Reading the status of a bill in the US Congress

Bill types and numbers

GovInfo lists eight types of bills and resolutions ¹. House bills are numbered H.R. and Senate bills S., in the order of introduction from the start of each Congress ¹. Public bills affect the general public, and private bills affect individuals and organizations, such as claims against the Government ¹.

Version codes show the last formal step

Each printed version records a point in the process ¹. Reading the latest version code is a quick check on how far a bill has moved.

• IH or IS: introduced, as formally presented to a clerk ¹.
• RCH or RCS: reference change, re-referred to a different or additional committee ¹.
• CDH or CDS: committee discharged, made available for floor consideration ¹.
• PCH or PCS: placed on one of the five House calendars or two Senate calendars ¹.
• EH: engrossed, certified by the Clerk of the House before it goes to the Senate ¹.
• RDS: received in the Senate from the House ¹.
• IPH or IPS: indefinitely postponed, with no date set to continue ¹.
• LTH or LTS: laid on the table, which disposes of a measure finally and adversely without a direct vote on its substance ¹.
• ENR: enrolled, the final official copy passed by both chambers in identical form ¹.

Calendars are not a schedule

Once a committee reports a bill, it goes on a chamber calendar ². The Congressional Research Service (CRS) describes the calendars as a list of bills eligible for floor consideration, with no guarantee of it ². Many will never be brought up during a two-year Congress ².

In the House, most bills that get floor time pass under suspension of the rules ². That limits debate to 40 minutes, bars floor amendments and needs two-thirds of Members voting ². In the Senate, a bill usually comes up by unanimous consent or by a motion to proceed ².

Presentment, veto and pocket veto

Every bill passed by both chambers must be presented to the President ⁵. The President has 10 days, excluding Sundays, to sign or veto ². A vetoed bill becomes law only if two-thirds of each chamber vote to override ^2,5.

If the President does not return a bill within ten days, it becomes law as if signed, except where Congress by adjournment prevents its return ⁵. CRS calls that case a pocket veto ². A record that shows presented to the President with no later entry is still in this window or awaiting an update.

From signature to public law number

After the President signs, the law goes to the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) at the National Archives ³. The OFR assigns a law number and, for public laws, a statutory citation, and prepares a slip law ³. Until the slip law is published, the text is found in the enrolled bill ³. A slip law is competent evidence in all state and federal courts under 1 U.S.C. 113 ³.

Public law citations give the Congress number and the law number, for example Pub.L. 107-006 ³. Private laws get their statutory citation when published in the Statutes at Large ³.