How a Bill Becomes Law, Constitution Article 1 §7.2

On Wednesdays we study the Constitution.

Why study? Well, I think it should be obvious.

Why Wednesday? It works with my schedule.

Last week I learned about the Origination Clause.

What’s next? Article One, Section 7, Clause 2.

Ooh, finally we’re getting into the meaty “how to run a government” stuff.

Article 1 §7.2

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.

Oh my. That’s a mouthful. Basically, it’s a text-based flow chart for the passage of bills into law. If I wasn’t such a text-based girl myself, I’d draw it up. If any readers are so graphically inclined, I’d love to update this post with a proper flow chart.

We start with the steps to create a new law:

1. A bill passes one House of Congress
2. The bill passes the other House of Congress
3. The bill is presented to the President of the United States
4. The president signs the bill into law.

Easy peasy. When both Houses and the president approve of a bill it becomes law. But what if the President doesn’t approve? The game isn’t over yet:

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.

That’s fair. Then what do they do?

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.

Okay, so if the president doesn’t want to pass a bill, but 2/3 of both Houses do want it, the president can be overruled. Seems reasonable. So why is there so much clause left?

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.

With all the checks and balances we’ve got going on, it’s kind of a big deal for the legislative branch to steamroll the executive. So if you’re going to overrule the president, you’d better be willing to put your name on it. Seems reasonable and prudent. What other prudent actions did our Framers prepare for us?

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.

Aha! They predicted the presidential potential for stonewalling. If the president hates a law that he knows will get a supermajority when sent back, he could just sit on it. So the Framers gave him a time limit, making allowances for days of rest and the possibility that Congress might not be at home to accept his return package. Too bad they didn’t think to give Congress the same sort of incentive to act on Supreme Court nominations. But I digress.

1 §7.2 is as elegant as 1 §7.1 was clunky. I like it.