A bill to provide for improvements to the rivers and harbors of the United States, to provide for the conservation and development of water and related resources, 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.

   This bill is here
3. 3
   Floor Vote

   The full chamber debates and votes on passage.

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.