Activity: How a Bill Becomes a Law

Part 1
Learn more about how a bill becomes a law at Bens Guide to U.S.
Government. Use this graphic organizer to take notes as you visit the
website and learn more on how a bill becomes a law.

House/Senate
Senate/House
Senator is recognized
by the presiding officer
and announces the bill
to the senate
Bill assigned to a
Senate committee,
where its examined
and either reported out
or tabled

Representative sponsors a
bill and introduces it by
placing it in the hopper or
giving it to the Clerk of the

Bill is assigned to a committee

to be examined and either
revised, released to be voted
on, or set aside

If reported out, goes to

the Senate floor for
voting, final vote
happens only when all
Goes to a conference
committee comprised
of members from both
houses to sort out any
differences between
houses, returns to
both houses for final
approval

If released, bill goes to

house calendar and
House Rules Committee
can decide on any
special provisions
Bill is signed by
speaker of the
house and the
Vice President,
then given to the
President who has
10 days to veto or
sign the bill
White House

Bill goes to House floor

for amending and
voting

Part 2
Tracking Legislation: Go to the Congress.gov website.
Select an issue and the current year. Look at the status of the bill. Note if
there are any issue groups also interested in this bill.

Questions:
Answer the following questions thoroughly. You may copy and paste these
questions into the assignment. The answers you provide, as always, should
be your original work.
1. What is the title of the bill?
No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act
of 2015
2. What is the bill about, in general?
Abortion
3. What is the status of the bill? (Is in still in committee? Did it become
law?)
After moving onto the Senate, the bill was read twice and then went to the
Committee on Finance. This happened on February 26th, 2015, since then
there has been no reported activity.
4. What Congress member sponsored the bill?
House: Representative Christopher H. Smith [R-NJ-4]
Senate: Senator Roger F. Wicker [R-MS]
5. How do you feel about the bill?
The argument for or against abortion ultimately comes down to personal
beliefs and morals. Personally, I am pro-choice and am therefore against this
bill. If this bill were to be made into law, it would deter people from having
abortions. Additionally, there would be people unable to afford abortions
without coverage of the costs through government provided health care and
therefore they would be forced to have the child. However, if the parents
were unable to afford abortion in the first place, they would likely have
difficulty providing for the child as the child grows. If they have the child,
taxpayer money would ultimately be used to support the family (since they
had such a low income that they could not afford abortion). Therefore, the

bill isnt even beneficial to taxpayers who can afford abortion or dont have
to worry about it for themselves.