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How Our Laws are Made

This is an official U.S. Government publication, as ordered by the U.S. House of Representatives. It is sold by the Government Printing Office and is intended to be an outline of the numerous steps involved in the Federal lawmaking process, from an idea for a legislative proposal through its final passage as a statute.

Because the large majority of our laws originate in the House of Representatives - and all tax laws are required to originate there - this discussion is directed principally to the procedures in that body.

These files are HTML files, and were obtained from the THOMAS web site at the Library of Congress.

HOW OUR LAWS ARE MADE: Revised and Updated by Charles W. Johnson, Parliamentarian, United States House of Representatives, November 12, 1997
ENTIRE DOCUMENT Plain Text (177K)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

    Foreword
  1. Introduction
  2. The Congress
  3. Sources of Legislation
  4. Forms of Congressional Action
  5. Introduction and Reference to Committee
  6. Consideration by Committee
  7. Reported Bills
  8. Legislative Oversight by Standing Committees
  9. Calendars
  10. Obtaining Consideration of Measures
  11. Consideration and Debate
  12. Congressional Budget Process
  13. Engrossment and Message to Senate
  14. Senate Action
  15. Final Action on Amended Bill
  16. Bill Originating in Senate
  17. Enrollment
  18. Presidential Action
  19. Publication
  20. Appendix:

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