WikiLeaks Document Release http://wikileaks.org/wiki/CRS-RS22188 February 2, 2009 Congressional Research Service Report RS22188 Regular Vetoes and Pocket Vetoes: An Overview Kevin R. Kosar, Government and Finance Division July 18, 2008 Abstract. The veto power vested in the President by Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution has proven to be an effective tool for the chief executive in his dealings with Congress. Since the founding of the federal government in 1789, 36 of 43 Presidents have exercised their veto authority a total of 2,562 times. Congress has overridden these vetoes on 110 occasions (4.3%). Presidents have vetoed 82 appropriations bills, and Congress has overridden 12 (14.6%) of these vetoes. Order Code RS22188 Updated July 18, 2008 Regular Vetoes and Pocket Vetoes: An Overview Kevin R. Kosar Analyst in American National Government Government and Finance Division Summary The veto power vested in the President by Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution http://wikileaks.org/wiki/CRS-RS22188 has proven to be an effective tool for the chief executive in his dealings with Congress. Since the founding of the federal government in 1789, 36 of 43 Presidents have exercised their veto authority a total of 2,562 times. Congress has overridden these vetoes on 110 occasions (4.3%). Presidents have vetoed 82 appropriations bills, and Congress has overridden 12 (14.6%) of these vetoes. This report will be updated as events warrant. Constitutional Basis and Importance The U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 7) provides that, for a bill to become law, it must be approved by both houses of Congress and presented to the President for his approval and signature.1 The President may sign a bill into law within the 10-day period (excluding Sundays) provided in the Constitution,2 let it become law without his signature, or veto it. The Constitution states that, when the President vetoes a bill, "he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated." This type of action is called a "regular" or "return" veto. If, on the other hand, Congress has adjourned within the 10-day period after presentation of the bill to the President (thereby preventing the return of the bill to Congress), the President may simply withhold his signature, and the bill does not become law -- a practice that has been dubbed a "pocket" veto.3 The President's veto authority is among his most significant tools in legislative dealings with Congress. Illustrative of this point is the fact that Presidents have vetoed 1 Pamela A. Hairston, CRS Information Research Specialist, provided assistance in updating the veto statistics in this report. 2 U.S. Constitution, Art. I, Sec. 7. 3 Beginning in 1929, several judicial decisions have attempted to clarify when an adjournment by Congress prevents the President from returning a veto. For information on these cases, see CRS Report RL30909, The Pocket Veto: Its Current Status, by Louis Fisher. CRS-2 2,562 bills since 1789; of these, Congress has overridden 110 (4.3%). Moreover, the veto also can be effective as a threat, sometimes forcing Congress to modify legislation before presenting it to the President. This report presents information on how Congress can override regular vetoes, the number of vetoes by each President, and the use of vetoes in relation to appropriations bills. The report does not address two other types of vetoes -- line-item vetoes (since the President has no such power at present) and legislative vetoes (which are wielded by Congress, not the President).4 It also does not address presidential signing statements.5 Overriding a Veto If a bill is pocket vetoed while Congress is out of session, the only way for Congress to override the veto is to reintroduce the legislation as a new bill, pass it through both houses, and present it to the President again for his signature. On the other hand, Congress may override a regular veto without introducing new legislation. http://wikileaks.org/wiki/CRS-RS22188 According to Article 1, Section 7 of the Constitution, when the President chooses not to sign a bill and instead returns it to the chamber that originated it, the chamber enters the message of the President detailing the reasons for the veto into its Journal and then proceeds "to reconsider" the bill. Because the Constitution does not state exactly how Congress should reconsider a vetoed bill, House and Senate procedures govern the specific treatment of bills returned by the President.6 Passage by a two-thirds margin in both houses is required to override a veto before the end of the Congress in which the veto is received.7 If a two-thirds vote is successful in the originating house, that house informs the other of its decision to override the veto by message. Neither house is under any constitutional, legal, or procedural obligation to schedule an override vote. It is not unusual for Congress to make no effort to override the veto if congressional leaders do not believe they have sufficient votes. 4 On these types of vetoes, see CRS Report RL33635, Item Veto and Expanded Impoundment Proposals: History and Current Status, by Virginia McMurtry; CRS Report RL33365, Line Item Veto: A Constitutional Analysis of Recent Proposals, by Morton Rosenberg; and CRS Report RS22132, Legislative Vetoes After Chadha, by Louis Fisher. 5 CRS Report RL33667, Presidential Signing Statements: Constitutional and Institutional Implications, by T. J. Halstead. 6 For information on House and Senate procedures for considering vetoed bills, see CRS Report RS22654, Veto Override Procedure in the House and Senate, by Elizabeth Rybicki. 7 Although the Constitution states that approval requires "two thirds of that House," congressional procedure, tradition, and judicial rulings have interpreted this requirement to mean two-thirds of those Members present and voting, provided there is a quorum present. CRS-3 Vetoes Exercised and Overridden Pocket Vetoes and Returned Vetoes Table 1 shows that, since the beginning of the federal government in 1789, 36 of 438 Presidents have exercised their veto authority on a total of 2,562 occasions. Of that number, 1,496 (58.4%) were regular vetoes -- that is, the rejected legislation was returned to the congressional house of origin, while it was in session, with a presidential message of explanation -- and 1,066 (41.6%) were pocket vetoes, or rejected while Congress was adjourned.9 Congress has overridden 110 (7.4%) of the 1,496 regular vetoes. This percentage, though, is skewed downward by the enormous number of vetoes in administrations prior to the 87th Congress (which began in 1961).10 If one counts only the normal vetoes since 1961 (the beginning of the Kennedy Administration), one finds 231 vetoes and 37 overridden (16%). George W. Bush was the first President since John Quincy Adams (1825-1829) to serve a full term without wielding his veto. No president since Thomas Jefferson (1801- http://wikileaks.org/wiki/CRS-RS22188 1809) has served two terms without vetoing a bill. Table 1. Presidential Vetoes, 1789-2008 Coincident Vetoes President Regular Vetoes Pocket Vetoes Total Vetoes Congresses Overridden Washington 1st -4th 2 -- 2 -- th th J. Adams 5 -6 -- -- -- -- Jefferson 7th -10th -- -- -- -- th th Madison 11 -14 5 2 7 -- th th Monroe 15 -18 1 -- 1 -- J. Q. Adams 19th -20th -- -- -- -- st th Jackson 21 -24 5 7 12 -- th th Van Buren 25 -26 -- 1 1 -- th W. H. Harrison 27 -- -- -- -- 8 There have been 43 presidencies, but only 42 persons have served as President. Grover Cleveland was elected to two presidencies. 9 President George H.W. Bush attempted to pocket veto two bills during intrasession recesses. Congress considered the two bills enacted into law because the President had not returned the legislation. These two disputed vetoes are not included in Table 1. President George W. Bush characterized his veto of H.R. 1585 as a pocket veto. Since the 110th Congress treated it as a normal veto, this report counts H.R. 1585 as a normal veto. 10 Most of those vetoes prior to 1960 were of private bills (i.e., legislation that would confer benefits upon a single person or company) and were almost never overridden. In 1971, Congress gave administrators more discretion to handle the claims of individuals. Thus, the need for congressionally passed private bills has dropped dramatically -- from hundreds per annum to a few dozen -- and, therefore, the opportunities for vetoes. On private bills, see CRS Report 98- 628, Private Bills: Procedure in the House, by Richard S. Beth. CRS-4 Coincident Vetoes President Regular Vetoes Pocket Vetoes Total Vetoes Congresses Overridden Tyler 27th -28th 6 4 10 1 th th Polk 29 -30 2 1 3 -- st Taylor 31 -- -- -- -- Fillmore 31st -32nd -- -- -- -- rd th Pierce 33 -34 9 -- 9 5 th th Buchanan 35 -36 4 3 7 -- th th Lincoln 37 -39 2 5 7 -- th th A. Johnson 39 -40 21 8 29 15 Grant 41st-44th 45 48 93 4 th th Hayes 45 -46 12 1 13 1 th Garfield 47 -- -- -- -- th th Arthur 47 -48 4 8 12 1 th th Cleveland 49 -50 304 110 414 2 http://wikileaks.org/wiki/CRS-RS22188 B. Harrison 51st -52nd 19 25 44 1 rd th Cleveland 53 -54 42 128 170 5 th th McKinley 55 -57 6 36 42 -- th th T. Roosevelt 57 -60 42 40 82 1 st nd Taft 61 -62 30 9 39 1 Wilson 63rd -66th 33 11 44 6 th Harding 67 5 1 6 -- th th Coolidge 68 -70 20 30 50 4 st nd Hoover 71 -72 21 16 37 3 rd th F. D. Roosevelt 73 -79 372 263 635 9 Truman 79th -82nd 180 70 250 12 rd th Eisenhower 83 -86 73 108 181 2 th th Kennedy 87 -88 12 9 21 -- th th L. B. Johnson 88 -90 16 14 30 -- st rd Nixon 91 -93 26 17 43 7 Ford 93rd -94th 48 18 66 12 th th Carter 95 -96 13 18 31 2 th th Reagan 97 -100 39 39 78 9 st nd G. H. W. Bush 101 -102 29 15 44 1 rd th Clinton 103 -106 36 1 37 2 G. W. Bush 107th -110th 12 -- 12 4 Total 1,496 1,066 2,562 110 Sources: U.S. Congress, Senate, Secretary of the Senate, "Vetoes" Web page, available at [http://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_index_subjects/Vetoes_vrd.htm]. CRS-5 Vetoes of Appropriation Bills A veto of an appropriations bill can result in the closure of federal agencies, the furlough of federal employees, and the interruption of federal programs and services.11 Despite these high stakes, Presidents have vetoed 82 appropriations bills since 1789; more than half of these vetoes have occurred since 1968.12 For example, Presidents Carter, Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Clinton were presented with a total of 387 annual appropriations acts and vetoed 30 of them (7.8%).13 President George W. Bush has vetoed two appropriations bills. Congressional overrides of vetoes of appropriations are not unusual; 12 of the 82 vetoes (14.6%) have been overridden (see Table 2). Table 2. Appropriations Bills Vetoed, 1789-2008 Coincident President Approp. Acts Vetoed Vetoes of Approp. Acts Overridden Congresses Washington 1st -4th -- -- th th Adams 5 -6 -- -- http://wikileaks.org/wiki/CRS-RS22188 th th Jefferson 7 -10 -- -- th th Madison 11 -14 -- -- Monroe 15th -18th -- -- th th J. Q. Adams 19 -20 -- -- st th Jackson 21 -24 -- -- th th Van Buren 25 -26 -- -- th W. H. Harrison 27 -- -- Tyler 27th -28th 2 -- th th Polk 29 -30 1 -- st Taylor 31 -- -- st nd Fillmore 31 -32 -- -- rd th Pierce 33 -34 4 2 Buchanan 35th -36th 1 -- th th Lincoln 37 -39 -- -- th th A. Johnson 39 -40 -- -- st th Grant 41 -44 -- -- 11 For additional information on federal government shutdowns, see CRS Report 98-844, Shutdown of the Federal Government: Causes, Effects, and Process, by Kevin R. Kosar (out of print; available from the author). 12 The data in this section and in Table 2 include annual appropriations acts (which provide annual funding for the routine operations of most federal agencies), supplemental appropriations acts, and continuing appropriations acts. Excluded are measures dealing with impoundments, transfers, line-item vetoes under the Line Item Veto Act of 1996, and bills proposing appropriations for the relief of private claims. 13 CRS Report RS20719, Vetoed Annual Appropriation Acts: Presidents Carter Through Clinton, by Mitchell Sollenberger (out of print; available from Kevin R. Kosar). CRS-6 Coincident President Approp. Acts Vetoed Vetoes of Approp. Acts Overridden Congresses Hayes 45th-46th 5 -- th Garfield 47 -- -- th th Arthur 47 -48 1 1 Cleveland 49th -50th 1 -- st nd B. Harrison 51 -52 -- -- rd th Cleveland 53 -54 5 1 th th McKinley 55 -57 -- -- th th T. Roosevelt 57 -60 -- -- Taft 61st -62nd 4 -- rd th Wilson 63 -66 8 -- th Harding 67 1 -- th th Coolidge 68 -70 -- -- st nd Hoover 71 -72 2 -- http://wikileaks.org/wiki/CRS-RS22188 F. D. Roosevelt 73rd -79th 1 1 th nd Truman 79 -82 1 1 rd th Eisenhower 83 -86 3 1 th th Kennedy 87 -88 -- -- th th L. B. Johnson 88 -90 -- -- Nixon 91st -93rd 5 1 rd th Ford 93 -94 5 3 th th Carter 95 -96 2 -- th th Reagan 97 -100 6 1 st nd G. H. W. Bush 101 -102 8 -- Clinton 103rd -106th 14 -- th th G. W. Bush 107 -110 2 -- Total 82 12 Sources: U.S. Congress, Senate, Secretary of the Senate, "Vetoes" Web page, available at [http://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_index_subjects/Vetoes_vrd.htm].