Congressional path
A legislative idea can appear in a hearing, bill introduction, committee markup, committee report, floor vote and action by the other chamber before it reaches a president. Each step generates a different source record and may change the text.
A hearing or press statement should therefore never be labelled “law” or “passed” without the supporting legislative record.
Agency path
An agency can hold roundtables, issue a request for information, publish a proposed rule, collect comments, issue a final rule and set an effective date. Staff statements and commissioner speeches can be valuable context but may not bind the Commission.
The SEC and CFTC have different statutory authorities and processes; the primary document tells readers which one applies.
How JAT displays the timeline
Policy Tracker cards show the authority, current stage, last action, next expected event and source link. The newsroom uses the same labels so a reader can move from a headline to the underlying process.