From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms
Original Bill
A bill drafted by a committee and introduced by its chair when the committee reports the measure back to its chamber. It is not referred back to the committee after introduction. The Senate allows all committees to report original bills; the House generally allows only the Appropriations Committee to do so.
It is introduced by the committee or subcommittee chairman after the committee votes to report it, and it is placed directly on the Senate’s Calendar of Business. Allowing a full-text substitute to be considered as an original bill is usually done to permit second-degree amendments to be offered.
Schoolhouse Rock: America – I’m Just a Bill Music Video
A Senate committee may report an original bill that embodies a text agreed to in markup. This new bill is given its own number when it is reported or called up or at another time after committee action has been completed. Reporting an original bill avoids separate floor votes on the changes adopted in markup.
More
- Chapter 2. Introduction of Legislation; Chapter 3.G. Reporting Legislation to the Floor; in Congressional Procedure
- Bills
- Marking Up A Bill
- Markup
- “House Committee Markups: Manual of Procedures and Procedural Strategies,” CRS Report R41083 (220-page PDF
) - “Sponsorship and Cosponsorship of Senate Bills,” CRS Report 98-279 (8-page PDF)
- “Senate Rules Affecting Committees,” CRS Report 98-311 (13-page PDF)
- “The Senate’s ‘Calendar of Business’,” CRS Report 98-429 (6-page PDF)
- “A Retrospective of House Rules Changes Since the 110th Congress,” CRS Report R42395 (88-page PDF)
- “The Amending Process in the House of Representatives,” CRS Report 98-995 (49-page PDF)
- “The Amending Process in the Senate,” CRS Report 98-853 (38-page PDF)
- “Introducing a Senate Bill or Resolution,” CRS Report R44195 (11-page PDF)
- “Introducing a House Bill or Resolution,” CRS Report R44001 (13-page PDF)
- “Amendments in the House: Types and Forms,” CRS Report 98-613 (7-page PDF)
Courses
- Congressional Operations Briefing – Capitol Hill Workshop
- Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments
- Writing for Government and Business: Critical Thinking and Writing
- Custom Training
- Congressional Operations Poster, with Federal Budget Process Flowchart
- Federal Budgeting, a Five-Course series on CD
- Congress, the Legislative Process, and the Fundamentals of Lawmaking Series, a Nine-Course series on CD
Publications
The Federal Budget Process 2E |
Pocket Constitution |
Citizen’s Handbook to Influencing Elected Officials: A Guide for Citizen Lobbyists and Grassroots Advocates |
Congressional Procedure |
CongressionalGlossary.com, from TheCapitol.Net
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