Bill Status - An Explanation
Bills go through a complicated process before becoming laws. See this overview of how a bill becomes a law, courtesy of Project Vote Smart, or the detailed process, courtesy of THOMAS.
GovTrack's bill status pages list bills in one of the following categories.
- Introduced
- Bills start their life cycle in the Introduced phase. Introduced bills are immediately assigned to a committee for deliberation. Bills lettered H.R., H.Res., H.J.Res, and H.Con.Res. are House bills. They are considered by House committees and will be voted on in the House first. Bills lettered S., S.Res., S.J.Res, and S.Con.Res. are Senate bills. They are considered by Senate committees and will be voted on in the Senate first.
- Scheduled for Debate
- Once all of the committee's favorably release a bill, it is placed on one of the Senate or House calendars of business. It is labeled in this status at this point.
- Passed Senate / Failed House / etc.
- Once a bill has left committe, it may come to a vote in the chamber in which it was introduced. Bills voted on in their originating chamber are labeled with this status.
- Passed Senate, House / Passed House, Failed Senate / etc.
- Bills passed by their originating chamber move into the other chamber, where it may eventually come to a vote. Bills voted on by both chambers are labeled with this status.
- Sent to President
- After a bill is passed by both the House and Senate, a joint committee may combine the changes each chamber made to the bill. Once the joint committee is finished with the bill, the bill is sent to the President for approval. It is given this status at that time.
- Signed by President
- Once at the President's desk, a bill may be signed, vetoed, or ignored. If the President signs a bill, it is given this status and the bill is on its way to becoming law.
- Vetoed by President
- If the President vetoes bill, it is given this status, and the bill is sent back to Congress for an override.
- Veto Override Attempt
- If the originating chamber elects to attempt to override the President's veto, the bill moves into this status.
- Enacted as Law
- Whether the President signs a bill or its veto is overridden, the bill may then become law. Once it formally becomes law, the bill enters this final stage.
