<P> The use of the conference committee process has steadily declined in recent decades . 67 conference reports were produced as recently as the 104th Congress (1995 - 96), falling to just 3 conference reports in the 113th Congress (2013 - 14). </P> <P> Conference committees operate after the House and the Senate have passed different versions of a bill . Conference committees exist to draft a compromise bill that both houses can accept . Both houses of Congress must eventually pass identical legislation for the bill to be presented to the President . The two houses can reach that point through the process of amendments between Houses, where the House passes the Senate bill with a House amendment, or vice versa, but this process can be cumbersome . Thus, some bills pass both Houses through the use of a conference committee . </P> <P> After one house passes a bill, the second house often passes the same bill, with an amendment representing the second house's work product . The second house then sends a message to the first house, asking the first house to concur with the second house's amendment . If the first house does not like the second house's amendment, then the first house can disagree with the amendment of the second house, request a conference, appoint conferees, and send a message to that effect to the second house . The second house then insists on its amendment, agrees to a conference, and appoints conferees . </P> <P> Each house determines the number of conferees from its house . The number of conferees need not be equal . To conclude its business, a majority of both House and Senate delegations to the conference must indicate their approval by signing the conference report . </P>

After a bill passes in the house or senate it then goes where