Civics Question: Stimulus Bill

[Jean in Newcastle]

Those of you with a better Civics understanding than me, please help educate me (and Slache who originally asked me this question):

My understanding is that bills go through Congress (made up of House and Senate) before going to the President to sign. . This bill has gone through and passed the House but is now in the Senate.  But the Senate is making their own version? 

Question:  if the Senate passes their version does it go back to the House?  Does there have to be a consensus on both branches of Congress before it goes to the President?

I would appreciate if we kept this a Civics thread.  I just want to understand the process and not debate the bill itself or politics. 

[DoraBora]

The new (or altered from the House version) Senate bill returns to the House.  If the House approves the Senate version, it will go to the president for his signature.  (Both chambers must vote to approve the same version of a bill before it goes to the White House.)

ETA:  Approval in both chambers requires a simple majority.  

Edited March 25, 2020 by DoraBora

[EmseB]

ETA: I may have read the news wrong!

Yes, it has to pass both houses before it goes to the president

Edited March 25, 2020 by EmseB

[HeartString]

There is also a process called reconciliation that a bill can go through to iron out differences.  

[Slache]

But spending bills are supposed to originate in the House and the Senate is making their own relief bill. Isn't that against the rules?

[Jean in Newcastle]

2 minutes ago, Slache said:

But spending bills are supposed to originate in the House and the Senate is making their own relief bill. Isn't that against the rules?

My understanding (correct me if I'm wrong, people!) is that it did originate in the House.  But when it reached the Senate, the Senate decided to write their own version.  That's what people are saying would then have to go back to the House or to reconciliation (which I read online is a committee made up of both House and Senate members). 

https://lucas.house.gov/legislative-work/how-bill-becomes-law

[Slache]

Just now, Jean in Newcastle said:

My understanding (correct me if I'm wrong, people!) is that it did originate in the House.  But when it reached the Senate, the Senate decided to write their own version.  That's what people are saying would then have to go back to the House or to reconciliation (which I read online is a committee made up of both House and Senate members). 

https://lucas.house.gov/legislative-work/how-bill-becomes-law

See, I don't think this is true, which is my problem. Someone fix this!

[DoraBora]

 

16 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

My understanding (correct me if I'm wrong, people!) is that it did originate in the House.  But when it reached the Senate, the Senate decided to write their own version.  That's what people are saying would then have to go back to the House or to reconciliation (which I read online is a committee made up of both House and Senate members). 

https://lucas.house.gov/legislative-work/how-bill-becomes-law

 

14 minutes ago, Slache said:

See, I don't think this is true, which is my problem. Someone fix this!

(Slache: I'm not sure what you mean.)

I think the Senate is currently working on the House bill that was passed a week or so ago.  As usual, there has been a lot of wrangling because members of both chambers have strong differences of opinion about where the money should go.  By the time a stimulus bill passes the Senate, it may look very different from the House version.

[Slache]

7 minutes ago, DoraBora said:

(Slache: I'm not sure what you mean.)

I think the Senate is currently working on the House bill that was passed a week or so ago.  As usual, there has been a lot of wrangling because members of both chambers have strong differences of opinion about where the money should go.  By the time a stimulus bill passes the Senate, it may look very different from the House version.

Ok. I keep hearing it referred to as the Senate bill and now with Pelosi making her own I assumed the House hadn't made one. I don't normally follow politics (that's hubby's job, but he's been busy) but some things in this caught my attention and it didn't make sense.

Thank you.

[Sherry in OH]

When a bill passes the House and goes to the Senate it is assigned a Senate bill number.  Usually the bill will be assigned to a committee.  This committee or a subcommittee may decide to modify the House Bill or it may ignore the bill and write an entirely new bill.  It is rare for a bill to pass the Senate looking exactly as it did when it passed House.  The two bills must be identical, so usually a  Conference Committee is formed.  Selected members of the House and Senate work out a compromise bill.  This bill is presented to and voted on by both the House and Senate. If it passes it is sent to the president.   

As a side note It is tradition that budgetary bills begin in the House rather than a requirement.  In several of the government shutdown years of the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Senate voted on their versions of budget bills and sent them to the House because the House bills had stalled in committee.

Edited March 25, 2020 by Sherry in OH