In order for a bill to move on in the legislative process, it must be passed in identical form by both the House and the Senate. If the two houses cannot reconcile their differences on a bill, it cannot be considered further and it dies.

Conference Committees

Because similar but not identical bills are frequently passed by the House and the Senate, the Congress has established a mechanism for resolving House-Senate differences without starting the process all over again. When similar bills are passed by both houses, they are referred to a special, temporary “Conference Committee,” comprised of members of both houses and of both parties. Members on Conference Committees are charged with working out the differences between the two versions of the bill and creating a compromise version which is then sent back to each house for a vote. At this stage in the process, no amendments are allowed. The full membership of the House and Senate must simply choose to accept or reject the Conference Committee’s “Report,” which details the compromise version of the bill. If the report is accepted, the bill is forwarded to the president. If not, the bill is dead.