Legislative Process for the House | Legislative Process for the Senate
How Our Law is Made | Making Law | See Figure

To better understand how our Congressional leadership can influence the policies of the aviation industry, here is a synopsis on how an idea becomes law.

The process starts with an idea, developed by a person or group. The idea is then marketed around Washington to find a sponsor in the U.S. House of Representative and/or U.S. Senate. Depending on which member sponsors the idea it is introduced onto the floor of the House or Senate.

For example, if a representative of the House sponsors the idea, it is introduced onto the floor of the House. The Speaker of the House assigns the bill to the appropriate House committee fo review, at which time a hearing on the topic is held. Once the bill has been reviewed and testimonies are heard:

Once the bill is released to the House, it is placed on the House calendar. When the time comes, the bill then goes to the floor of the House for a complete reading of the bill as well as a vote. The bill is passed if a simple majority (218 of 435) votes for it, then it heads to the Senate.

In the Senate, the bill is assigned to the appropriate committee for a review, where hearings may be held. The bill could then be passed on to the Senate where:

If the bill is released to the Senate, it goes to the floor for consideration, bills are voted on based on the order that they come in, unless they are identified as urgent and pushed ahead by the leaders of the majority party. A simple majority (51 of 100) will pass a bill in the Senate. (Senate calendar)

If the bill passed in the Senate is different from the bill passed in the House, the bill then moves onto a conference committee, which is made up of members from both the House and Senate. This committee finds a compromise bill from both versions that were passed. The revised bill then goes back to the House and Senate for a vote.

Once passed, the bill is then signed by the Speaker of the House and the Vice President and forwarded to the President for consideration. The President can then sign the bill into law or veto it. If the bill is vetoed, it can then be sent back to the Senate and House, where they could override the veto by having both houses approve the bill with a two-thirds majority vote.