Reading Comprehension · Civics
How a Bill Becomes a Law
A civics reading lesson about how an idea moves from a citizen’s suggestion to a sponsored bill, through committees and both chambers of Congress, and onto the President’s desk to become a law.
Subject
Reading Comprehension
Grade Level
Grades 4–7
Format
Lesson + Printable PDF
Access
Full Member
From Idea to Bill
America is run by many rules. These rules are called laws. There are thousands of laws — some that affect only specific cities or states, and others that affect the entire country. Laws are not just chosen and made by one person. The government has developed a long, careful process to turn an idea into a law. Every law that is passed in the United States must travel through this process before it takes effect.
Laws begin as an idea. Anyone has the ability to create an idea that could later become a law. Once a person has an idea, they tell other people about it. The idea will not have a chance of becoming a law until someone tells the right people. If you have a great idea and want it to become a law, the best person to tell is a member of Congress — either a senator or a representative.
If the congressperson likes your idea well enough, they will sponsor it. This means they will work to get other lawmakers interested in turning the idea into a law. Once the congressperson sponsors your idea, it officially becomes a bill. The bill is sent to a specific committee that deals with the type of issue your bill addresses — such as education, health, or transportation. The committee reviews the bill carefully and votes on whether it should move forward.
Through Congress and to the President
If the committee votes in favor, the bill moves to the full House of Representatives. There, all 435 representatives have a chance to read the bill, debate it, and vote on it. If a majority of representatives vote yes, the bill passes the House and is sent to the Senate. If the bill does not get enough votes, it can be sent back to the committee to be rewritten — or it can be abandoned, in which case it will never become a law.
When the bill arrives in the Senate, it goes to the appropriate Senate committee for review. If that committee approves it, the bill is sent to the full Senate, where all 100 senators may discuss and debate the bill. The Senate also requires more than half the votes — at least 51 senators — to pass the bill. If both the House and the Senate pass the bill in the same form, the bill is sent to the President of the United States.
The President can either sign the bill or refuse to sign it. If the President signs the bill, it officially becomes a law. If the President does not approve of the bill, they can veto it, which sends the bill back to Congress without becoming a law. Congress can override a veto, but only by a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate. The full path from idea to law looks like this: idea → sponsored by a congressperson → bill → committee vote → House of Representatives → Senate committee → full Senate → President → law.
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