1. Congress is required by the Constitution to assemble on the first Monday in December of each year. It may, by a law duly made to that effect, change that time, but no permanent change has ever been made. As soon after that time as a quorum of its members, which the Constitution declares shall be a majority of each House, has assembled each House proceeds to the election of officers (which, however, is done only every other year,) and the arrangement of its committees, and it is ready for work. 2. As soon as the organization is ascertained to be complete the other House of Congress and the President are informed of the fact, after which propositions, or bills as they are called, of new laws, or repeals or revisals of old ones are entertained. Of these there is never any lack. They are taken up in regular order, referred to an appropriate committee for examination, a report is in due time made by the committee, discussed at such length as the members see cause for, in a regular manner,[416] and finally are voted on. Sometimes, if the members are not satisfied with the information presented on some point or points, they return them to the committee with instructions to investigate further, and make another report; sometimes they “lay them on the table,” that is, put them aside for future action; or they accept, amend, or change them to meet their views, and then accept or reject them altogether.
3. When a bill has reached a vote and been accepted by the House in which it originated, it is sent to the other House, by which it is taken up, referred to a committee, usually passing through substantially the same course and form of consideration as in the first case, laid aside, amended, accepted or rejected according to circumstances, and returned to the former House. If it is accepted by both they then send it to the President, who carefully considers it. If it meets his approbation, he signs and returns it to Congress, and it becomes the Law of the Land, and all to whom it refers are bound to obey it, it being the duty of the President to see that it is enforced. It is called an “Act of Congress,” because it is the proper exercise of its law making authority, and because all such laws are preceded by the clause, “Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled.”
4. If the President does not think it a suitable law, and is unwilling to assume the responsibility of signing it, he returns it to Congress, with his reasons for not doing so. If Congress is not satisfied with these reasons it may take another vote on it, and if the members in its favor amount to two-thirds of each House, it becomes a law without the signature of the President. This power of the President to decline to sign a law of Congress is called his “Veto.” Sometimes it is carried over the veto, and sometimes it fails for lack of the requisite number in its favor.
5. The larger part of Congressional laws are passed in this way, which is the regular Parliamentary form; but sometimes its authority is expressed by a Resolution instead of a bill.[417] This is a kind of informal way of passing a law, though it usually takes that form because of the peculiar character of the subject of the Resolution; as an amendment to the Constitution would be com............