Legislative branch
🇺🇸 Legislative Branch — Bills & Committees Study Notes
🔹 Bill Introduction & Committees
Bill Introduction — A bill can start in either the House or Senate (except tax bills, which start in the House). It must be introduced by a member.
Committee — A small group in Congress that studies, debates, and revises bills before they reach the floor for a vote.
Subcommittee — A smaller group within a committee that holds hearings, gathers expert testimony, and reviews specific details of a bill.
Pigeonhole — When a committee ignores or sets aside a bill so it never reaches the floor; the bill “dies in committee.”
Standing Committee — A permanent committee that handles bills on a specific topic (e.g. Education, Defense, Agriculture).
Select Committee — A temporary committee created for a special purpose (e.g. investigating scandals, emergencies).
Joint Committee — Includes members from both the House and Senate, usually to study or oversee certain issues.
Conference Committee — A temporary joint committee that resolves differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill.
House Rules Committee — The most powerful committee in the House; decides when and how long a bill will be debated on the floor.
🔹 Debate, Voting, and Passage
Floor Debate — When all members of the House or Senate discuss, amend, and vote on a bill.
Filibuster — A tactic in the Senate where a senator talks endlessly to delay or block a vote on a bill.
Cloture — The Senate vote (3/5 or 60 members) to end a filibuster and proceed to voting.
Rider — An unrelated amendment attached to a bill, often added to a bill likely to pass.
Quorum — The minimum number of members who must be present to conduct official business (majority of each house).
Companion Bill — A matching bill introduced in the other chamber (House ↔ Senate) so both versions move through Congress at the same time.
🔹 Presidential Action
Veto — The President’s power to reject a bill passed by Congress.
Override — Congress can override a presidential veto with a 2/3 vote in both houses.
Pocket Veto — When the President ignores a bill for 10 days while Congress is not in session — the bill dies.
Automatic Law — If the President takes no action for 10 days while Congress is in session, the bill automatically becomes law.
Line-Item Veto — The (now unconstitutional) power for a President to veto only specific parts of a bill.
🔹 Extra Key Concepts
Majority & Minority Leaders — Party leaders who organize their party’s legislative agenda in each house.
Speaker of the House — The most powerful person in the House; controls debate and committee assignments.
President of the Senate — The Vice President of the U.S.; only votes in case of a tie.
President Pro Tempore — Senior senator of the majority party who presides when the Vice President is absent.
Franking Privilege — Allows members of Congress to send mail to constituents for free using their signature.
🔹 Order: How a Bill Becomes a Law
Bill introduced in House or Senate
Sent to committee
Reviewed by subcommittee
Committee approves or pigeonholes
Sent to Rules Committee (House only)
Floor debate and vote
Sent to other chamber for same process
Conference Committee resolves differences
Final approval by both houses
Sent to President
Signs → becomes law
Vetoes → Congress may override (2/3 vote)
Ignores (10 days, Congress in session) → becomes law
Ignores (10 days, Congress adjourned) → pocket veto