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After a bill is passed by congress how long does the president have to sign it?
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
He doesn't have to sign it at all. He can sign it, in which case it becomes law, or he can refuse to sign it, in which case it generally doesn't but that is where the time limit comes in. If he wants to veto the law then he has ten days to send it back ti congress with his reasons for not signing it. That gives them the chance to override his veto. But if he doesn't send it back within that amount of time then it becomes law anyway just as if he had signed it. There is one exception to that though. If the congres adjourns before the ten days is up so that the president can't send the bill back to them, then, if he doesn't sign it, it doesn't become law and they can't override him. That is called a pocket veto because when Abraham Lincoln used it for the first time he described it as just sticking the bill in his pocket.
Michael Montagne
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Wiki User
∙ 18y agoA bill is "enacted" on the same day it is signed by the President. The "effective date," however is written into the text of the bill. Some bill are effective immediately and some Congress picks a later date - could be 2 months or a year or more.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agowhen it Hitler makes it
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago24 hours
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What can congress do if the president wants a bill passed and congress doesn't?
Congress can override the President's veto of a bill. They can do so by submitting the bill to both the Senate and the House of Representative for vote and both houses must reach a two-thirds vote in favor of the bill becoming a law.
Why so long president to sign a bill?
The bill becomes what is called a pocket veto and is not enacted into law.
What is the President's role in making laws?
The President's role in making laws is to sign a bill passed by Congress into law or veto it. The President can also propose legislation, influence the legislative agenda, and work with Congress to shape and pass laws. Ultimately, the President plays a significant role in the legislative process by either signing bills into law or vetoing them.
What is a bill called when a president holds it for to long?
When a US Predident receives a bill, he does have the option of doing nothing. In this case, two things can happen. If Congress is in session at any point within a period of 10 business days after the President receives the bill, it automatically becomes law. If Congress does not convene within 10 days, the bill dies and Congress cannot override it. This is known as a pocket veto.
How long does the president have to look over a bill?
If he does not approve, he must return the bill, unsigned, within ten days, excluding Sundays, to the house of the United States Congress in which it originated, while the Congress is in session.
What is it called when the president forgets to sign a bill?
If the President forgets to sign a bill within the ten day period fixed by the Constitution, it becomes law automatically as long as Congress is still in session by that date. If Congress is not in session by the tenth day and the President still hasn't signed the bill, the bill does not become law. This method of preventing a bill from becoming law without actually vetoing it is called the pocket veto.
What happens when a president ignores a bill for 10 days when Congress is not in session?
You're thinking of what's become known as a "pocket veto." The answer is, it depends on what Congress does. If the President hangs onto the bill for ten days and Congress is *still in session* then the bill becomes law without his signature. If, on the other hand, Congress adjourns (closes down and goes home) before the ten-day mark, then the bill fails, as though the President had vetoed it. Also, Sundays don't count (so if the President gets a bill on a Friday, he has until the Wednesday after next to make up his mind).
What can the preseiden do if he or she does not like a bill passed by congress?
He can veto the bill by returning it unsigned to the house of Congress where the bill originated. He must provide a written explanation of his objections to the bill. This must be done while Congress is in session and it must be done within ten days (excluding Sundays) of receiving the bill . Congress can override the veto by passing it with a 2/3 majority.
How does the president exercise legislative power over Congess?
The President has no legislative power "over" Congress (though s/he has one "of" Congress... more on that near the end of this answer). That said, the president has a sort of conditional legislative power over Congress. It's called "the presidential power of veto." This answer will cover a couple other presidential powers which, at least in the short-term, are sort of powers "over" Congress; but, really, in the long-term, they're not.After both houses of Congress (the House of Representatives, and the US Senate) pass a bill intended to become law, said passed bill is the given to the president to sign. The President then has ten (10) days to either sign it or not sign it, and then, in either case, return the bill to Congress. That's the deadline: 10 days.If the president signs the bill within ten days, and returns it to Congress; and if Congress is still in session when he does, then the bill becomes law. If the President does nothing -- in other words, if he both doesn't sign the bill, and also doesn't return it to Congress within the ten-day deadline -- and if Congress is still in session at the end of said deadline, then the bill becomes law, even without the President's signature.However, if the President decides he doesn't like the bill, then he can "veto" it. The word "veto" is Latin for the phrase "I forbid." There are two ways the President may veto... only one of which ensures that the bill won't become law.If the President refuses to sign the bill, and timely returns it to Congress, unsigned, within 10 days; and if Congress is still in session when he so does, then the President has vetoed the bill, and has stopped it from becoming law......but only if Congress decides to accept that from the President and do nothing further. The veto is the President's way of sending a very serious message to Congress telling it that he does not want the bill to become law. In order to ensure that Congress takes that message seriously, the Constitution requires that if Congress wants the bill to become law then it must re-vote on the bill......but this time, on that re-vote, Congress must pass the bill by a whopping two-thirds majority. That means that 66% of Congress must all agree that it so wants the bill to become law that it's willing to override the President's veto and make the bill law, even without the President's signature. The Constitution says that Congress's so doing requires a two-thirds majority re-vote on the bill. If Congress does that, then the bill becomes law right then and there, without having to be re-submitted to the President for his signature. Congress, at that point, has overridden the President's veto.There is, however, a way for the President to veto a bill which will ensure that it won't become law, no matter what. Timing, however, is key to the President's being able to do that; and it can only happen under a very special circumstance, to wit: If Congress submits a bill to the President for his/her signature; and if Congress will no longer be in session by the time the 10-day deadline for the bill's return expires, then all the President has to do to effectively veto the bill is absolutely nothing. By his/her neither signing it, nor not signing it; but, in either case, his/her not returning it to Congress at all; and by Congress's adjourning before the President's 10-day deadline to return the bill either signed or unsigned, the President has effectively vetoed the bill; and because Congress is no longer in session at the end of the 10-day deadline, it may do nothing about the veto. And so, then, the veto really and truly stops the bill from becoming law. That kind of veto is called a "pocket veto." To keep it from happening, most sessions of Congress will never submit a bill to the President for his/her signature within the last 10 days of said session, that is, unless Congress knows, for sure, that the President will quickly sign and return it, before the session ends.In a sense, then, that's the President's "legislative power" over Congress: the power of veto. But that power is conditional; and only works, absolutely, in the case of a pocket veto. At all other times, if Congress doesn't like the president's veto, then it can override it by a two-thirds majority re-vote, and make the bill law, anyway!The President also has the power to introduce his/her own bills into Congress, on which Congress must take action, exactly the same as if Congress, itself, had introduced the bill. But that's more a presidential power of Congress, not over it.The President also has the power, "on extraordinary occasions," according to the Constitution, to call Congress -- either or both houses of it -- into "special session," during periods when Congress is normally in recess, in order to handle emergency situations. That presidential power rarely used, though: the last time was back when Harry Truman was president, in 1948. In all, throughout the entire two-and-a-quarter centuries that there have been US presidents, the presidential power of calling Congress into special session has been used only 27 times (at least as of this writing in April of 2013). And so, then, that presidental power over Congress -- if, indeed, that's what it even is -- is nearly never actually used by most presidents.
Can a pocket veto occur when congress is not in session?
The pocket veto is provided for in Article 1, Section 7, Clause 2 of the Constitution, which outlines the conditions for its use. It states: "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." This means that if the President fails to return the bill that Congress has sent to him within ten days and Congress adjourns during those ten days, and has not designated a legal agent to receive veto messages, the bill will not become a law if the president fails to sign it. Congress adjourns periodically throughout the year, including summer and winter breaks. Some recent presidents have claimed the right to use the pocket veto any time Congress is not in session, but the prevailing practice, supported by court rulings, says that presidents should use the regular or return veto as long as Congress has designated an office to receive such messages, which it has routinely done for decades, just as the Office of White House Clerk is designated by the president to receive enrolled legislation when the president is away. Thus, the pocket veto need only be used at the end of a two-year congress.
What happens if the president doesn't sign a bill in time allowed?
After the president vetoes a bill it returns to it's House of origin. If there are enough objections to the vetoing of the bill the House and Senate vote on it. A 2/3 majority from both will override the veto.
How long did it take congress to pass the stimulus bill?
Nobody wants to tell the truth. The Patriots Act was passed in only one month.
