A bill is a proposed law that must clear several procedural hurdles before it can take effect. The legislative process begins when a member of the House of Representatives or the Senate introduces a bill, which then moves through several stages. Sometimes it reaches the finish line and becomes law; other times, it dies. Along the way, people might often say a bill has been “moved,” “passed,” or “killed.” Here’s what those words mean.
A bill moves when Congress advances it to another stage of the legislative process. For example, a bill moves when it’s referred to a committee or reported out of one. It can also move when it’s passed by one chamber of Congress and sent to the other, or when it’s sent to the president after it passes both chambers.
A passed bill can mean a couple of different things. A bill is passed when one chamber votes in favor of it and sends it to the other chamber for debate and a vote. But for a bill to pass Congress, both chambers must approve the same bill with identical text. If the House and Senate pass different versions, they may negotiate a compromise, often through a conference committee. Even after a negotiated compromise, each chamber must still approve the same text before it can go to the president.
The president can sign the enrolled bill into law or veto it. If the president doesn’t sign it after 10 days (excluding Sundays), the bill automatically becomes law, provided Congress remains in session. If Congress is not in session, the bill does not automatically become law. Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds vote in each the House and the Senate, but this rarely happens.
A bill can be killed or “die” at almost any point. It can die because a committee never holds a hearing or a vote, because congressional leaders never schedule it, or because it is voted down in committee or on the floor. It can also die if the House and Senate cannot agree on a final version, if the president vetoes it and Congress cannot override the veto, or if the two-year Congress ends before the bill is enacted – in which case, it generally must be introduced again in the next Congress.
