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OVERVIEW OF THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS
	A brief overview of the legislative process is useful to better understand the documents that comprise a legislative history. The following is a list of the most common actions taken by Congress when acting on a piece of legislation.
		• A proposed piece of legislation is introduced as a bill (or a joint resolution) in either the House or the Senate. • After a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee (and perhaps then to a subcommittee.) The committee may amend the language of the bill in a process known as a markup. Ultimately, the committee will do one of the following: (1) recommend passage of the bill (in either its original or amended form), (2) give the bill an unfavorable report, or (3) take no action on the bill. • If the bill makes it out of committee, it is debated (and often amended) by the entire chamber in which it was introduced.. The bill will then be either passed or defeated. • If passed, the bill goes to the other chamber (House or Senate) to follow the same route through committees and floor debates. • Once both chambers have passed similar bills that are not exactly identical, a conference committee consisting of members from both bodies is formed to work out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. A compromise version of the bill from the conference committee is sent to each chamber for final approval. • After an identical bill is passed by both the House and the Senate, it is sent to the president, who either signs it into law or vetoes it and returns it to Congress. • Congress may override a presidential veto by a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers.
			FOR AN EXHAUSTIVE DISCUSSION OF HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW SEE: Charles W. Johnson, Parliamentarian, U.S. House of Representatives, How Our Laws Are Made, Revised and Updated January 31, 2000 <http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html> Richard J. McKinney and Ellen Sweet, "The Federal Legislative Process and Legislative History Documents" in Federal Legislative History Research: A Practitioner's Guide to Compiling the Documents and Sifting for Legislative Intent <http://www.llsdc.org/sourcebook/fed-leg-hist.htm>
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