Supporting a Return of Federal Parole: How You Can Help! Federal Parole Overview Read and Sign Online Petition Download Petition Petición En línea De la Muestra Descargue una Petición Española Petition Signature Totals Talking Points For the latest information on Congressional Bills, visit Thomas Pages at the United States Library of Congress. Learn More About Guideline Sentencing Learn More About Parole, Read Citizen Proposals, and Review Congressional Bills

How Federal Laws are Passed

A draft of a 'Bill' (proposed legislation in either the House of Representatives or the Senate) can originate from a variety of sources. Primary among these is the idea and draft conceived by a Congressional Member or Delegate, and the 'Executive Communication', usually in the form of a memo from the U.S. President or members of his cabinet. In addition, a Member's constituents, either individually or as a citizen group, may offer proposed legislation. Once a Bill is introduced, it winds its way through the U.S. Congress according to the following chart . . .

For a more detailed analysis, you may also download "How Laws Are Made", by Charles W. Johnson, Parliamentarian of the US House of Representatives (Adobe Acrobat PDF format).

Just for Kids - Ben's Guide to U.S. Government: How Laws Are Made; from the U.S. Government Printing Office.

For more information on the Legislative process, visit the U.S. Senate at www.senate.gov, the U.S. House of Representatives at www.house.gov, and the Thomas Legislative pages of the Library of Congress at thomas.loc.gov.