How a Bill Becomes a Law - Research Paper Example

In order for a bill to become law a number of steps have to be followed. The legislative process A bill can only be introduced by a member of Congress – House of Representative or the Senate. A number is assigned to each bill based on its origin. Bills which originate in the House of Representatives have H.R. affixed to them while those which originate in the Senate has S. affixed to them. This is an indication that the bill has been officially introduced (Longley n.d.). It is then printed by the Government Printing Office in the Congressional Record.

Bills are referred to one or more Houses based on their specific rules. The Speaker of the House of Representative or President of the Senate refers this Bill to various committees that have the responsibility of considering them. If the bill is approved by the committee it is then debated and voted on in the process of becoming law. Bills that are not acted on are deemed to have died in committee. The Bill is then reported to the House or Senate by the committee where it is initially read and amended where necessary and then read a second time.

The Bill is then read a third time when it is debated and voted on by members (Longley n.d.). . The respective House will enter the objection on their journal and start the process of reconsidering it. If two thirds of the house agrees to pass the bill after reconsideration then it should be sent along with the objections to the other House for reconsideration and the same process of approval be sought. If two thirds of the House approves the bill then it becomes law. There is also a requirement that the names of each person who votes for and against the bill be entered in the Journal of the respective Houses.

If the bill having passed to the President of the United States is not returned by the President within ten days, with the exception of Sundays, then the bill will become law as if it was signed by the President. However, if Congress is adjourned and in so doing prevents its return, then it does not become law even though the President has not sent any objections to Congress. Unless a different date is expressly specified a bill becomes law when it is approved by the President – signed and dated or by passage over the President’s veto.

The role of the judiciary The Judiciary plays a key role after the legislative process is completed. The judiciary is given the sole power of interpreting the law, determining its constitutionality and applying it to individual cases (The White House). As a branch of the government its foremost role is to defend and uphold the U.S. Constitution (Ladner 2000). It provides the framework in which the rights of investors are protected as in the case of different laws such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is provided by the court.

At every level, the role of the judiciary is to protect the