What happens if the House and Senate approve similar but not identical bills?

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 

Bills are prefixed with H.R. when introduced in the House and S. when introduced in the Senate, and they are followed by a number based on the order in which they are introduced. The vast majority of legislative proposals are in the form of bills. Bills deal with domestic and foreign issues and programs, and they also appropriate money to various government agencies and programs.

Public bills pertain to matters that affect the general public or classes of citizens, while private bills affect just certain individuals and organizations.

A private bill provides benefits to specified individuals (including corporate bodies). Individuals sometimes request relief through private legislation when administrative or legal remedies are exhausted. Many private bills deal with immigration–granting citizenship or permanent residency. Private bills may also be introduced for individuals who have claims against the government, veterans' benefits claims, claims for military decorations, or taxation problems. The title of a private bill usually begins with the phrase, "For the relief of. . . ." if a private bill is passed in identical form by both houses of Congress and is signed by the president, it becomes a private law.

When bills are passed in identical form by both Chambers of Congress and signed by the president (or repassed by Congress over a presidential veto), they become laws.

Joint resolutions are designated H.J. Res. or S.J. Res. and are followed by a number. Like a bill, a joint resolution requires the approval of both Chambers in identical form and the president's signature to become law. There is no real difference between a joint resolution and a bill. The joint resolution is generally used for continuing or emergency appropriations. Joint resolutions are also used for proposing amendments to the Constitution; such resolutions must be approved by two-thirds of both Chambers and three-fourths of the states, but do not require the president's signature to become part of the Constitution.

Concurrent resolutions, which are designated H.Con.Res. or S.Con.Res., and followed by a number, must be passed in the same form by both houses, but they do not require the signature of the president and do not have the force of law. Concurrent resolutions are generally used to make or amend rules that apply to both houses. They are also used to express the sentiments of both of the houses. For example, a concurrent resolution is used to set the time of Congress' adjournment. It may also be used by Congress to convey congratulations to another country on the anniversary of its independence. Another important use of the concurrent resolution is for the annual congressional budget resolution, which sets Congress' revenue and spending goals for the upcoming fiscal year.

Simple resolutions are designated H.Res. and S.Res., followed by a number. A simple resolution addresses matters entirely within the prerogative of one house, such as revising the standing rules of one Chamber. Simple resolutions are also used to express the sentiments of a single house, such as offering condolences to the family of a deceased member of Congress, or it may give "advice" on foreign policy or other executive business. Simple resolutions do not require the approval of the other house nor the signature of the president, and they do not have the force of law.

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