Providing for consideration of the Senate Amendments to the bill (H.R. 3081) making appropriations for the Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes.

How a Bill Becomes a Law

The typical path from introduction to law. Every bill's actual journey (above) may skip steps or stop early — most never make it past committee.

1. 1
   Introduced

   A member files the bill in the House or Senate.

2. 2
   Committee Review

   Referred to committee for hearings, markup, and a vote to advance it.

3. 3
   Floor Vote

   The full chamber debates and votes on passage.

   Stalled here — this resolution type doesn't go to the president
4. 4
   Second Chamber

   If passed, it repeats committee review and a floor vote in the other chamber.

5. 5
   Resolve Differences

   If the chambers pass different versions, a conference reconciles them.

6. 6
   Sent to President

   The reconciled bill is enrolled and delivered to the White House.

7. 7
   Signed or Vetoed

   Becomes law with a signature, or automatically after 10 days.

   ✓ Becomes Law ✗ Vetoed

A veto can still be overridden by a two-thirds vote in both chambers. And once a bill is signed into law, further changes come from new amending legislation — not edits to the original text.