The first step in the legislative process is the introduction of a bill to Congress.  Anyone can write it, but only members of Congress can introduce legislation.

After being introduced, a bill is referred to the appropriate committee for review. There are 17 Senate committees, with 70 subcommittees, and 23 House committees, with 104 subcommittees.  Each committee oversees a specific policy area, and the subcommittees take on more specialized policy areas.

A bill is first considered in a subcommittee, where it may be accepted, amended, or rejected entirely.  If the members of the subcommittee agree to move a bill forward, it is reported to the full committee, where the process is repeated again. Throughout this stage of the process, the committees and subcommittees call hearings to investigate the merits and flaws of the bill.

If the full committee votes to approve the bill, it is reported to the floor of the House or Senate, and the majority party leadership decides when to place the bill on the calendar for consideration.  If a bill is particularly pressing, it may be considered right away.

When the bill comes up for consideration, the House has a very structured debate process.  Once debate is over, the votes of a simple majority passes the bill.

A bill must pass both houses of Congress before it goes to the President for consideration.  Depending on where the bill originated, the final text is then enrolled by either the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate, and presented to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate for their signatures. The bill is then sent to the President.

When receiving a bill from Congress, the President has several options.  If the President agrees substantially with the bill, he or she may sign it into law, and the bill is then printed in the Statutes at Large.  If the President believes the law to be bad policy, he may veto it and send it back to Congress.  Congress may override the veto with a two-thirds vote of each chamber, at which point the bill becomes law and is printed.

There are two other options that the President may exercise.  If Congress is in session and the President takes no action within 10 days, the bill becomes law.  If Congress adjourns before 10 days are up and the President takes no action, then the bill dies and Congress may not vote to override.  This is called a pocket veto, and if Congress still wants to pass the legislation, they must begin the entire process anew.