The process of making in the Law in the US Congress is complicated, but here is a simplified description of the process. The US lawmaking body is the US Congress. This system is a bicameral system, which means a two house system. They are the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both the Senate and the House MUST agree to pass a law, and the President MUST agree to the law. Unless, in a special process, both houses must pass the bill by a majority of two/thirds of the members and the law is passed without the Presidents signature.
Any member of the Congress may introduce a proposed law – at that stage it’s called a bill. The Bill is sent to a committee of some of the members of the House or Senate where the bill is analyzed and discussed. If the committee agrees to the bill, it is passed to the full House or Senate where the process is debated and voted on. Once a bill passes the House or Senate, the remaining body (either the House, or the Senate) must agree to pass the exact same bill. In cases where the House and Senate pass different bills, they are sent to a Conference committee where the differences in the bills are deleted and then both the Senate and House vote on the exact same bill again. Once the President either signs the bill, or it is sent back to the House and Senate for a two/thirds vote, then the Bill actually becomes law. All these steps must be followed for a law to be written and put in place.
When one reads or hears a news item that “The House of Representatives passed a bill canceling an immigration program” or “The Senate passed AMNESTY” one should understand that NO LAW HAS BEEN PASSED, YET. NOTHING HAS HAPPENED, YET. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have to pass the exact same bill, and the President has to act upon it before a bill becomes law.
Current state of the Green Card Lottery
The House of Representatives has agreed on a bill which includes the cancellation of the program. However, as described above, there are still two steps (vote by the Senate, and an approval by the president) still have to take place in order to make it a law and actually cancel the program. There are many bills that are passed, but never complete their path to actually becoming a law – therefore they become meaningless. Therefore, do not be alarmed. Nothing has changed, yet, about the program.
