Congress passes legislation, subject to judicial review, with specific topics limited by a constitution. Bills can be introduced by a single representative or a group, and evaluated by committees. Passage by the entire congress is required, with the ability to override a veto. Acts vary in scope and meaning, from establishing the Treasury to creating minor holidays.
Any bill that has been considered by a congress and then passed into law is an act of congress. The United States Congress passes legislation which is then approved or vetoed by the executive branch. Other congresses, in other countries, have different specific procedures for constructing, evaluating and passing legislation. A congressional act is often subject to judicial review, and the specific topics addressed by each piece of legislation are usually limited by a constitution or similar foundational document.
In a typical legislature, a single elected representative has the authority to introduce a bill for consideration. In many cases, however, a group of lawmakers will jointly create and introduce a bill to increase its chances of success. In some cases, citizens or the executive also have the option of introducing legislation for consideration.
Once a piece of legislation has been introduced, it will typically be evaluated by a subset of the entire congress. In the US Congress, each house has a number of committees. These committees each have responsibility for one or more areas of legislative activity, and legislation destined to become a congressional act will typically emerge from a committee, where it will be considered and often amended as the committee members see fit.
Formal passage of a piece of legislation by the entire congress, including passage in each affected seat, is the next step in passing a congressional bill. In some cases, the executive branch may attempt to veto a piece of legislation, but most congresses have the ability to override a veto if enough lawmakers agree to do so. Judicial review, such as that done by the US Supreme Court, can overturn or amend an act of Congress after passage.
Individual acts of Congress vary widely in scope and meaning, as some examples from the United States Congress demonstrate. A single act established the United States Treasury. Major economic programs, such as Social Security, can be implemented by a single act of Congress as long as they are not found to violate the United States Constitution.
In other cases, a congressional act may have a very limited or purely symbolic function. Some acts of Congress have created minor holidays or honored small groups of people without making significant changes to the legal code. In other cases, a congressional act may pertain to a single project in only one state or region.
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