STEP 1 SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES PROPOSE BILL.

A proposed law is called a bill. Any member of Congress may propose (introduce) a bill. A bill is introduced in each house of Congress. The House of Representatives and the Senate consider a bill separately. A member of Congress who introduces a bill is known as the bill's sponsor. Bills to raise money always begin in the House of Representatives.

STEP 2 HOUSE AND SENATE COMMITTEES CONSIDER THE BILL

The bill is then sent to appropriate committees for consideration. A bill relating to agriculture, for example, would be sent to the agriculture committees in the House and in the Senate. A committee is made up of a small number of members of the House or Senate. Whichever party has a majority in the House or Senate has a majority on each committee. When committees are considering a bill, they hold hearings at which people can speak for or against it.

STEP 3 COMMITTEES VOTE ON THE BILL.

The committees can change the bill as they see fit. Then they vote on it.

STEP 4 THE BILL IS DEBATED IN THE HOUSE AND SENATE.

If the committees vote in favor of the bill, it goes to the full House and Senate, where it is debated and may be changed further. The House and Senate can then vote on it.

STEP 5 FROM HOUSE AND SENATE TO CONFERENCE COMMITTEE.

If the House and the Senate pass different versions of the same bill, the bill must go to a conference committee, where differences between the two versions must be worked out. A conference committee is a special committee made up of both Senate and House members.

STEP 6 FINAL VOTE IN THE HOUSE AND SENATE.

The House and the Senate then vote on the conference committee version. In order for this version to become a law, it must be approved by a majority of members of both houses of Congress and signed by the president.

STEP 7 THE PRESIDENT SIGNS THE BILL INTO LAW.

If the bill passes both houses of Congress, it goes to the president for his signature. Once the president signs a bill, it becomes law.

STEP 8 WHAT IF THE PRESIDENT DOESN'T SIGN IT?

Sometimes the president does not approve of a bill and decides not to sign it. This is called vetoing it. A bill that has been vetoed goes back to Congress, where the members can vote again. If the House and the Senate pass the bill with a two-thirds majority vote, it becomes law. This is called overriding the veto.