Why House and Senate Deadlines Look Different

If you’ve noticed that the legislative deadlines of the House and Senate don’t line up, there’s a simple reason: the two chambers use different committee structures.

 

Before a bill can be voted on by the full House or full Senate, it must first pass through a committee. In the House, most bills are heard in a Policy Committee and then must go through an additional step, an Oversight Committee, before they can be considered by the full House. Because of this extra committee layer, the House must set its Policy Committee deadline earlier in the session. Each policy bill must have enough time to move through both the Policy and Oversight Committees before reaching the full chamber for a vote.

 

In the Senate, bills usually move from a policy committee directly to the full Senate for consideration (unless they are assigned to Appropriations). Since there is no separate oversight committee step, the Senate committee deadline can happen later.

 

Even though the paths are different, both the House and Senate share the same deadlines for floor votes. Here’s how the key dates compare: