing them

to become highly knowledgeable in certain policy areas. All committees are chaired by a Member

of the majority party, though chairs often work closely with the committee’s ranking member, the

leader of the minority party on the committee. In almost all cases, the ratio of majority party to

minority party members on a committee roughly reflects the overall partisan ratio in the

congressional chamber.

Committee members and staff spend much of their time drafting and considering legislative

proposals, but committees engage in other activities, as well. Once law is enacted, Congress has

the prerogative and responsibility to provide oversight of policy implementation, and its

committees take the lead in this effort. Both chambers provide their committees with significant

1 The Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico and the five House Delegates representing American Samoa, the District

of Columbia, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are not Members

of the House and do not enjoy all of the parliamentary rights (e.g., voting on the floor) of Members of Congress. See

CRS Report R40170, Parliamentary Rights of the Delegates and Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico, by Jane A.

Hudiburg.

2 See CRS Report 98-241, Committee Types and Roles, by Valerie Heitshusen.

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powers and latitude for oversight and investigations into questions of public policy and its

effects.3

Although the engine of legislative ideas and action is Congress itself, the President has influence

in the legislative process, as well. The President recommends an annual budget for federal

agencies and often suggests legislation. Perhaps more significantly, the power to veto legislation

can affect the content of bills passed by Congress. Because it is quite unusual for law to be

enacted over a presidential veto, Congress typically must accommodate the President’s position

on proposed policies.

The process by which a bill becomes law is rarely predictable and can vary significantly from bill

to bill. In fact, for many bills, the process will not follow the sequence of congressional stages

that are often understood to make up the legislative process.4 This report presents a look at each

of the common stages through which a bill may move, but complications and variations abound in

practice.5

Introduction and Referral of Legislation6

Legislation may take one of several forms, depending on the intended purpose. Bills and joint

resolutions may become law if enacted during the two-year Congress in which they were

introduced. Simple resolutions and concurrent resolutions are the other options; these measures

cannot make law, but may be used by each chamber, or by both, to publicly express sentiments or

accomplish internal administrative or organizational tasks, such as establishing their rules for

proceeding.7

3 For more detail on questions of congressional oversight, see CRS Report RL30240, Congressional Oversight Manual,

coordinated by Ben Wilhelm, Todd Garvey, and Christopher M. Davis.

4 See CRS Report IG10005, From Bill to Law: Stages of the Legislative Process, by Valerie Heitshusen and Jennifer E.

Manning, a one-page CRS infographic that visually presents the relationship among these congressional stages.

5 House and Senate consideration of specific types of legislation is sometimes governed by so-called “rule-making”

statutes—that is, provisions in law that provide for congressional action in ways that departs from typical procedures

set by chamber standing rules, precedents, and practices. For instance, the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as

amended, establishes such procedures in relation to certain budgetary measures. Other examples of statutes with “rulemaking” provisions include the Congressional Review Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-121), the Budget Control Act of 2011

(P.L. 112-25), the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 (P.L. 114-17), and the National Emergencies Act of

1976 (P.L. 94-412). Variations in congressional procedure established by statute are not covered in this report. For

more detail and discussion of some rule-making statutes, see CRS Report RS20234, Expedited or “Fast-Track”

Legislative Procedures, by Christopher M. Davis. In addition, there are numerous CRS reports that focus specifically

on how Congress processes budget and appropriations-related measures, available https://www.crs.gov/iap/legislativeand-budget-process (select “Budget & Appropriations Procedure” subissue).

6 For more detail on the introduction of legislation, see CRS Report R44001, Introducing a House Bill or Resolution,

and CRS Report R44195, Introducing a Senate Bill or Resolution, both by Mark J. Oleszek. On referral, see CRS

Report R46251, Committee Jurisdiction and Referral in the House, and CRS Report R46815, Committee Jurisdiction

and Referral in the Senate, both by Mark. J. Oleszek. For a list of CRS reports that focus specifically on bill

introduction and related issues, see https://www.crs.gov/iap/legislative-and-budget-process (select “Congressional Bill

Introduction” subissue).

7 Bills and joint resolutions can potentially go through all of the legislative stages detailed in this report, with the

exception of joint resolutions that propose a constitutional amendment (which are not presented to the President).

Simple resolutions can only be considered in the chamber in which they originated, and they are never presented to the

other chamber (or to the President). Concurrent resolutions are potentially considered in both chambers, but are also not

presented to the President. Thus, many of the steps in the legislative process described below are not applicable to all

kind of measures. See CRS Report R46603, Bills, Resolutions, Nominations, and Treaties: Characteristics and

Examples of Use, by Jane A. Hudiburg.

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Only Members of the House or Senate may introduce legislation, though occasionally a Member

introduces legislation by request of the President. Members and their staff typically consult with

nonpartisan attorneys in each chamber’s Legislative Counsel office for assistance in putting

policy proposals into legislative language. Members may circulate the bill and ask others in the

chamber—often via Dear Colleague letters—to sign on as original co-sponsors of a bill to

demonstrate a solid base of support for the idea.8 In the House, a bill is introduced when it is

submitted electronically or dropped in the hopper (a wooden box on the House floor).9 In the

Senate, the bill is submitted to clerks on the Senate floor. Upon introduction, the bill will receive

a designation based on the chamber of introduction, for example, H.R. or H.J.Res. for Houseoriginated bills or joint resolutions and S. or S.J.Res. for Senate-originated measures. It will also

receive a number, which is typically the next number available in sequence during that two-year

Congress.10

In the House, bills then are referred by the Speaker, on the advice of the nonpartisan

parliamentarian, to all committees that have jurisdiction over the provisions in the bill, as

determined by the chamber’s standing rules and past referral decisions. Most bills fall under the

jurisdiction of one committee. If multiple committees are involved and receive the bill, each

committee may work only on the portion of the bill under its jurisdiction. One of those

committees will be designated the primary committee of jurisdiction and will likely take the lead

on any action that may occur.

In the Senate, bills are typically referred to committee in a similar process, though in almost all

cases, the bill is referred to only the committee with jurisdiction over the issue that predominates

in the bill. In a limited number of cases, a bill might not be referred to committee, but instead be

placed directly on the Senate Calendar of Business through a series of procedural steps on the

floor.11

Committee Consideration12

Each committee receives many bill referrals over the course of a Congress—far more than the

panel is capable of pursuing in any detail. The committee’s chair has the chief agenda-setting

authority for the committee; in essence, the chair identifies the bills or issues on which the

committee will try to formally act through hearings or markups (or both).

8 See CRS Report 98-279, Sponsorship and Cosponsorship of Senate Bills, and CRS Report RS22477, Sponsorship and

Cosponsorship of House Bills, both by Mark J. Oleszek.

9 The House allows for electronic submission of certain documents via the “eHopper.” House staff can access

guidelines at https://housenet.house.gov/legislative/legislative-actions/electronic-submission-of-legislative-documents.

For the Speaker’s stated policy on submitting documents electronically, see Congressional Record, daily edition, vol.

171 (January 3, 2025), p. H25.

10 See CRS Report R46603, Bills, Resolutions, Nominations, and Treaties: Characteristics and Examples of Use, by

Jane A. Hudiburg.

11 See CRS Report RS22309, Senate Rule XIV Procedure for Placing Measures Directly on the Senate Calendar, by

Christopher M. Davis.

12 For a list of CRS reports that focus specifically on committee procedure, see https://www.crs.gov/iap/legislative-andbudget-process (select “Congressional Committee Rules and Procedure” subissue).

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Hearings13

The first formal committee action on a bill or issue might be a hearing, which provides a forum at

which committee Members and the public can hear about the strengths and weaknesses of a

proposal from selected parties—like key executive branch agencies, relevant industries, and

groups representing interested citizens. Hearings are also a way to spotlight legislation to

colleagues, the public, and the press. At the hearing, invited witnesses provide short oral remarks

to the assembled committee, but each witness also submits a longer written version of his or her

feedback on the bill. After witnesses’ oral statements, Members of the committee take turns

asking questions of the witnesses.

Although these hearings provide the formal public setting at which feedback is solicited on the

policy proposal, committee Members and staff engage in additional assessment of the approach

through informal briefings and other mechanisms. Note that from a procedural standpoint, a bill

can move forward even if the committee has no hearings on the bill or related policy issue.

Markups14

A committee markup is the key formal step a committee ultimately takes for a bill to advance to

the floor. Normally, the committee chair chooses the proposal that will be placed before the

committee for markup: a referred bill or a new draft text. At this meeting, which is typically open

to the public, Members of the committee consider possible changes to the proposal by offering

and voting on amendments to it, including possibly a complete substitute for its text.

A markup concludes when the committee agrees, by majority vote, to report the bill to the

chamber.15 Committees rarely hold a markup unless the proposal in question is expected to

receive majority support on that vote. The committee may vote to report a referred bill, with

recommended changes that reflect any amendments adopted during the markup.16 As an

13 On hearings in House committees, see CRS Report 98-317, Types of Committee Hearings, by Valerie Heitshusen;

CRS Report 98-488, House Committee Hearings: Preparation; CRS Report 98-339, House Committee Hearings:

Scheduling and Notification; CRS Report 98-304, House Committee Hearings: Arranging Witnesses; CRS Report 98338, House Committee Hearings: Witness Testimony; and CRS Report RS22637, House Committee Hearings: The

“Minority Witness Rule”, all by Christopher M. Davis. On hearings in Senate committees, see CRS Report 98-336,

Senate Committee Hearings: Arranging Witnesses; CRS Report 98-489, Senate Committee Hearings: Preparation; and

CRS Report 98-337, Senate Committee Hearings: Scheduling and Notification, all by Valerie Heitshusen; and CRS

Report RS22649, Senate Committee Hearings: The “Minority Witness Rule”, by Christopher M. Davis.

14 On markups in Senate committees, see CRS Report R48298, The Committee Markup Process in the Senate, by

Michael Greene. On markups in House committees, see CRS Report RL30244, The Committee Markup Process in the

House of Representatives, by Christopher M. Davis and Elizabeth Rybicki; and CRS Report 97-1045, House Rules and

Precedents Affecting Committee Markup Procedures, by Christopher M. Davis.

15 A bill is “ordered reported” when the committee votes to do so at a mark-up, but it is not actually “reported” by the

committee until it is filed in the House. A delay between these two steps may occur. Once a committee reports a bill, it

is often accompanied by a committee report, a document that explains the provisions in the bill and any changes

recommended by the committee and also includes recorded votes held in committee markup, a cost estimate, and other

information. See CRS Report R47039, House Committee Reports: Required Contents, by Jane A. Hudiburg and

Christopher M. Davis; and CRS Report 98-305, Senate Committee Reports: Required Contents, by Elizabeth Rybicki.

16 The adoption of amendments in committee does not translate directly into a change in an introduced and referred bill

that is before the committee. Instead, the committee may recommend that the chamber adopt the amendments that the

committee has adopted and reported to the chamber. In current practice, committee often reports to its parent chamber

one complete substitute amendment (often called an “amendment in the nature of a substitute”) to the bill that embodies

all of the individual proposed changes that were agreed to in the committee markup.

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alternative to a referred bill, it may instead report out an original or clean bill that was basically

written in the markup process itself from a draft proposal.17

Role of Subcommittees

Most House and Senate committees also establish subcommittees—subpanels of the full

committee where Members can further focus on specific elements of the policy area. The extent

to which subcommittees play a formal role in policymaking—for example, by holding hearings or

marking up legislation prior to full committee consideration—varies by chamber and by

committee tradition and practice. Whatever role a full committee allows its subcommittees to

play, subcommittees cannot report legislation to the chamber; only full committees may do so.

Floor Scheduling

Once a committee has reported a bill, it is placed on one of the respective chambers’ calendars.18

These calendars are essentially a list of bills eligible for floor consideration; however, the bills on

the calendars are not guaranteed floor consideration. Many will never be brought up on the floor

during the course of a two-year Congress. It is also possible, although less common, for a bill to

come directly to the floor without being reported and placed on a calendar.

In the House, majority party leadership heavily influences which bills the House will consider,

and in what order. For example, after consulting with committee leaders, majority party

leadership may decide to schedule a bill for expedited floor consideration. Alternatively,

leadership may ask the Rules Committee to start the process of bringing a specific bill to the floor

for more lengthy consideration and possible amendments. These different mechanisms by which

the majority party proposes floor consideration of a bill are discussed in more detail in the next

section.

In the Senate, majority party leadership does not have procedures like those in the House for

bringing bills to the floor. One way the Senate can take up a bill is by agreeing to a motion to

proceed to consider it. Once a Senator—typically the majority leader—makes such a motion that

the Senate proceed to a certain bill, the Senate can then normally debate the motion to proceed.19

If it eventually agrees to the motion by a majority vote, the Senate can then begin consideration of

the bill; in modern practice the Senate typically reaches this vote only after a multi-day process

that requires the support of three-fifths of the Senate. Alternatively, the majority leader or another

Senator can ask unanimous consent that the Senate take up a certain bill. If no one objects to such

a request when it is made, then the Senate can immediately begin consideration of the bill in

17 All Senate standing committees have the authority to report original bills (which are introduced on the committee’s

behalf by the chair). Some House committees have such authority in specific instances. More detail on forms of

committee reporting are provided in CRS Report R48298, The Committee Markup Process in the Senate, by Michael

Greene; and CRS Report RL30244, The Committee Markup Process in the House of Representatives, by Christopher

M. Davis and Elizabeth Rybicki.

18 For more detail, see CRS Report 98-437, Calendars of the House of Representatives, by Christopher M. Davis; and

CRS Report 98-429, The Senate’s Calendar of Business, and CRS Report 98-438, The Senate’s Executive Calendar,

both by Elizabeth Rybicki.

19 Some measures and matters can be brought up for floor consideration without debate—for example, a conference

report, House amendments, a specific nomination on the Executive Calendar—though the item itself would still be

subject to debate.

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question. (When the leader refrains from making such a request because he has been informed

that a Senator would object, it is often said that a Senator has placed a hold20 on the bill.)

In both chambers, party leaders keep their membership informed of the anticipated floor schedule

using various methods—like periodic whip notices or other frequent communications.

House Floor Consideration21

The House considers bills under a variety of procedures, each of which differs in the amount of

time allotted for debate and the opportunities given to Members to propose amendments.22 Most

bills are considered under “suspension of the rules”23 procedures, which limits debate to 40

minutes and does not allow amendments to be offered by Members on the floor. However, for the

House to pass a bill under suspension of the rules requires two-thirds of Members voting to agree.

Bills not considered on the House floor under suspension of the rules are typically considered

instead under terms tailored for each particular bill. The House establishes these parameters on a

case-by-case basis through the adoption of a simple House resolution (an H. Res.) called a special

rule.24 Special rules are reported by the House Rules Committee. This committee generally

operates as an arm of the majority party leadership, and majority party members outnumber

minority party members, nine to four. Common provisions found in a special rule include the

identification of the text to be considered, a specified period for general debate, and limits on the

amendments that can be offered on the floor. The committee could report a special rule that places

few restrictions at all on amending. Typically, however, the special rule will allow only specified

predetermined amendments to be offered or may instead preclude floor amendments altogether.25

Note that House rules also place certain other limitations on the content of amendments, unless

the special rule waives these restrictions.26 For instance, amendments must typically be germane

20 See CRS Report R43563, “Holds” in the Senate, by Mark J. Oleszek.

21 For a brief overview of House floor consideration, see CRS Report R43424, Considering Legislation on the House

Floor: Common Practices in Brief, by Elizabeth Rybicki. A more detailed overview can be found in CRS Report 95563, The Legislative Process on the House Floor: An Introduction, by Christopher M. Davis. On enforcement of the

rules, see CRS Report 98-307, Points of Order, Rulings, and Appeals in the House of Representatives, by Valerie

Heitshusen. See also CRS Report R47625, The House Consensus Calendar: Principal Features and Practice in the

117th Congress (2021-2022), by Jane A. Hudiburg. For a list of CRS reports that focus specifically on House floor

procedure, see https://www.crs.gov/iap/legislative-and-budget-process (select “House Floor Procedure” subissue).

22 See CRS Report RS20067, How Measures Are Brought to the House Floor: A Brief Introduction, by Christopher M.

Davis.

23 See CRS Report 98-314, Suspension of the Rules in the House: Principal Features, by Elizabeth Rybicki.

24 See CRS Report R48308, Special Rules in the House of Representatives: Purpose and Content, by Mark J. Oleszek

The rule can also provide that, upon its adoption, the text for consideration is immediately altered with text proposed by

the Rules Committee in its report accompanying the rule. See CRS Report R44362, Post-Committee Adjustment in the

Modern House: The Use of Rules Committee Prints, by Mark J. Oleszek.

25 Special rules are often categorized according to the extent to which they place restrictions on floor amendments.

Rules with few restrictions are commonly called “open” and those that preclude floor amendments are called “closed”;

special rules that limit amendments to a specified list are typically called “structured.” See CRS Report R47314,

Offering an Amendment on the House Floor Under a Structured Rule: Current Practice, by Michael Greene and

Elizabeth Rybicki.

26 On the point of waivers in special rules, see “Waivers” in CRS Report R48308, Special Rules in the House of

Representatives: Purpose and Content, by Mark J. Oleszek.

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to the text they propose to change. That is, an amendment cannot change the subject under

consideration.27

After the Rules Committee reports a rule for consideration of a bill, the House first considers that

special rule itself on the House floor, for approximately one hour. After debate, the House votes

on adopting the special rule;28 only after its adoption will the House then proceed to consider the

bill itself, under the terms specified by the special rule.

In this situation, the House will typically consider the bill in a procedural setting called the

Committee of the Whole,29 which allows Members an efficient way to consider and vote on

amendments. After any amendments are offered and debated, Members vote on approval; each

amendment requires a simple majority to be agreed to.30

After the amendment process is complete, the Committee of the Whole reports to the full House

any recommended amendments, which are then usually approved by the House by voice vote.

Just prior to voting on final passage, Members will typically vote on a motion to recommit—a

motion reserved for the minority party—the adoption of which would send the bill back to

committee. In the House, some votes are taken by voice, but many votes are taken by electronic

device, a method that records the individual position of each Member who voted.31

Senate Floor Consideration32

To consider a bill on the floor, the Senate first must agree to bring it up—typically by agreeing to

a unanimous consent request or by voting to adopt a motion to proceed to the bill, as discussed

earlier.33 Only once the Senate has agreed to consider a bill may Senators propose amendments

to it.

Perhaps the modern Senate’s defining feature is the potential difficulty of reaching a final vote on

a matter. Most questions that the Senate considers—from a motion to proceed to a bill, to each

amendment, to the bill itself—are not subject to any debate limit. Senate rules provide no way for

a simple numerical majority to cut off or otherwise impose a debate limit and move to a final

vote. As a result, Senators can wage (or threaten to wage) a filibuster on most amendments, bills,

27 The germaneness concept is stricter than relevancy and reflects a complex set of criteria that the House has

developed by precedent over the years. For a discussion of germaneness, see CRS Report 98-995, The Amending

Process in the House of Representatives, by Christopher M. Davis.

28 Immediately prior to this vote, the House will vote on the “previous question” motion on the special rule—a motion

which, when agreed to, ends consideration of the special rule and allows for an immediate vote on adoption of the rule

itself. See CRS Report R48316, Ordering the Previous Question on a Special Rule in the House, by Sarah B. Solomon.

The previous question motion in the House is available in other circumstances as a way for a numerical majority to end

consideration of a measure, but its automatic adoption prior to a vote on a bill is typically provided for in a special rule.

29 See CRS Report RL32200, Debate, Motions, and Other Actions in the Committee of the Whole, by Bill Heniff Jr. and

Elizabeth Rybicki.

30 See CRS Report 98-995, The Amending Process in the House of Representatives, by Christopher M. Davis.

31 See CRS Report 98-228, House Voting Procedures: Forms and Requirements, by Jane A. Hudiburg; and CRS Report

98-988, Voting and Quorum Procedures in the House of Representatives, coordinated by Elizabeth Rybicki.

32 For more detailed overview of Senate floor procedures, see CRS Report 96-548, The Legislative Process on the

Senate Floor: An Introduction, by Valerie Heitshusen. On enforcement of the rules, see CRS Report 98-306, Points of

Order, Rulings, and Appeals in the Senate, by Valerie Heitshusen. For a list of CRS reports that focus specifically on

Senate floor procedure, see https://www.crs.gov/iap/legislative-and-budget-process (select “Senate Floor Procedure”

subissue).

33 For more detail, see CRS Report RS20668, How Measures Are Brought to the Senate Floor: A Brief Introduction, by

Christopher M. Davis.

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or other motions—in effect, insisting on extended debate or taking other actions intended to delay

or prevent a final vote.34

In addition, under most circumstances, neither debate nor amendments in the Senate are required

to be germane.35 This can lead to much more wide-ranging and less predictable floor

consideration than typically occurs in the House.36

Senate Rule XXII, often called the cloture rule, does allow a supermajority to limit debate on a

bill, amendment, or motion; in addition, in the case of a bill, cloture limits the amendments that

can be offered. Supporters of, for instance, a bill under floor consideration can file a cloture

motion, signed by at least 16 Senators. Two days of session later, Senators vote on the cloture

motion. If three-fifths—usually 60 Senators37—agree, then further consideration of the bill is

limited to 30 hours, during which only germane amendments submitted in advance can be

offered. After this concluding period of consideration, the Senate will take a final vote on the bill.

This vote requires only a simple majority for approval. However, because a cloture process is

often required to end debate on a bill, often the bill first must garner the support of a three-fifths

supermajority. Even with the necessary supermajority support, use of this cloture process can

require the use of significant amounts of Senate floor time.

Overall, these rules and practices governing floor debate and amending in the Senate provide

significant leverage to each individual Senator. Rather than relying on the formal rules like

cloture, however, frequently the Senate can more effectively act using unanimous consent

agreements.38 Such an agreement is a structured plan for limiting debate and amending—a plan

that can be tailored to each bill that comes to the floor (somewhat akin to a special rule in the

House). Through the use of these agreements, the details of which all Senators have agreed upon,

the Senate can more effectively process its business while protecting the procedural rights of each

of its Members.

Although many votes are conducted by voice, a recorded vote is required in some cases, and it is

often requested by Senators in others. Unlike the House, the Senate does not have an electronic

voting system; recorded votes are conducted through a call of the roll.39

Executive Business in the Senate

In addition to full legislative authority, the U.S. Constitution provides the Senate with two unique

responsibilities: first, the power to confirm certain presidential nominees to the federal judiciary

and certain executive branch positions; and second, the power to approve treaties. In the

legislative process, treaties are treated very much like bills: they are referred to the Foreign

Relations Committee, where they may be considered and reported. The Senate can consider a

34 See CRS Report RL30360, Filibusters and Cloture in the Senate, by Valerie Heitshusen.

35 As a result, amendments may be proposed that involve policy proposals unrelated to the proposal contained in the

bill under consideration.

36 See CRS Report 98-853, The Amending Process in the Senate, by Christopher M. Davis.

37 For cloture on a proposal to change the Senate standing rules, the agreement of two-thirds of those present and voting

is required (Senate Rule XXII, paragraph 2).

38 See CRS Report RS20594, How Unanimous Consent Agreements Regulate Senate Floor Action, by Valerie

Heitshusen; and CRS Report 98-310, Senate Unanimous Consent Agreements: Potential Effects on the Amendment

Process, by Valerie Heitshusen.

39 See CRS Report 96-452, Voting and Quorum Procedures in the Senate, coordinated by Elizabeth Rybicki.

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treaty on the floor under similar procedures used for legislation. However, the Constitution

requires that two-thirds of voting Senators agree for a treaty to be ratified.40

Most presidential nominations are referred to the relevant Senate committee of jurisdiction. Prior

to potential committee action to report a nomination, a committee may hold a hearing at which

the nominee answers questions from the committee’s members. Nominations are subject to

unlimited debate on the Senate floor, and a cloture process is often used to reach a vote on a

nomination. Invoking cloture on most questions requires a vote of three-fifths of the Senate, as

described earlier, but cloture can be invoked on a nomination by a simple majority threshold.

Using cloture to reach a vote on a pending nomination takes floor time, and the Senate receives

many nominations from the President.41 The Senate may also consider groups of certain

nominations all at once (“en bloc”); the cloture process, which requires simple majority support

and several days, can also be used to reach a vote on a group of these nominations. Nominations

are also sometimes taken up and confirmed by unanimous consent.

Resolving Differences Between the Chambers42

A bill must be agreed to by both chambers in the same form before it can be presented to the

President. Therefore, at some point in the legislative process, either the House must act on a

Senate bill or the Senate must act on a House bill. Frequently, identical or similar proposals are

introduced in the House and in the Senate, each potentially moving through the legislative

process in the chamber in which it was introduced. In this case, when one chamber receives the

bill passed by the other, it may act on (and possibly amend) that bill, or alternatively, it may

consider (and possibly amend) its own bill first—eventually substituting its language into the

other chamber’s bill for the purposes of resolving differences between the two proposals.43

Once one chamber passes a bill, it is engrossed44—that is, prepared in official form—and then

sent (or messaged) to the other chamber. In a majority of cases, the second chamber simply agrees

to the exact text passed by the first chamber, in which case Congress has then completed its

action on the bill.

40 See CRS Report 98-384, Senate Consideration of Treaties, by Valerie Heitshusen.

41 See CRS Report RL31980, Senate Consideration of Presidential Nominations: Committee and Floor Procedure, by

Elizabeth Rybicki; and CRS Report R46273, Consideration of Privileged Nominations in the Senate, by Michael

Greene. In specific relation to the November 2013 proceedings by which the Senate lowered the vote threshold for

invoking cloture on nominees other than those to the U.S. Supreme Court, see CRS Report R43331, Majority Cloture

for Nominations: Implications and the “Nuclear” Proceedings of November 21, 2013, by Valerie Heitshusen. In

relation to the Senate proceedings on April 6, 2017, that lowered the cloture vote threshold on nominees to the Supreme

Court, see CRS Report R44819, Senate Proceedings Establishing Majority Cloture for Supreme Court Nominations: In

Brief, by Valerie Heitshusen. In relation to procedures established in September 2025 for the consideration of certain

reported nominations en bloc, see CRS Report R48729, Consideration of Nominations En Bloc: Reinterpretation of

Senate Rules, by Michael Greene and Elizabeth Rybicki.

42 For more detail, see CRS Report 98-696, Resolving Legislative Differences in Congress: Conference Committees and

Amendments Between the Houses, by Elizabeth Rybicki. For a list of CRS reports that focus specifically on procedures

for resolving differences between the House and Senate, see https://www.crs.gov/iap/legislative-and-budget-process

(select “Resolving Bicameral Differences & Presidential Action” subissue).

43 Notably, the U.S. Constitution requires that any bill with revenue provisions must be a House bill. Therefore, such a

bill must eventually be in the form of a House measure (e.g., H.R.). See CRS Report R46558, The Origination Clause

of the U.S. Constitution: Interpretation and Enforcement, by James V. Saturno; and CRS Report R46556, BlueSlipping: Enforcing the Origination Clause in the House of Representatives, by James V. Saturno.

44 See CRS In Focus IF12855, Legislation: Engrossment, Enrollment, and Presentation, by R. Eric Petersen.

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In some cases, the second chamber instead decides to amend the first chamber’s bill.45 The

second chamber is often proposing, in effect, an alternative version of the bill, which may differ

from the bill in minor or substantial ways. In some circumstances, the alternative may even

embody a proposal on a different topic. Once the second chamber agrees to this proposed

alternative to the bill, it may send the proposal back to the first chamber for possible

consideration and a vote. The receiving chamber may also respond with a counterproposal, and so

on. This back-and-forth trading of proposals by the House and Senate is called amendments

between the houses (or amendment exchange, or sometimes simply ping-pong). For the bill to

have a chance of becoming law, one chamber must eventually agree to the proposal that the other

chamber sent it.

Sometimes, the resolution of differences between the House and Senate proposals may instead be

accomplished through a conference committee.46 A conference committee is a temporary

committee appointed in relation to a specific bill; its task is to negotiate a proposal that can be

agreed to by both chambers. Each conference committee is made up of Members of the House

and Members of the Senate—called conferees—who are drawn primarily from the standing

committee(s) with jurisdiction over the bill.47 Through a combination of informal negotiations

and formal meetings, the conferees try to hammer out a compromise, drawing on elements of the

competing proposals that were adopted by each chamber.48 If a proposal can garner the support of

a majority of the House conferees, and also separately, a majority of the Senate conferees, then

the negotiated proposal is embodied in a conference report.49 This conference report can then be

considered in one chamber, and, if agreed to, then considered in the other chamber. Regardless of

which chamber goes first, the conference report may be considered under the same procedures

used for other business, though it cannot be amended. Reaching a vote on a conference report in

the Senate may require a cloture process, and in the House, conference reports are typically

considered under a special rule. If the conference report is to become law, both chambers must

agree to it.

Presidential Action50

Once both chambers of Congress have each agreed to the bill in the same form, it is enrolled51—

that is, prepared in its final official form and then presented to the President. Beginning at

midnight on the closing of the day of presentment, the President has 10 days, excluding Sundays,

to sign or veto the bill. If the bill is signed in that 10-day period, it becomes law. If the President

45 See CRS Report 98-812, Amendments Between the Houses: A Brief Overview, by Elizabeth Rybicki and James V.

Saturno; and CRS Report R41003, Amendments Between the Houses: Procedural Options and Effects, by Elizabeth

Rybicki.

46 See CRS Report 96-708, Conference Committee and Related Procedures: An Introduction, by Elizabeth Rybicki.

47 See CRS Report RS20227, House Conferees: Selection, by Michael Greene; and CRS Report RS20219, House

Conferees: Restrictions on Their Authority, by Michael Greene; CRS Report 98-380, Senate Conferees: Their Selection

and Authority, by Elizabeth Rybicki; and CRS Report RS20209, Instructing Senate Conferees, by Michael Greene.

48 See CRS Report RS22733, Senate Rules Restricting the Content of Conference Reports, by Elizabeth Rybicki.

49 The conference report is also accompanied by a Joint Explanatory Statement (sometimes called simple a “statement

of managers”) that is printed with the conference report in the Congressional Record; it explains individual provisions

of the conference report in relation to the provisions in the House and Senate policy alternatives that were committee to

the conference committee for negotiation. See CRS Report 98-382, Conference Reports and Joint Explanatory

Statements, by Christopher M. Davis.

50 For more detail, see CRS Report RS22188, Regular Vetoes and Pocket Vetoes: In Brief, by Meghan M. Stuessy; and

CRS Infographic IG10007, Presentation of Legislation and the Veto Process, by Meghan M. Stuessy.

51 See CRS Report RL34480, Enrollment of Legislation: Relevant Congressional Procedures, by Valerie Heitshusen.

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declines to either sign or veto it—that is, he does not act on it in any way—then it becomes law

without his signature (except when Congress has adjourned under certain circumstances).52

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.53 If the vote is successful, the other chamber

then decides whether to attempt its own override vote; here, as well, a successful override vote

requires two-thirds of voting Members to agree. Only if both chambers vote to override does the

bill become law notwithstanding the President’s veto; successful overrides of a veto are rare.

Bills that are ultimately enacted are delivered to the Office of the Federal Register at the National

Archives, assigned a public law number, and included in the next edition of the United States

Statutes at Large.54

Author Information

Valerie Heitshusen

Specialist on Congress and the Legislative Process

Acknowledgments

The author thanks Richard S. Beth, Christopher M. Davis, Elizabeth Rybicki, and Jim Saturno for helpful

comments.

Disclaimer

This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan

shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and

under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other

than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in

connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not

subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in

its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or

material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to

copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

52 If the President declines to either sign or veto a bill, it would become law only if Congress has adjourned during the

10-day period after the measure had been presented to the President (thereby precluding the measure’s return to

Congress). This is termed a “pocket veto”; see CRS Report RS22188, Regular Vetoes and Pocket Vetoes: In Brief, by

Meghan M. Stuessy.

53 See CRS Report RS22654, Veto Override Procedure in the House and Senate, by Elizabeth Rybicki.

54 See CRS Report R45190, From Slip Law to United States Code: A Guide to Federal Statutes for Congressional

Offices, by Laura Deal.

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