Q&A on the News

Q:

If the U.S. Senate passes a bill, does the U.S. Constitution not require that the U.S. House check out the bill? — Hoke Kimball, Atlanta

A: According to Article I of the Constitution, a bill cannot become a law unless it is first passed in identical form by both houses of Congress, and then signed into law by the president of the United States.

So, a bill that has passed the Senate will be sent to the House for consideration — and vice versa — but that doesn’t mean it will always pass in the other chamber.

When a bill is introduced in the Senate, it is assigned to a committee, which considers the legislation, holds hearings and marks up the bill. A bill that doesn’t get committee approval is said to die in committee, but if the committee reports on it favorably, the bill moves to the full Senate for debate and a vote.

Upon passage, the Senate sends its bill to the other side of the Capitol. According to congress.gov, most of the time, the second chamber — in this case, the House — “simply agrees to the exact text passed by the first chamber,” and Congress’ action on the bill is then complete.

However, the Senate’s bill may be assigned to a House committee, which could amend it or propose an alternative version. If the House alters the bill in any way, then typically a conference committee made up of House and Senate members must work out differences between the two versions and send one final bill to both chambers. The conference bill must be approved by both the House and Senate before it can be sent to the president.

Q&A on the News runs Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404222-2002 or email q&a@ajc. com (include name, phone and city).