JOINT RESOLUTIONS

 Joint resolutions may originate either in the House of Representatives or in the Senate There is little practical difference between a bill and a joint resolution and the two forms are often used interchangeably. One difference in form is that a joint resolution may include a preamble preceding the resolving clause. Statutes that have been initiated as bills have later been amended by a joint resolution and vice versa. Both are subject to the same procedure except for a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution.

When a joint resolution amending the Constitution is approved by two-thirds of both Houses, it is not presented to the President for approval. Following congressional approval, a joint resolution to amend the Constitution is sent directly to the Archivist of the United States for submission to the several states where ratification by the legislatures of three fourths of the states within the period of time prescribed in the joint resolution is necessary for the amendment to become part of the Constitution.

Joint resolutions, with the exception of proposed amendments to the Constitution, become law in the same manner as bills.

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