Non-English translations are not official government translations.
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Create a Bill Friend
Watch the video and use the resource below to make a bill. Take a look, gather your supplies, and let’s create a Capitol-themed craft together.
An example of a bill
Vocabulary Words
Legislature: A group of people with the power to make laws. In the United States that group of people is called Congress.
Committee: A group of congressional members who work together to review bills.
Majority: The most or a greater number.
What is a bill?
A bill is the first step in the process of an idea becoming a law. Congress writes and passes bills. Then bills may become a law. This is known as the Legislative Process.
Congress meets in the U.S. Capitol
Who writes bills and laws?
Congress is our national legislature. It is made up of two groups of elected people who serve in the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are 100 members in the Senate and 435 members in the House of Representatives. The Senate and House work together to pass laws.
President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act of 1965
How do bills become laws?
A bill goes through many steps before becoming a law, and its journey can start in the House or the Senate. Once a bill is sponsored by a Member of Congress, it is sent to a committee. The committee passes the bill or does not. If passed, the bill is then sent to the full House or Senate. If both the House and the Senate vote to make the bill a law, it is sent to the president, who may then sign it into law.
Many cartoonists have drawn bills as human-like characters on a journey
Why does the United States have this legislative process?
This process prevents any one person from passing a law all by themselves. All members of Congress can propose new ideas. They then work with other members of Congress to turn that idea into a bill, and a bill into a law.
Take a sock and cut just above the ankle portion. Use the top half for the bill body.
Fold a pipe cleaner in half to create the legs. Then fold the two ends 90 degrees to make the feet.
Turn the sock inside out. Place your pipe cleaner legs inside the sock (like a sleeping bag) so that the feet hang out the bottom, and the
top folded point of the legs is hanging out of the top of the sock.
Gather the sock material around the top of the pipe cleaner legs, and tie an elastic band around both. Use 3 to 4 rubber bands to secure.
Pull the sock right-side out so that the legs are visible at the bottom and the rubber-banded area is now on the inside.
Fill the sock with stuffing and secure the top of the sock with 3 to 4 rubber bands.
To create the hands, fold the very end of a pipe cleaner into a small “W” shape. Then fold the pipe cleaner around one of the middle “V” points. This will help lock in the first fingers. Repeat folds and wrapping until you have four fingers.
Repeat step 7 to create the other hand and arm.
Place one arm in the front of the bill body and the other behind. Twist the pipe cleaners together around the body of your bill sculpture. Once completed, the arms should be attached to each other with the body in the middle.
Wrap a ribbon around the pipe cleaner hugging the body of your sculpture so it looks like a belt.
Glue on googly eyes and a pom-pom for the nose. Or draw a face with a marker.
To create a nametag, use a quarter to trace a circle on a piece of cardstock paper. Then draw a long rectangle coming out of the circle to make a foldable tab.
Decorate the nametag. For example, it can read “Bill” “Law” or “Constitution.”
Once your nametag is decorated, fold over the rectangle tab and hook it behind the belt you created in step 11. Then glue in place.
