The process of bills becoming laws is a detailed procedure with many steps. As many as 10,000 bills or proposed laws, are introduced in the House and Senate during one term of Congress and fewer than ten percent of those bills become laws. Without this process, our society would have no rules or regulations. This process is an important part of our government that ensures our freedom and liberty.
Bills are born in the executive branch from business, labor, agriculture, and other pressure groups that often draft bills. Other bills, or the ideas and inspirations for them, come from private citizens. The Constitution states, "all bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other bills." Because of this clause, most bills are introduced in the House and then passed on to the Senate. Only members can introduce bills in the House. This is done so by dropping them into the "hopper", a large box hanging on the edge of the clerk's desk.
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