Order Code RS22188
Updated June 26October 9, 2007
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
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 2,553554 times. Congress has overridden these
vetoes on 106 occasions (4.2%). Presidents have vetoed 81 appropriations bills, and
Congress has overridden 12 (14.8%) of these vetoes. This report will be updated at the
beginning of each new Congress or after a veto.
Constitutional Basis and Importance
To become law, theThe U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 7) provides that all bills that
have been, for a bill to become law,
it must be approved by both houses of Congress must beand presented to the President for
his his
approval and signature.1 The President may sign a bill into law within the 10-day
period 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
1
These bills include joint resolutions, but do not include proposed amendments to the
Constitution, which require a two-thirds vote in each house, and are sent directly to the states for
approval. U.S. Constitution, Art. V.
2
U.S. Constitution, Art. I, Sec. 7.
3
Beginning in 1929, several judicial decisions have attempted to clarify when an adjournment
(continued...)
CRS-2
dealings with Congress. Illustrative of this point is the fact that Presidents have vetoed
2,553554 bills since 1789; of these, Congress has overridden 106 (4.2%). Moreover, the veto
also can be effective as a threat, sometimes forcing Congress to modify legislation before
it is presentedpresenting it to the President.
This report presents information on how regular vetoes can be overridden by
Congress, the Congress can override regular vetoes, the
number of vetoes by each President, and the use of vetoes in relation to
appropriations 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”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 overcomeoverride 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.
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. The Constitution is otherwise silent on how Congress
should consider a vetoed bill, and it is therefore Because the Constitution does not state exactly how
Congress should reconsider a vetoed bill, House and Senate procedures that govern
thegovern 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. 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. 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.
3
(...continued)
by Congress “prevents”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.
4
On these types of vetoes, see CRS Report RL33635, Item Veto and Expanded Impoundment
Proposals: Legislative 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.
CRS-3
Vetoes Exercised and Overridden
Pocket Vetoes and Returned Vetoes
Table 1 shows that, since the beginning of the federal government in 1789, 3536 of 437
Presidents have exercised their veto authority on a total of 2,553554 occasions. Of that
number, 1,487488 (58.2%) have been3%) were regular vetoes — that is, the rejected legislation was
returned returned
to the congressional house of origin, while it was in session, with a presidential
message message
of explanation — and 1,066 (41.87%) were pocket vetoes, or rejected while
Congress was
adjourned.8 Congress has overridden 106 (7.1%) of the 1,487488 regular
vetoes. This
percentage, though, is skewed downward by the enormous number of vetoes
in in
administrations prior to the 87th Congress (which began in 1961).9 If one counts only
the the
normal vetoes since 1961 (the beginning of the Kennedy Administration), one finds
222 223
vetoes and 33 overridden (14.98%).
George W. Bush was the first President since John Quincy Adams (1825-1829) to
serve a full term without wielding his veto.10 No president since Thomas Jefferson (18011809) has served two terms without vetoing a bill.
Table 1. Presidential Vetoes, 1789-2007
President
Washington
Coincident
Regular Vetoes
Congresses
1st -4th
th
th
J. Adams
5 -6
Jefferson
7th -10th
Madison
Total Vetoes
Vetoes
Overridden
2
—
2
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
th
th
5
2
7
—
th
th
1
—
1
—
—
—
—
—
5
7
12
—
11 -14
Monroe
11 -14
15 -18
J. Q. Adams
19th -20th
Jackson
Pocket Vetoes
st
21 -24Van Buren
Total Vetoes
th
Monroe
Jackson
Pocket Vetoes
—
—
—
—
st
th
5
7
12
—
th
th
—
1
1
—
—
—
—
—
6
4
10
1
21 -24
25 -26
W. H. Harrison
27
Tyler
th
th
27 -28
th
7
There have been 43 presidencies, but only 42 persons have served as President. Grover
Cleveland was elected to two presidencies.
8
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.
9
Most of those vetoes prior to 1960 were of private bills (i.e., legislation that would confer
benefits upon a single person or company) whichand were almost never overridden. In 1971,
Congress Congress
gave administrators more discretion to handle the claims of individuals. Thus, the need
for 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 98628, Private Bills: Procedure in the House, by Richard S. Beth.
10
During his second term in office, President Bush vetoed H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research
Enhancement Act of 2005, on July 19, 2006; H.R. 1591, the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans’
Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007, on May 1, 2007; and
S. 5, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007, on June 20, 2007.
CRS-4
President
Van Buren.
CRS-4
President
Polk
Coincident
Regular Vetoes
Congresses
25th -26th
th
Pocket Vetoes
Total Vetoes
Vetoes
Overridden
—
1
1
—
—
—
—
—
Tyler
27 -28
th
6
4
10
1
Polk
29th -30th
2
1
3
—
W. H. Harrison
27
th
st
Taylor
31
—
—
—
—
Fillmore
st
nd
—
—
—
—
rd
th
9
—
9
5
th
th
4
3
7
—
Pierce
31 -32
33 -34
Buchanan
35 -36
Lincoln
37th-39th29th -30th
st
Taylor
31
Fillmore
st
31 -32
Pierce
33rd -34th
nd
th
Total Vetoes
Vetoes
Overridden
2
1
3
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
9
—
9
5
4
3
7
—
th
37 -39
th
2
5
7
—
th
th
21
8
29
15
Grant
st
41 -44
th
45
48
93
4
Hayes
th
th
12
1
13
1
—
—
—
—
A. Johnson
Garfield
Arthur
Cleveland
B. Harrison
Cleveland
39 -40
45 -46
47
th
47th -48th
4
8
12
1
th
th
304
110
414
2
st
nd
19
25
44
1
rd
th
42
128
170
5
th
th
6
36
42
—
49 -50
51 -52
53 -54
McKinley
55 -57
T. Roosevelt
57th -60th
Taft
Wilson45th-46th
12
1
13
1
Buchanan
Lincoln
A. Johnson
35 -36
th
Pocket Vetoes
39 -40
th
Garfield
47
—
—
—
—
Arthur
th
th
4
8
12
1
th
th
304
110
414
2
B. Harrison
st
51 -52
nd
19
25
44
1
Cleveland
53rd -54th
Cleveland
McKinley
T. Roosevelt
Taft
47 -48
49 -50
42
128
170
5
th
55 -57
th
6
36
42
—
th
th
42
40
82
1
st
nd
30
9
39
1
rd
th
33
11
44
6
57 -60
61 -62
Wilson
63 -66
Harding
67
th
th67th
5
1
6
—
Coolidge
68 -70th
th
20
30
50
4
Hoover
71st -72ndst
nd
21
16
37
3
rd
th
372
263
635
9
th
79 -82
nd
180
70
250
12
rd
th
73
108
181
2
Kennedy
th
87 -88
th
12
9
21
—
L. B. Johnson
88th -90th
F. D. Roosevelt
Truman
Eisenhower
Nixon
Ford
Carter
73 -79
83 -86nd
180
70
250
12
Hoover
F. D. Roosevelt
68 -70
71 -72
73 -79
Truman
79 -82
Eisenhower
83rd -86th
73
108
181
2
th
th
12
9
21
—
th
th
16
14
30
—
st
rd
26
17
43
7
Ford
rd
93 -94
th
48
18
66
12
Carter
95th -96th
Kennedy
L. B. Johnson
Nixon
Reagan
G. H. W. Bush
Clinton
G. W. Bush
Total
87 -88
88 -90
91 -93
13
18
31
2
th
39
39
78
9
st
nd
rd
th
48
18
66
12
th
th
13
18
31
2
39
39
78
9
91 -93
93 -94
95 -96
th
th
Reagan
97 -100
G. H. W. Bush
101st -102nd
Clinton
G. W. Bush
Total
29
15
44
1
rd
th
36
1
37
2
th
th
34
—
34
—
1,487488
1,066
2,553
106
554
106
th
97 -100
101 -102
103 -106
107 -110
CRS-5
Sources: U.S. Congress, Senate, Secretary of the Senate, Presidential Vetoes, 1789-1988, S.Pub. 102-12,
103rd Cong., 2nd sess. (Washington: GPO, 1992); and U.S. Congress, Senate, Secretary of the Senate,
Presidential Vetoes, 1989-19912000, S.Pub.102-13, 103rd 107-10, 107th Cong., 2nd1st sess. (Washington: GPO, 1992).2001).
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.1110
Despite these high stakes, Presidents have vetoed many appropriation bills.12 For
81 appropriations bills since 1789; more
than half of these vetoes have occurred since 1968.11 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%).1312 President
George W. Bush has
vetoed one appropriationappropriations bill. Congressional overrides of vetoes of
appropriations are
not unusual. For example, of the 81 vetoes of appropriations since
1789, 12 (14.8%) werehave been overridden (see Table 2). Interestingly, more than half of the
vetoes of appropriations bills have occurred since 1968.
2).
Table 2. Appropriations Bills Vetoed, 1789-2007
President
Washington
Adams
Coincident
Congresses
Approp. Acts Vetoed
Vetoes of Approp. Acts Overridden
1st -4th
—
—
—
—
—
—
th
5 -6
th
th
thth
th
Adams
5 -6
Jefferson
7 -10
Madison
11th -14th
Monroe
J. Q. Adams
Jackson
Van Buren
—
—
th
th
—
—
th
th
—
—
st
th
—
—
th
th
—
—
15 -18
19 -20
21 -24
25 -26
W. H. Harrison
27th7th -10th
—
—
th
th
—
—
th
th
—
—
th
th
—
—
Jackson
st
21 -24
th
—
—
Van Buren
25th -26th
—
—
Madison
Monroe
J. Q. Adams
11 -14
15 -18
19 -20
th
W. H. Harrison
27
—
—
Tyler
th
th
2
—
th
th
1
—
—
—
—
—
4
2
Polk
27 -28
29 -30
st
Taylor
31
Fillmore
st
31 -32
Pierce
33rd -34th
nd
11Polk
Taylor
Fillmore
Pierce
Buchanan
Lincoln
A. Johnson
27 -28
29 -30
31
st
31st -32nd
—
—
rd
th
4
2
th
th
1
—
th
37 -39
th
—
—
th
th
—
—
33 -34
35 -36
39 -40
10
For additional information on federal government shutdowns, see CRS (archived) Report 98844, Report 98-844,
Shutdown of the Federal Government: Causes, Effects, and Process, by Kevin R. Kosar,
(out of
print; available from the author).
11.
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 (archived) 12
CRS Report RS20719, Vetoed Annual Appropriation Acts: Presidents Carter
Through Clinton,
by Mitchell Sollenberger, available from the author (out of print; available from Kevin R. Kosar).
CRS-6
President
BuchananGrant
Hayes
Garfield
Coincident
Congresses
Approp. Acts Vetoed
Vetoes of Approp. Acts Overridden
35th -36th
1
—
th
37 -39
th
—
—
A. Johnson
th
39 -40
th
—
—
Grant
41st-44th
—
—
5
—
Lincoln
Hayes
th
45 -46
Garfield
47
Arthur
th
th
th
47 -48
th
—
—
th
1
1
th
1
—
Cleveland
49 -50
B. Harrison
51st -52nd—
—
th
45 -46
47
th
th
47th-48th
1
1
th
th
1
—
st
nd
—
—
rd
th
5
1
th
th
—
—
th
th
—
—
Taft
st
61 -62
nd
4
—
Wilson
63rd -66th
8
—
Cleveland
McKinley
T. Roosevelt
53 -54
55 -57
57 -60
th
Harding
67
1
—
Coolidge
th
th
—
—
st
nd
2
—
F. D. Roosevelt
rd
73 -79
th
1
1
Truman
79th -82nd
Hoover
68 -70
71 -72
1
1
rd
th
3
1
th
th
—
—
th
th
—
—
Nixon
st
91 -93
rd
5
1
Ford
93rd -94th
5
3
2
—
Eisenhower
Kennedy
L. B. Johnson
Carter
Reagan
G. H. W. Bush
83 -86
87 -88
88 -90
th
95 -96
th
th
97 -100
th
6
1
st
nd
8
—
rd
th
14
—
1
—
81
12
101 -102
Clinton
103 -106
G. W. Bush
107th -110th
TotalMcKinley
th
55 -57
th
—
—
T. Roosevelt
57th -60th
Arthur
Cleveland
B. Harrison
Cleveland
Taft
Wilson
49 -50
51 -52
53 -54
—
—
st
nd
4
—
rd
th
8
—
1
—
—
—
61 -62
63 -66
th
Harding
67
Coolidge
th
68 -70
Hoover
71st -72nd
th
2
—
rd
th
1
1
th
nd
1
1
rd
th
3
1
Kennedy
th
87 -88
th
—
—
L. B. Johnson
88th -90th
F. D. Roosevelt
Truman
Eisenhower
Nixon
Ford
Carter
Reagan
G. H. W. Bush
Clinton
G. W. Bush
Total
73 -79
79 -82
83 -86
—
—
st
rd
5
1
rd
th
5
3
th
th
2
—
6
1
91 -93
93 -94
95 -96
th
97 -100
th
101st -102nd
8
—
rd
th
14
—
th
th
1
—
81
12
103 -106
107 -110
Sources: U.S. Congress, Senate, Secretary of the Senate, Presidential Vetoes, 1789-1988, S.Pub. 102-12,
103rd Cong., 2nd sess. (Washington: GPO, 1992); and U.S. Congress, Senate, Secretary of the Senate,
Presidential Vetoes, 1989-19912000, S.Pub.102-13, 103rd 107-10, 107th Cong., 2nd1st sess. (Washington: GPO, 1992).2001).
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