Making laws
must-pass bill
Legislation with a hard deadline and unacceptable consequences for failing: spending bills, the debt limit, the defense authorization, farm and aviation bills.
In full
Must-pass vehicles attract unrelated provisions, because attaching something to a bill that cannot fail is easier than passing it alone. Watching what rides on them is one of the more reliable ways to see what Congress is doing that would not survive a standalone vote, and the reason the text of a spending bill repays reading.
Where to go next
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Browse every term in the glossary, or see the vocabulary in motion in the How government works walkthroughs.
A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.