[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 7, Chapters 22 - 25]
[Chapter 24. Bills, Resolutions, and Memorials]
[C. Veto Powers]
[§ 20. Return of Vetoed Bills]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
[Page 4937-4943]
CHAPTER 24
Bills, Resolutions, Petitions, and Memorials
C. VETO POWERS
Sec. 20. Return of Vetoed Bills
The Constitution provides, in article I, section 7, clause 2, that
if the President does not sign a bill presented to him ``. . . 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.''
It is the usual rule that when a vetoed bill is received in the
House from the President, the House proceeds at once to consider it.
When a veto message is laid before the House the question of passage is
considered as pending (5) and a quorum is required to be
present to consider the question.(6)
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5. See 7 Cannon's Precedents Sec. Sec. 1097-1099.
6. Id. at Sec. 1094. -------------------
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Presentation of Veto Message to the house
Sec. 20.1 When a bill is vetoed and returned to the House with the
President's objections, the veto message is laid before the House,
read by the Clerk, and the objections spread at large on the
Journal.
On May 28, 1948,(7) the Speaker pro tempore
(8) laid before the House the veto message of President
Harry Truman on the bill (H.R. 1308) for the relief of H. C. Biering,
the message having been received in the House on the previous day
shortly before adjournment. The message was read by the Clerk and the
President's veto spread on the Journal. By unanimous consent, the bill
and the message were referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
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7. 94 Cong. Rec. 6697, 80th Cong. 2d Sess.
8. Charles A. Halleck (Ind.).
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Announcement as to Receipt of Veto Message
Sec. 20.2 Parliamentarian's Note: Where there are veto messages on the
Speaker's desk, he may announce that fact so that the Record and
Journal will show the receipt of the messages and to notify the
Members that consideration thereof is pending.
[[Page 4938]]
On Aug. 2, 1946,(9) the Speaker (10)
announced that the Chair had received veto messages on the bills H.R.
4660 and H.R. 6442 and that they would be laid before the House at the
proper time.
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9. 94 Cong. Rec. 10744, 79th Cong. 2d Sess.
10. Sam Rayburn (Tex.).
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Veto Messages Received During Adjournment
Sec. 20.3 When a veto message from the President is received by the
Clerk of the House at a time when the House is not in session, the
Clerk transmits the sealed envelope containing the message to the
Speaker with a letter explaining the circumstances.
On Aug. 31, 1959,(11) the Speaker (12) laid
before the House the following communication from the Clerk of the
House:
11. 105 Cong. Rec. 17397, 86th Cong. Ist Sess.
12. Sam Rayburn (Tex.).
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August 28, 1959.
The Honorable Speaker,
House of Representatives.
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a sealed envelope
addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives from the
President of the United States, received in the Clerk's office at
3:15 p.m. on August 28, 1959, and said to contain a veto message on
H.R. 7509, ``An act making appropriations for civil functions
administered by the Department of the Army, certain agencies of the
Department of the Interior, and the Tennessee Valley Authority for
the fiscal year ending June 30, 1960, and for other purposes.''
Respectfully yours,
Ralph R. Roberts,
Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives.
Parliamentarian's Note: H.R. 7509 had been transmitted to the
President on Aug. 18, 1959. The 10-day constitutional limitation for a
veto would have expired Aug. 29. The House had adjourned from Thursday,
Aug. 27, to Monday, Aug. 31, and the Clerk, pursuant to Wright v United
States (302 U.S. 583), had authority to receive and did receive the
message during a time when the House was not in session.
Likewise, on July 24, 1961,(13) the Speaker
(14) laid before the House the following communication:
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13. 107 Cong. Rec. 13151, 87th Cong. 1st Sess.
For other instances see 111 Cong. Rec. 14845, 89th Cong.
1st Sess., June 28, 1965; 110 Cong. Rec. 21410, 88th Cong. 2d
Sess., Sept. 2, 1964; 110 Cong. Rec. 6095, 88th Cong. 2d Sess.,
Mar. 24, 1964; 96 Cong. Rec. 9193, 81st Cong. 2d Sess., June
26, 1950; and 86 Cong. Rec. 13601, 76th Cong. 3d Sess., Oct.
28, 1940.
14. Sam Rayburn (Tex.).
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July 21, 1961.
[[Page 4939]]
The Honorable the Speaker,
House of Representatives.
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a sealed envelope
addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives from the
President of the United States, received in the Clerk's office at
11:15 a.m. on July 21, 1961, and said to contain a veto message on
H.R. 4206, ``An act for the relief of Melvin H. Baker and Frances
V. Baker.''
Respectfully yours,
Ralph R. Roberts,
Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives.
Parliamentarian's Note: H.R. 4206 had been transmitted to the
President on July 11, 1961. The 10-day period within which the
President could veto the bill would have expired on July 22. The House
had adjourned from Thursday, July 20, to Monday, July 24, and the
Clerk, pursuant to procedure recognized as valid in Wright v United
States (302 U.S. 583), had authority to receive the message during a
time when the House was not in session.
Sec. 20.4 Where the President vetoed several bills during an
adjournment period in excess of 10 days, and sent his veto messages
to the Clerk of the House, upon reconvening the Speaker laid the
messages and bills before the House and referred them to the
committees from which they originated.
On Sept. 5, 1945,(15) the Speaker (16) laid
before the House the veto messages of the President on five bills
(17) received in the House after an adjournment period in
excess of 10 days. The Clerk had been authorized on July 21, 1945, to
receive messages from the President during the adjournment of the
House, which was scheduled to last from July 21 to Oct. 8, 1945. The
Congress reconvened on Sept. 5 pursuant to a recall order of its
leadership. The Speaker then laid the messages and bills before the
House and, by separate motion on each bill, and by unanimous consent,
referred them to the committees from which they had originated.
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15. 91 Cong. Rec. 8322-24, 79th Cong. 1st Sess.
16. Sam Rayburn (Tex.).
17. The bills were: (1) H.R. 259 for the relief of George Gottlieb; (2)
H.R. 3477 authorizing improvement of certain harbors in the
interest of commerce and navigation; (3) H.R. 952 for the
relief of the Morgan Creamery Company; (4) H.R. 1856 for the
relief of Southwestern Drug Company; and (5) H.R. 3549 to
provide for the conveyance of certain weather bureau property
to Norwich University, Northfield, Vt. All of the veto messages
were dated before Aug. 1, 1945, the date on which the Senate
adjourned.
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Delivery of Veto Message at Joint Session
Sec. 20.5 The President personally delivered a veto message
[[Page 4940]]
to a joint session of the Congress.
On May 22, 1935,(18) President Franklin D. Roosevelt
personally addressed a joint session of the Congress in order to
deliver his veto message of the bill (H.R. 3896), providing for the
immediate payment to veterans of the face value of their adjusted-
service certificates. The President addressed both Houses pursuant to
House Concurrent Resolution 22. He said, ``As to the right and
propriety of the President in addressing the Congress in person, I am
very certain that I have never in the past disagreed, and will never in
the future disagree, with the Senate or the House of Representatives as
to the constitutionality of the procedure. With your permission, I
should like to continue from time to time to act as my own messenger.''
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18. 79 Cong. Rec. 7993-96, 74th Cong. 1st Sess.
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The Senate had considered and passed the concurrent resolution (H.
Con. Res. 22) authorizing this joint session on the preceding
day.(19) Senator Frederick Steiwer, of Oregon, objected to
the resolution, observing:
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19. Id. at pp. 7896-902, 7943.
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My objection to the concurrent resolution is that it seeks to
involve the Senate in this procedure. It proposes that the Senate
shall meet with the House in joint session, and we are told that
the veto message of the President, or the objections which the
President proposes to make to a bill which Congress has passed
shall not be returned to the House, the body in which the
legislation was originated, but that it shall be returned to a
joint session of both bodies. It is that procedure which I condemn.
It is that procedure which I claim is not countenanced by the
Constitution. It is in violation of the Constitution of the United
States that this legislation should be returned to the joint body
rather than to the body in which the legislation originated. It
will be in violation of the Constitution if the objections shall be
made to the joint body rather than that they should be entered in
the Journal of the House by the normal and usual procedure which
has been employed in this country for a century and a
half.(20)
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20. Id. at p. 7897.
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Senator J. W. Robinson, of Utah, responded:
The discussion as to what message is to be heard appears to me
to be more or less irrelevant. The concurrent resolution provides
for a joint session of the two Houses of the Congress to hear such
communications as the President shall be pleased to make.
There is no limitation in the Constitution or in the rules of
the two Houses on the occasion or the purposes for which joint
sessions may be held. Therefore it is entirely within the
discretion or judgment of the two Houses when joint sessions shall
convene.(21)
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21. Id. at p. 7900.
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Parliamentarian's Note: As its first business upon reconvening
[[Page 4941]]
following the President's address, the House voted to override the
Presidential veto on H.R. 3896.(22) The vote in the Senate
on May 23 (legislative day of May 13) failed of a two-thirds majority,
so that the veto was sustained.(1)
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22. Id. at pp. 7996, 7997.
1. Id. at pp. 8066, 8067.
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Notification of Senate Action on Vetoed Bill
Sec. 20.6 The Senate notifies the House when it passes a Senate bill
over a Presidential veto.
On Aug. 13, 1958,(2) the Speaker (3) laid
before the House the following message from the Senate:
2. 104 Cong. Rec. 17354, 85th Cong. 2d Sess.
3. Sam Rayburn (Tex.).
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In the Senate of the
United States,
August 12, 1958.
The Senate having proceeded to reconsider the bill (S. 2266)
entitled ``An act to provide a method for regulating and fixing
wage rates for employees of Portsmouth, N.H., Naval Shipyard,''
returned by the President of the United States with his objections
to the Senate, in which it originated, and passed by the Senate on
reconsideration of the same, it was
Resolved, That the said bill pass, two-thirds of the Senators
present having voted in the affirmative.(4)
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4. See also 94 Cong. Rec. 8523, 80th Cong. 2d Sess., June 16, 1948;
and 87 Cong. Rec. 6886, 77th Cong. 1st Sess., Aug. 7, 1941.
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Referral of Vetoed Bill Messaged From Senate
Sec. 20.7 The Senate passed a private bill over the President's veto
and messaged it to the House, where it was referred to a committee.
On July 5, 1952,(5) the Speaker (6) laid
before the House a bill (S. 827)--passed by the Senate over the
President's veto--for the relief of Fred P. Hines.
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5. 98 Cong. Rec. 9608, 82d Cong. 2d Sess.
6. Sam Rayburn (Tex.).
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Mr. Emanuel Celler, of New York, moved that the bill and veto
message be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary and ordered
printed.
The motion was agreed to.
Correcting Errors in Veto Messages
Sec. 20.8 The White House, having discovered an error in a veto message
transmitted to the House, sent a further message to the House
correcting the error.
On May 25, 1960,(7) the Speaker (8) laid
before the House a com
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7. 106 Cong. Rec. 11060, 86th Cong. 2d Sess.
8. Sam Rayburn (Tex.).
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[[Page 4942]]
munication from the President of the United States; this message (shown
below) was read and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
May 23, 1960.
Dear Mr. Speaker: An error appears in my message of disapproval
on H.R. 7947, a bill relating to the income tax treatment of
nonrefundable capital contributions to Federal National Mortgage
Association.
In the last sentence of the second paragraph of my message the
word ``purchases'' should be inserted in lieu of the word
``sells''.
Sincerely,
Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Return of Veto Message to President
Sec. 20.9 The House complied with the request of the President that a
bill and veto message be returned to him.
On Aug. 1, 1946,(9) the Speaker (10) laid
before the House the following message from the President:
9. 92 Cong. Rec. 10651, 79th Cong. 2d Sess.
10. Sam Rayburn (Tex.).
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To the House of Representatives:
I hereby request the return of H.R. 3420, a bill ``to provide
for refunds to railroad employees in certain cases so as to place
the various States on an equal basis, under the Railroad
Unemployment Insurance Act, with respect to contributions of
employees,'' and my message of July 31 appertaining thereto.
Harry Truman,
The White House,
August 1, 1946.
The Speaker: Without objection, the request of the President
will be complied with, and the Clerk will transmit the papers
requested.
There was no objection.
Parliamentarian's Note: The President transmitted to the House
three veto messages shortly after the convening of the House on Aug. 1.
The Speaker observed that included therewith was an apparent veto of
H.R. 3420, although he believed that the President had intended to sign
the bill. It was suggested that the President send a message to the
House requesting the return of the bill before the veto was laid before
the House. Such a message was received from the President, which was
laid before the House and agreed to, and the bill H.R. 3420 was
returned to the President without ever having been read to the House.
It should be noted that if the veto message on H.R. 3420 had been laid
before the House and read, then under the precedent established in the
Senate on Aug. 15, 1876 (4 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 3521) the message and
bill could not have been returned to the President. The above bill was
signed by the President on Aug. 2,
[[Page 4943]]
1946, and became Public Law No. 79-599 of the 79th Congress.