[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).