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:

“ Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States: If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.

Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.

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Contents

[edit] Summary

  • 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 may figuratively "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.

[edit] See also

[edit] References


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