What option does the Constitution give the president if Congress adjourns without an approved budget *?

Last Updated January 1, 2021

What option does the Constitution give the president if Congress adjourns without an approved budget *?
/tiles/non-collection/f/fdr_vetomessage_2008_231_002.xml Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives
About this object
In 1935, FDR came to the House Chamber to deliver his veto message in person.

Article I, section 7 of the Constitution grants the President the authority to veto legislation passed by Congress. This authority is one of the most significant tools the President can employ to prevent the passage of legislation. Even the threat of a veto can bring about changes in the content of legislation long before the bill is ever presented to the President. The Constitution provides the President 10 days (excluding Sundays) to act on legislation or the legislation automatically becomes law. There are two types of vetoes: the “regular veto” and the “pocket veto.”

The regular veto is a qualified negative veto. The President returns the unsigned legislation to the originating house of Congress within a 10 day period usually with a memorandum of disapproval or a “veto message.” Congress can override the President’s decision if it musters the necessary two–thirds vote of each house. President George Washington issued the first regular veto on April 5, 1792. The first successful congressional override occurred on March 3, 1845, when Congress overrode President John Tyler’s veto of S. 66.

The pocket veto is an absolute veto that cannot be overridden. The veto becomes effective when the President fails to sign a bill after Congress has adjourned and is unable to override the veto. The authority of the pocket veto is derived from the Constitution’s Article I, section 7, “the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case, it shall not be law.” Over time, Congress and the President have clashed over the use of the pocket veto, debating the term “adjournment.” The President has attempted to use the pocket veto during intra- and inter- session adjournments and Congress has denied this use of the veto. The Legislative Branch, backed by modern court rulings, asserts that the Executive Branch may only pocket veto legislation when Congress has adjourned sine die from a session. President James Madison was the first President to use the pocket veto in 1812.

 Congresses PresidentRegular Vetoes Pocket VetoesTotal VetoesVetoes Overridden
1st-4th George Washington 2 ..... 2 .....
5th-6th John Adams ..... ..... ..... .....
7th-10th Thomas Jefferson ..... ..... ..... .....
11th–14th James Madison 5 2 7 .....
15th–18th James Monroe 1 ..... 1 .....
19th–20th John Quincy Adams ..... ..... ..... .....
21st–24th Andrew Jackson 5 7 12 .....
25th–26th Martin Van Buren ..... 1 1 .....
27th William Henry Harrison ..... ..... ..... .....
27th–28th John Tyler 6 4 10 1
29th–30th James K. Polk 2 1 3 .....
31st Zachary Taylor ..... ..... ..... .....
31st–32nd Millard Fillmore ..... ..... ..... .....
33rd–34th Franklin Pierce 9 ..... 9 5
35th–36th James Buchanan 4 3 7 .....
37th–39th Abraham Lincoln 2 5 7 .....
39th–40th Andrew Johnson 21 8 29 15
41st–44th Ulysses S. Grant 45 48 93 4
45th–46th Rutherford B. Hayes 12 1 13 1
47th James A. Garfield ..... ..... ..... .....
47th–48th Chester A. Arthur 4 8 12 1
49th–50th Grover Cleveland 304 110 414 2
51st–52nd Benjamin Harrison 19 25 44 1
53rd–54th Grover Cleveland 42 128 170 5
55th–57th William McKinley 6 36 42 .....
57th–60th Theodore Roosevelt 42 40 82 1
61st–62nd William H. Taft 30 9 39 1
63rd–66th Woodrow Wilson 33 11 44 6
67th Warren G. Harding 5 1 6 .....
68th–70th Calvin Coolidge 20 30 50 4
71st–72nd Herbert C. Hoover 21 16 37 3
73rd–79th Franklin D. Roosevelt 372 263 635 9
79th–82nd Harry S. Truman 180 70 250 12
83rd–86th Dwight D. Eisenhower 73 108 181 2
87th–88th John F. Kennedy 12 9 21 .....
88th–90st Lyndon B. Johnson 16 14 30 .....
91st–93rd Richard M. Nixon 26 17 43 7
93rd–94th Gerald R. Ford 48 18 66 12
95th–96th James Earl Carter 13 18 31 2
97th–100th Ronald Reagan 39 39 78 9
101st–102nd George H. W. Bush1 29 15 44 1
103rd–106th William J. Clinton2 36 1 37 2
107th–110th George W. Bush3 12 ..... 12 4
111th–114th Barack H. Obama4 12 ..... 12 1
115th–116th Donald J. Trump 10 ..... 10 1
Total             1518 1066 2584 112

What is required for Congress to override a presidential veto quizlet?

Congress can override a veto by passing the act by a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate.

What can happen if the president chooses to veto a law that has been approved?

The president can approve the bill and sign it into law or not approve (veto) a bill. If the president chooses to veto a bill, in most cases Congress can vote to override that veto and the bill becomes a law. But, if the president pocket vetoes a bill after Congress has adjourned, the veto cannot be overridden.

Which of the following does the Constitution grant the power to legislate?

The Constitution grants Congress the sole authority to enact legislation and declare war, the right to confirm or reject many Presidential appointments, and substantial investigative powers.

Why was it important to modify this authority with the 27th Amendment?

The Constitution specifies that Congress has the power to fix its own pay. Why was it important to modify this authority with the 27th Amendment? they know their term in office means an election is right around the corner.