Submission

• A bill is submitted, or introduced, in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. The bill must pass the legislative chamber in which it is submitted by a majority vote.
  
  

Committees

• Before being voted on by the entire House or Senate, bills are frequently sent to specific committees for preliminary review. If the bill fails to get the committee's approval, it will not be voted on by the full chamber.
  
  

The Second House

• Once the bill passes the chamber in which it was introduced, it goes to the second for approval. The entire approval process is repeated in the second house. A bill must pass both chambers before it can become a law.
  
  

Conference

• If both houses pass the bill with changes, the bill will go to a conference committee including members of both chambers to reconcile the differences. If the conference committee cannot craft a version of the bill to which both houses agree, the bill dies. Both chambers must pass the exact same version of the bill.
  
  

Presidential Signature

• Once the bill passes both houses, it goes to the president for his signature. The president may sign the bill into law or ignore it. If he ignores it for more than 10 days, and there are more than 10 days left in the congressional session, the bill automatically becomes law.
  
  

Veto

• The president can reject a bill by vetoing it. Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds majority vote in each chamber, but gathering that much support is often impossible. If fewer than 10 days remain before Congress adjourns, the president may "pocket veto" the bill by ignoring it.