Recently LH has been expanded to cover all committee reports, not just reports associated with enacted legislation. Floor Debates A bill is sent to the floor for debate and a vote. The debates appear in the Congressional Record . A member's remarks are presented to him or her for review and possible modification. Some speeches printed in the Congressional Record are never spoken on the floor at all.
Roman type indicates remarks actually spoken on the floor.
The bill can be amended on the floor. Next in importance to committee reports are the statements in the Congressional Record . For the purpose of legislative history authority prepared statements tend to be accorded more weight than extemporaneous remarks, and explanations given by sponsors of floor amendments are usually considered of more consequence than statements made by other members. If it passes both chambers, it goes to the President for signing and gets a Public Law number. If the first chamber does not accept the amended bill, a conference committee consisting of members of both chambers is appointed, and if they can agree to a compromise bill, they issue a conference report, which is then voted on in both chambers.