The legislative process as outlined in the United States Constitution is deceptively simple. The legislative process as actually practiced can be mind-numbingly long and complex. This paper will examine how federal laws are enacted and the role played by each of the three branches in that process, following the route taken by H.R. 3103, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Among other things, the Act allowed employees to maintain their employer-provided health insurance after leaving their jobs, permitted the creation of deductible Medical Savings Accounts (MSA) for self-employed and individuals employed by small businesses, and raised the deductibility of health insurance premiums for the self-employed.
H.R. 3103 came into existence on March 18, 1996, when it was proposed by Representative Bill Archer. House members can propose a bill simply by dropping the draft of the law into a box called the ôhopper.ö Once introduced, the bill receives a number, preceded by ôH.R.ö to signify that the legislation originated in the House of Representatives. The numbering begins at 1 after Congress has been installed. For example, H.R. 3103 was the 3,103rd bill proposed in the House of Representatives during the 104th Congress, which ran from January of 1995 until the end of 1996.
Senators introduce bills by submitting them to the Senate Clerk or via a speech on the floor of the Senate. Such proposals also receive a number, preceded by ôSö to signify that the bill originated in the Senate. Any member of either chamber may propose legislation concerning any matter except for bills to raise revenue, which may only originate in the House of Representatives (United States Constitution, Article I, Section 7).
The Constitution delineates what Congress can and cannot do, but the question of how to conduct business is largely left to the legislative bodies themselves. ôEach House may determine the...