The right of legislative initiative belongs to both houses of Congress. The Article 1, Section 8 provides that Congress may issue all laws that will be necessary and appropriate to bring its powers and all other powers granted by the Constitution to the United States Government or to any department or officer thereof. However, financial bills can come only from the lower house of Congress, and the Senate can only amend them. Each bill passed by both houses of Congress, before becoming a law, is submitted for signature to the president, who can veto it within 10 days after that. The president’s ban is suspensive and is overcome by the repeated adoption of the bill by both houses of Congress by a qualified majority. If the president does not approve the bill, he will return it with his objections to the chamber from which it proceeds. This chamber puts in full the objections of the president in its journal and begins to re-examine the bill. If after consideration the bill is adopted by two-thirds of the votes of the chamber, then it is sent along with the objections of the President to another chamber, which also considers it again. If it approves the bill with two-thirds of the vote, then it becomes law. With a veto, the president holds back Congress. It is one of the tools included in the mechanism of the system of “checks and balances”. As it is known, the US Constitution was based on the principle of separation of powers, backed up by this system. The authors of this system set a goal to create such a mechanism within which each of the branches of government would have the opportunity to neutralize the usurpation attempts of the other.
Currently, the legislative procedure has become more advanced. All bills must pass three readings. Only congressmen have the right to directly initiate a bill, as before. The bill can be presented by both a member of the House of Representatives and a senator. For this, a member of the House drops the bill in a special box at the rostrum, and the senator passes it to the Secretary of the Senate or represents it himself.
First reading. After submission, the Senate Secretary reads out the title of the bill, appoints a committee to review it, and sends the bill there.
Second reading. Before the discussion in the chamber, the project is read out in full. During the discussion (debate), deputies are given the right to propose amendments to the bill. The rules of the chambers contain separate requirements restricting the introduction of amendments, both “torpedoing” bills and unreasonably delaying their consideration in time. The right to amend in both houses can only be granted to members of those committees that have substantive competence in the bill. Amendments are included in the draft text if approved by a majority vote of the members present.
Third reading: At this stage, amendments to the text of the bill are not allowed, unless otherwise established by the chamber unanimously. Prior to voting on the bill as a whole, it can be sent back to the standing committee. After printing and third reading, the bill is put to a vote.
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