Procedures of the United States Congress
The provision was intended to prevent one house from thwarting legislative business simply by refusing to meet.
Joint sessions of the United States Congress occur on special occasions that require a concurrent resolution from both House and Senate.
These sessions include the counting of electoral votes following a Presidential election and the President's State of the Union address.
Thomas Jefferson discontinued the original practice of delivering the speech in person before both houses of Congress, deeming it too monarchical.
[citation needed] Congressional lobbyists are legally required to be registered in a central database.
Drafting statutes is an art that requires "great skill, knowledge, and experience.
"[2] Congressional committees sometimes draft bills after studies and hearings covering periods of a year or more.
[2] Any member of Congress may introduce legislation at any time while the House[clarification needed] is in session by placing it in the hopper on the Clerk's desk.
There is little practical difference between the two, except that joint resolutions may include preambles but bills may not.
Joint resolutions are the normal method used to propose a constitutional amendment or to declare war.
Instead, they serve to express the opinion of Congress, or to regulate procedure.Bills may be introduced by any member of either house.
However, whenever the Senate originates an appropriations bill, the House simply refuses to consider it, thereby settling the dispute in practice.
Nevertheless, while the Senate cannot originate revenue and appropriation bills, it does retain the power to amend or reject them.
The first stage involves consideration by a committee which often seeks input from relevant departments as well as requests feedback from the Government Accountability Office.
[8] Most legislation is considered by standing committees, each of which has jurisdiction over a particular subject matter, such as Agriculture or Appropriations.
[6] Consideration of a bill requires, itself, a rule which is a simple resolution hammering out the particulars of debate–time limits, possibility of further amendments, and such.
[6] One mechanism Congress uses to work within revenue constraints is called the reconciliation process which is a multiple step way to keep new budgets within the bounds of existing ones.
[7] In many cases, conference committees have introduced substantial changes to bills and added unrequested spending, significantly departing from both the House and Senate versions.
President Ronald Reagan once quipped, "If an orange and an apple went into conference consultations, it might come out a pear.
"[12] If both houses agree to the version reported by the conference committee, the bill passes; otherwise, it fails.
In such a case, the bill only becomes law if each house of Congress votes to override the veto with a two-thirds majority.
In such a case, the Constitution states that the bill automatically becomes law after ten days, excluding Sundays, unless Congress is adjourned during this period.
