Presentment Clause

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Article I, Section 7, Clauses 2 & 3 of the United States Constitution, known as the Presentment Clause, outlines how a bill may become law. It states:

• The bill must be passed in identical form in both the House and Senate and signed by the President
• A 2/3 vote on behalf of both Houses is required to override a Presidential veto
• If while Congress is in session the President does not sign a bill or veto it within 10 days (not counting Sundays) of its issuance, it automatically becomes law
• While Congress is adjourned the president may "pocket veto" any bill. In this case he/(she) may figuratively (or literally) "put the bill in his pocket", unsigned. A "pocket veto" cannot be overridden by Congress, and the President may hold the bill indefinitely, never passing it into law.

[edit] Case law

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Clinton v. City of New York (1998) that a line-item veto, as authorized in the Line Item Veto Act of 1996, violated the Presentment clause.

Presidential Signing Statements may be forbidden by the presentment cause by extension of the existing Supreme Court decision that a line item veto violates the presentment clause. A case deciding this is not currently before the court.

[edit] References

• U.S. Senate: Constitution of the United States

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