2. What is a bill? How does a bill become a law? a) in Great Britain b) in the USA

Britain

New legislation in Britain usually starts in the House of Lords. In each house
a bill is considered in three stages, called readings. The first reading is

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purely formajj to introduce the bill. The second reading is usuertrj? the
occasion for debate. After the second reading the bill is examihedj ia detail
by a committee. ' ^ t<^ ^v

Thef bill is then returned to one of the houses for the report
stage, when it can be attended/ ilf passed after its third reading, it goes to
the other house. Amendments made to a bill by the House of Lords must be
considered by the Commons. If the House of Commons does not agree, the bill is
altered and sent bask to the Lords. In the event of "persistent
disagreement between the two houses, Commons prevails. *

Finally, the bill goes to the reigning monarch for the royal assent Nowadays
the royal assent is merely a formality. In theory the queen could still refuse
her consent, but the last monarch to use this power was Queen Anne, who vetoed
the unpopular Scottish Militia Bill in 1707.

United States

The US Congress, the lawmaking arm of the federal government, consists of two
houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Any congressman in either
house, or the president, may initiate new legislation.

The proposed legislation, or bill, is first introduced in the House of
Representatives, then referred to one of the standing committees, which
organizes hearings on it and may approve, amend or shelve the draft. If the
committee passes the bill, it is considered by the House of Representatives as
a whole. If passed there, it goes to the Senate for a similar sequence of
committee hearings and general debate.

In cases of disagreement, the House of Representatives and the Senate confer
together. Once passed by the Senate as a whole, the bill has to be examined by
two more standing committees - the Committee on House Administration and the
Senate Committee on Rules and Administration - and is then signed by the
speaker of the House and by the president of the Senate.

Finally, it must be signed by the president, who has the right to veto it. If
the president vetoes a bill, it can still become a law - but only if it is
passed by a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress.