Once both chambers have passed a bill, a conference committee of members from both chambers is formed to work out the differences between the two versions of the bill. Finally, the compromise version from the conference is sent to each chamber for final approval. If approved by both, it is sent to the President who can either sign it into law, or veto it and return it to Congress. Congress may override a veto by a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers. It that occurs, the bill becomes law without the President's signature.
Most bills are killed in committees without any further actions, so they never become law.
A legislative history is the process of tracing a bill from introduction in Congress to its becoming a law. The print sources for tracing the legislative process can be found in depository libraries, such as the Purchase College Library. Non-depository libraries can also find some of the essential government publications through the Internet. The following are the sites that are helpful in locating these types of information. Legislative Information on the Internet Contains texts of bills from 1973 to the current Congress.