What may be formed to reconcile the differences in the House and Senate versions of the same bill?

Democratic leadership in both the House and Senate are going through the budget reconciliation process in order to deliver urgently needed COVID-19 relief to families. We know that this process is lengthy and can drag out even further if the two chambers pass significantly different reconciliation bills. The process to resolve those differences to create one identical bill before it can pass in both the Senate and House is called a Conference Committee.

What is a Conference Committee?

The Constitution requires that both the House and Senate agree to identical legislative text before it is sent to the president for a signature. That means that whenever the Senate and the House pass two different versions of a bill, those differences must be resolved, and then the consensus bill (known as the “conference report”) must be passed again by both chambers before it can go to the president for signature.

Therefore, a conference committee is a temporary, bicameral (House and Senate) committee established to resolve differences between two versions of a bill. During this process, Republican and Democratic members of the House and Senate (appointed by the majority leadership of both chambers) work through differences and then send a final product back to each chamber. Once the conference report comes back to the House and Senate for approval, it cannot be amended. It is an “up or down” vote—meaning take it or leave it—in each chamber.

Conference vs. Standing Committee Procedure Hearings

The process for standing committees is different from the process for conference committees. Standing committees usually hold public hearings to receive testimony from experts and other affected parties to figure out how best to craft a policy. Conference committees, however, move directly into working out differences between the House and Senate-passed versions of the legislation after appointing members of the conference committees (called conferees). While conference committee meetings are also supposed to be open, the committee can vote to hold meetings behind closed doors, and often does.

Standing committees will hold markups, a process in which permanent committee members make changes to a proposed bill. During this process (and floor consideration if permitted), the committee still determines the scope of the legislation. But conference committees are composed of both House and Senate members temporarily appointed to resolve differences between two pieces of legislation within an existing scope of policies. 

Committee Jurisdiction and Conferees

When a bill is introduced in either chamber of Congress (House or Senate), it is referred to different committees depending on what the bill proposes to do. These are called committees of jurisdiction. Conferees are generally members of the committee(s) of jurisdiction for the bill under consideration. But conference committees also include members of leadership for both chambers as a means of advancing the political and policy priorities of each. (Note: Even though the conference committee includes minority party members, they can effectively be excluded from the meetings, and their votes are not needed to adopt the conference report.)

“Resolving Differences”

This is something we’ve touched on a bit, but is important to understanding the scope of a conference committee’s work. The rules state that the conference committee is permitted to establish a compromise and modify language within “the limits of the disagreement.” That means if there is no mention of a policy in either bill, adding new policy language is not permissible under the rules of the conference committee (since differences cannot exist between something that did not exist originally). Only “germane” modifications, which are related to the differences between the two bills, are allowed during conference. Items that are fair game to be considered during conference committee are often called “conferenceable.”

Points of Order

A member of either chamber who believes a rule has been violated may raise a point of order. This can include an objection to the inclusion of a policy in the conference report that is not germane. Conferees generally avoid including language that would be subject to a point of order, but that is not always the case.

What About Reconciliation?

Reconciliation rules still apply to the conference report. If a provision in the conference report is in violation of the Byrd rule, then a point of order can be raised against the conference report. This provides limitations for conferees in terms of what can ultimately be included in the final agreement.

Glossary

Conferee: a member of the conference committee

Conference report: the final version of a bill negotiated by the House and Senate in a conference committee after passing separately in each chamber

Germane modification: directly relevant change to an existing difference between House- and Senate-passed legislation considered during a conference committee

Point of order: an objection raised to signify the violation of a rule of the chamber

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 5

Introduced by Representatives
Manuel Jose "Mannix" M. Dalipe and Marcelino C. Libanan

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

PROVIDING FOR THE LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR FOR THE FIRST REGULAR SESSION OF THE NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINES

RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THE SENATE CONCURRING, That the Legislative Calendar for the First Regular Session of the Nineteenth Congress of the Philippines shall be as follows:

CALENDAR OF SESSION
FIRST REGULAR SESSION

Any member of Congress – either from the Senate or the House or Representatives – who has an idea for a law can draft a bill. These ideas come from the Congress members themselves or from everyday citizens and advocacy groups. The primary Congress member supporting the bill is called the "sponsor". The other members who support the bill are called "co-sponsors".

Step 2: The bill is introduced

Once the bill is drafted, it must be introduced. If a Representative is the sponsor, the bill is introduced in the House. If a Senator is the sponsor, the bill is introduced in the Senate. Once a bill is introduced, it can be found on Congress.gov, which is the official government website that tracks federal legislation.

Step 3: The bill goes to committee

As soon as a bill is introduced, it is referred to a committee. Both the House and Senate have various committees composed of groups of Congress members who are particularly interested in different topics such as health or international affairs. When a bill is in the hands of the committee, it is carefully examined and its chances of passage by the entire Congress are determined. The committee may even choose to hold hearings to better understand the implications of the bill. Hearings allow the views of the executive branch, experts, other public officials and supporters, and opponents of the legislation to be put on the record. If the committee does not act on a bill, the bill is considered to be "dead".

Step 4: Subcommittee review of the bill

Subcommittees are organized under committees and have further specialization on a certain topic. Often, committees refer bills to a subcommittee for study and their own hearings. The subcommittee may make changes to the bill and must vote to refer a bill back to the full committee.

Step 5: Committee mark up of the bill

When the hearings and subcommittee review are completed, the committee will meet to "mark up" the bill. They make changes and amendments prior to recommending the bill to the "floor". If a committee votes not to report legislation to the full chamber of Congress, the bill dies. If the committee votes in favor of the bill, it is reported to the floor. This procedure is called "ordering a bill reported".

Step 6: Voting by the full chamber on the bill

Once the bill reaches the floor, there is additional debate and members of the full chamber vote to approve any amendments. The bill is then passed or defeated by the members voting.

Step 7: Referral of the bill to the other chamber

When the House or Senate passes a bill, it is referred to the other chamber, where it usually follows the same route through committees and finally to the floor. This chamber may approve the bill as received, reject it, ignore it or change it. Congress may form a conference committee to resolve or reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill. If the conference committee is unable to reach an agreement, the bill dies. If an agreement is reached, the committee members prepare a conference report with recommendations for the final bill. Both the House and Senate must vote to approve the conference report.

Step 8: The bill goes to the president

After both the House and Senate have approved a bill in identical form, the bill is sent to the President. If the President approves of the legislation, it is signed and becomes law. If the President takes no action for ten days while Congress is in session, the bill automatically becomes law. If the President opposes the bill, they may veto the bill. In addition, if no action is taken for 10 days and Congress has already adjourned, there is a "pocket veto" .

Step 9: Overriding a veto

If the President vetoes a bill, Congress may attempt to override the veto. If both the Senate and the House pass the bill by a two-thirds majority, the President's veto is overruled, and the bill becomes a law.

Many terms above are adapted from Congress.gov. See the full list of legislative terms.