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U.S. Legislative Procedure

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The Process | Research and Tracking | Federal Budget

The Process

How Our Laws are Made
Parliamentarian, U.S. House of Representatives. June 30, 2003. The Constitution allows each house of Congress to determine the rules of its proceedings. The 23rd edition of this brochure aids in understanding the exceedingly complex and evolving legislative process--much of it unique to each House of Congress.
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html

Enactment of a Law
U.S. Senate.
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/common/briefing/Enactment_law.htm

Guide to Senate Legislative Process
Congressional Research Service
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/common/briefing/Senate_legislative_process.htm

How a Senate Bill Becomes a Law - Flowchart
U.S. Senate. This flow chart provides a visualization of the legislative process within the United States Senate.
http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/legprocessflowchart.pdf

House and Senate Rules of Procedure: A Comparison
Congressional Research Service, April 19, 2001.
http://www.house.gov/rules/rl30945.pdf

Learning About the Legislative Process
U.S. Senate. A description of the legislative process, with more detailed analysis of specific aspects of the process.
http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/lps12426/www.senate.gov/learning/learn_process_summary.html

The Legislative Process - Tying it All Together
U.S. House of Representatives. A brief overview of the legislative process.
http://www.house.gov/ Tying_it_all.html

Legislative Procedure in Congress: Basic Sources for Congressional Staff
Congressional Research Service, updated August 28, 2003.
http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/laws/legproc/rs21363.pdf

Research and Tracking

Federal Statutes: What They Are and How to Find Them
Congressional Research Service, January 2001
http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/laws/legproc/fstatute.pdf

Tracking Current Federal Legislation and Regulations: A Guide to Basic Sources
Congressional Research Service, updated February 15, 2000.
http://www.house.gov/rules/98-461.pdf

Questions and Answers in Legislative and Regulatory Research
Law Librarian's Society of Washington, DC, updated October 2004.
http://www.llsdc.org/sourcebook/legis-Q-and-A.htm

Federal Budget

A Brief Introduction to the Federal Budget Process
Congressional Research Service
http://www.house.gov/rules/96-912.htm

The Annual Budget Process
http://www.house.gov/rules_bud/annual.htm

The Appropriations Process
U.S. House of Representatives. Rules Committee. A primer on the appropriations process, which provides federal agencies legal authority to incur obligations and the Treasury Department authority to make payments for designated purposes.
http://www.house.gov/rules/approps_proc.htm

The Basic Stages of the Budget Process
U.S. House of Representatives. Rules Committee. A brief description of the five stages of the budget process.
http://www.house.gov/rules/budget_stages.htm

The Budget Process and the Budget Resolution
U.S. House of Representatives. Rules Committee. A primer on the the budget process and the budget resolution, including the timetable of the budget process.
http://www.house.gov/rules/bud_procres.htm

The Budget Reconciliation Process
U.S. House of Representatives. Rules Committee. A primer on the budget reconciliation process, whereby Congress issues directives to legislate policy changes in mandatory spending (entitlements) or revenue programs (tax laws) to achieve the goals in spending and revenue contemplated by the budget resolution.
http://www.house.gov/rules/bud_rec_proc.htm

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