[House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures of the House]
[Chapter 57. Veto of Bills]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
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CHAPTER 57 - VETO OF BILLS
HOUSE PRACTICE
Sec. 1. In General; Veto Messages
Sec. 2. House Action on Vetoed Bills
Sec. 3. -- Consideration as Privileged
Sec. 4. -- Motions in Order
Sec. 5. -- Debate
Sec. 6. -- Voting; Disposition of Bill
Sec. 7. Pocket Vetoes
Sec. 8. Line Item Veto Authority
Research References
U.S. Const. art. I Sec. 7
4 Hinds Sec. Sec. 3520-3552
7 Cannon Sec. Sec. 1094-1115
Deschler Ch 24 Sec. Sec. 17-23
Manual Sec. Sec. 104, 107-109, 112-114, 1130(6B)
Sec. 1 . In General; Veto Messages
Generally
The authority for the President to disapprove, or veto, a bill is
spelled out in article I, section 7 of the Constitution. The same
clause addresses the process by which the Congress can override a veto
and enact a measure into law.
The President has a 10-day period in which to approve or
disapprove a bill. He can sign the bill into law or he can return it
to the House of its origination with a veto message detailing why he
chooses not to sign. If he fails to give his approval by affixing his
signature during that period, the bill will become law automatically,
without his signature. However, in very limited circumstances the
President may, by withholding his signature, effect a ``pocket veto.''
If before the end of a 10-day signing period the Congress adjourns
sine die and thereby prevents the return of the bill, the bill does
not become law if the President has taken no action regarding it. At
this stage, the bill can become a law only if the President signs it.
Deschler Ch 24 Sec. 17. For a discussion of pocket vetoes, see Sec. 7,
infra.
The 10-day period given the President under the Constitution in
which to approve or reject a bill begins at midnight at the close of
the day on
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which the bill is presented to him. The day on which the bill is
presented to the President is not counted in the computation, and
Sundays also are excluded. Deschler Ch 24 Sec. 17.1
Under the usual practice, bills are considered to have been
``presented to the President'' when they are delivered to the White
House. However, bills delivered to the White House while the President
was abroad have been held by the White House, under arrangements
agreed to with the presenting House, for presentation to the President
upon his return to the United States. Manual Sec. 105.
When the President exercises his veto authority, he returns the
enrollment with a sealed message setting forth his objections. An
enrolled House bill returned to the Clerk during a recess with a
``memorandum of disapproval'' setting forth the objections of the
President has been treated by the House as a return veto. Manual
Sec. 107.
Sec. 2 . House Action on Vetoed Bills
The Speaker lays a veto message before the House on the day it is
received. Deschler Ch 24 Sec. 20.1. It is then read and entered in the
Journal. Manual Sec. 108. The Speaker then announces:
The objections of the President will be spread at large upon the
Journal and the message and bill will be printed as a House
document.
When the message is laid before the House, the question on passage
is considered as pending. No motion from the floor to reconsider the
bill is necessary. 7 Cannon Sec. Sec. 1097-1099. If the House does not
wish to proceed immediately to reconsider the bill, the motions to lay
on the table, to postpone consideration to a day certain, or to refer
to committee are available. See Sec. 4, infra. Under rule XVI clause
4, and under the precedents, the motion for the previous question
takes precedence over a motion to postpone or to refer when a question
is under debate. However, where the Speaker has laid before the House
a veto message from the President but has not yet stated the question
to be on overriding the veto, that question is not ``under debate''
and the motion for the previous question does not take precedence.
Manual Sec. 108. If the House wishes to proceed to the consideration
of the message and address the question of passing the bill over the
President's veto, it can defeat any preferential motion that is
offered and proceed to the main question.
If no preferential motion is offered, the Chair then states the
question as follows:
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The pending question is whether the House will, on
reconsideration, pass the bill, the objections of the President to
the contrary notwithstanding.
Sec. 3 . -- Consideration as Privileged
The consideration of a veto message from the President is a matter
of high privilege and may interrupt consideration of a pending matter
(such as a conference report) if the previous question has not been
ordered on that matter. 95-2, Oct. 5, 1978, p 33704. Although its
consideration may be postponed to a day certain, it remains highly
privileged and becomes the unfinished business on that day. Deschler
Ch 24 Sec. Sec. 22.1, 22.2. A vetoed bill may be laid on the table.
However, because it is still highly privileged, a motion to take it
from the table is in order at any time. Manual Sec. 108; 4 Hinds
Sec. 3550; 5 Hinds Sec. 5439; 7 Cannon Sec. 1105. If a veto message is
referred to committee, a motion to discharge the committee from
further consideration of the message also is highly privileged. 4
Hinds Sec. 3532.
A vetoed bill received in the House from the Senate is considered
as if received directly from the President and supersedes the regular
order of business. Manual Sec. 107; 4 Hinds Sec. 3537; 7 Cannon
Sec. 1109. The privilege accorded vetoed bills does not extend to a
bill reported in lieu of a vetoed bill. 4 Hinds Sec. 3531; 7 Cannon
Sec. 1103.
Although highly privileged, the consideration of a vetoed bill
yields to:
Unfinished business from the preceding day with the previous
question ordered. 8 Cannon Sec. 2693.
A matter being considered as a question privileged under the
Constitution, such as a contested election. 5 Hinds Sec. 6642.
A motion to adjourn. 4 Hinds Sec. 3523.
Sec. 4 . -- Motions in Order
Generally
The mandate under article I, section 7 of the Constitution, that
the House ``shall . . . proceed to reconsider'' a vetoed bill, means
that the House considers it under the rules of the House, with the
ordinary motions under the House rules available. Manual Sec. 108. The
motions to lay the bill on the table, to postpone to a day certain,
and to refer take precedence in the order named over the question of
reconsideration of passage, the objections of the President to the
contrary notwithstanding, until the previous question is ordered. A
Member may not move the previous question on the question of
reconsideration where the Chair has not yet stated the question
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to be pending on overriding the veto. Manual Sec. 108; see also 7
Cannon Sec. 1105.
Postponement
Although the House often takes immediate action on a veto message
from the President, the consideration of the message may be postponed
to a day certain by unanimous consent or by motion. 4 Hinds
Sec. Sec. 3542-3547; Deschler Ch 24 Sec. 21.9. Such a postponement is
not in violation of the constitutional requirement that the House
``shall . . . proceed to reconsider'' a vetoed bill. Manual Sec. 108.
The postponement has been for as long as eight months and into the
next session of the same Congress. 99-1, Dec. 17, 1985, p 37477. The
motion to postpone further consideration of a veto message is
debatable for one hour. Manual Sec. 108.
When consideration of a veto message is postponed to a day
certain, it becomes unfinished business on that day. Deschler Ch 24
Sec. 22.1. At that time, the veto message may be voted on, tabled,
referred to committee, or again postponed as the House determines.
Manual Sec. 108.
Referral to Committee
A veto message from the President may be referred to a committee
by unanimous consent or by motion. 4 Hinds Sec. 3550; Deschler Ch 24
Sec. 21.5. Such a referral is in order in the House even on a bill
that the Senate has already passed over the President's veto. 94-2,
Jan. 26, 1976, p 874.
A motion to refer a veto message to committee takes precedence
over the question of reconsideration. 7 Cannon Sec. 1100. However,
although the ordinary motion to refer may be applied to a vetoed bill,
the motion is not in order pending the demand for the previous
question or after it is ordered on the constitutional question of
reconsideration. 7 Cannon Sec. 1102.
Discharge of Committee
A motion to discharge a committee from the consideration of a
vetoed bill is privileged. 4 Hinds Sec. 3532. Under the modern
practice, such motion is debatable under the hour rule. Manual
Sec. 108. The motion is renewable every legislative day,
notwithstanding the tabling of a prior motion. 100-2, Aug. 10, 1988, p
21589. If a motion to discharge is agreed to, the veto message is
pending as unfinished business. Manual Sec. 108.
Sec. 5 . -- Debate
Debate on the question of overriding the President's veto of a
bill is under the hour rule. Deschler Ch 24 Sec. 22.7. The previous
question may be moved by the manager at any time during the debate.
Deschler Ch 24
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Sec. 22.9. The Chair normally recognizes the chairman of the committee
or subcommittee that managed the bill to control the debate on the
veto message.
Sec. 6 . -- Voting; Disposition of Bill
Under article I, section 7 of the Constitution, a vetoed bill
becomes law when it is reconsidered and passed by the requisite two-
thirds vote in each House. The two-thirds vote required to pass the
bill is two-thirds of the Members voting, a quorum being present, and
not two-thirds of the total membership of the House. 4 Hinds
Sec. Sec. 3537, 3538; 7 Cannon Sec. 1111. Section 7 further requires
that the vote on passage of a bill over the President's veto must be
by the yeas and nays. Deschler Ch 24 Sec. 22.10.
The motion to reconsider is not in order on the vote on the
question of overriding a veto. 5 Hinds Sec. 5644; 8 Cannon Sec. 2778.
When a vetoed House bill is reconsidered and passed in the House,
the House sends the bill and veto message to the Senate and informs
that body that it passed by the constitutional two-thirds vote. When
the House fails to pass a bill over the President's veto, the bill and
veto message are referred to committee, and the Senate is informed of
the action of the House. Deschler Ch 24 Sec. 23.
Sec. 7 . Pocket Vetoes
Generally; Use After Final Adjournment
Under the Constitution, if the President neither signs nor returns
a bill within 10 days (Sundays excepted), it becomes law as if he had
signed it, unless Congress by its adjournment ``prevents its return.''
U.S. Const. art. I, Sec. 7. The President is said to ``pocket veto'' a
bill where he takes no action on the bill during the 10-day period and
where the Congress adjourns sine die before the expiration of that
time in such a manner as to prevent the return of the bill to the
originating House. Manual Sec. 112; Deschler Ch 24 Sec. 18; The Pocket
Veto Case, 279 U.S. 655, 680 (1929) (dicta).
A constitutional debate still lingers with respect to the
conditions under which the President may exercise his pocket veto
authority during other types of adjournment of a Congress. The
executive and legislative branches have sometimes held different
perspectives with respect to the conditions surrounding an adjournment
and their impact on the return of a bill disapproved by the President.
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During Intersession Adjournments
The Supreme Court has held that the President's return of a bill
to the originating House was prevented when the Congress adjourned its
first session sine die fewer than 10 days after presenting the bill to
him for his approval. Because neither House was in session to receive
the bill, the President was prevented from returning it, and a pocket
veto was upheld. The Pocket Veto Case, 279 U.S. 655 (1929). A more
recent appellate court decision held that the return of a bill during
an adjournment between sessions was not prevented within the meaning
of the Constitution where the originating House had appointed an agent
for the receipt of Presidential veto messages. The decision further
stated that the validity of a pocket veto is governed not by the type
or length of adjournment but by whether the conditions of the
adjournment impede the actual return of the bill. Barnes v. Kline, 759
F.2d 21 (D.C. Cir. 1985), vacated as moot, Burke v. Barnes, 479 U.S.
361 (1987). As part of the concurrent resolution providing for the
sine die adjournment of the first session, the Congress has affirmed
its position that an intersession adjournment does not prevent the
return of a bill where the Clerk and the Secretary of the Senate are
authorized to receive messages during the adjournment. Manual
Sec. 113. Under rule II clause 2(h), the Clerk is authorized to
receive messages from the President at any time that the House is not
in session. Manual Sec. 652. When the second session of the 101st
Congress convened, the House asserted its right to reconsider a bill
returned with a Presidential ``memorandum of disapproval'' received
during the sine die adjournment. Manual Sec. 113; 101-2, Jan. 23,
1990, p 3.
During Intrasession Adjournments
An adjournment of Congress during a session does not prevent the
President from returning a bill he disapproves, as long as appropriate
arrangements are made by the originating House for the receipt of
Presidential messages during the adjournment. Thus, it has been held
that a Senate bill cannot be pocket vetoed by the President during an
``intrasession'' adjournment of Congress for more than three days to a
day certain, where the Secretary of the Senate has been authorized to
receive Presidential messages during such adjournment. Kennedy v.
Sampson, 511 F.2d 430 (D.C. Cir. 1974); see also Kennedy v. Jones, 412
F. Supp. 353 (D.D.C. 1976). The Supreme Court has held that the
adjournment of the House of origin for a period not exceeding three
days while the other House of the Congress remained in session, does
not prevent the return of a vetoed bill to the House of origin. Wright
v. United States, 302 U.S. 583 (1938).
In one instance the House and Senate reconsidered and passed a
bill that was ostensibly pocket vetoed during an intrasession
adjournment. The
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Administrator of General Services at the Archives (now Archivist),
upon receiving instructions from the Department of Justice, declined
to promulgate the bill as public law on the day it was received. The
question as to the efficacy of the congressional action in passing the
bill over the President's veto was mooted when the House and Senate
passed an identical bill that was signed into law. Manual Sec. 113.
On similar occasions when the President has asserted a pocket veto
during an intersession adjournment, the House has regarded the
President's actual return of the bill without his signature as a
return veto and proceeded to reconsider the bill over the President's
objections. Manual Sec. 113.
For a joint letter from Speaker Foley and Minority Leader Michel
to the President, and a response thereto by Attorney General
Thornburg, on the use of pocket veto authority during an intrasession
adjournment, see 101-2, Jan. 23, 1990, p 3. For a joint letter from
Speaker Hastert and Minority Leader Gephardt reiterating their
predecessors' concerns in this area, see 106-2, Sept. 19, 2000, p
____; 106-2, Nov. 13, 2000, p ____. For discussions of the
constitutionality of intersession or intrasession pocket vetoes, see
Kennedy, ``Congress, The President, and The Pocket Veto,'' 63 Va. L.
Rev. 355 (1977), and Hearing, Subcommittee on Legislative Process,
Committee on Rules, on H.R. 849, 101st Congress.
Sec. 8 . Line Item Veto Authority
The Line Item Veto Act took effect on January 1, 1997. 2 USC
Sec. 691-691f. The Act gave the President the authority to cancel
discrete dollar amounts of discretionary budget authority, new direct
spending, and limited tax benefits contained in Acts sent to him for
approval. Cancellations were effective unless disapproved by law. Such
disapprovals could be enacted under the congressional review
procedures set forth in the Act. The President has exercised his
cancellation authority on a couple of occasions. See H. Doc. 105-147,
H. Doc. 105-115, and H. Doc. 105-116. In Clinton v. City of New York,
524 U.S. 417 (1998), the Supreme Court held that the cancellation
authority of the Line Item Veto Act violated the presentment clause of
article I, section 7 of the Constitution. Although the congressional
review procedures remain in the law, the Court decision makes it
unlikely that they will be invoked. See Manual Sec. 1130(6B).