Order Code RS22654
April 30, 2007
Veto Override Procedure in the
House and Senate
Elizabeth Rybicki
Analyst in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Summary
A bill or joint resolution that has been vetoed by the President can become law if
two-thirds of the Members voting in the House and the Senate each agree to pass it over
the President’s objection. The chambers act sequentially on vetoed measures; the House
acts first on House-originated measures (H.R. and H.J. Res.) and the Senate acts first
on Senate-originated measures (S. and S.J. Res.). If the first-acting chamber fails to
override the veto, the measure dies and the other chamber does not consider it. The
House typically considers the question of overriding a presidential veto for an hour, with
time controlled and allocated by the chair and ranking member of the committee with
jurisdiction over the bill. The Senate usually considers the question of overriding a veto
under the terms of a unanimous consent agreement.
According to Article 1, Section 7 of the Constitution, when the President chooses not
to sign a bill1 and returns it instead to the chamber that originated it, the chamber shall
enter the message of the President detailing the reasons for the veto in its Journal and then
“proceed to reconsider” the bill.2 A vetoed bill can become law if two-thirds of the
Members voting in each chamber agree, by recorded vote, a quorum being present, to
repass the bill and thereby override the veto of the President.
1 In this report, the word “bill” is used to refer to all measures that are presented to the President,
which includes bills as well as joint resolutions that do not propose constitutional amendments.
2 Section 7 of Constitution gives the President 10 days, excluding Sundays, after the receipt of
a measure from Congress to choose one of three options: sign the measure into law, veto it and
return it to the Congress, or take no action. If the President takes no action and Congress is in
session, the bill becomes law without his signature. If, however, the Congress adjourns sine die
before the 10 day period has expired, and the President takes no action, then the bill is “pocket
vetoed.” For more information, see CRS Report RS22188, Regular Vetoes and Pocket Vetoes:
An Overview, by Kevin R. Kosar; and CRS Report RL30909, The Pocket Veto: Its Current
Status, by Louis Fisher.

---

CRS-2
The chamber that originated the bill sent to the President acts first on the question
of its reconsideration; in other words, the House acts first on vetoed bills that carry an
“H.R.” or “H.J. Res.” designation, and the Senate acts first on vetoed bills that carry an
“S.” or “S.J. Res.” designation. If the chamber of origin votes to repass the bill, then the
bill with the veto message is transmitted to the second chamber, which then also
reconsiders it.
Nothing in the Constitution requires that either chamber vote directly on the question
of repassing a vetoed bill; the chambers have, for example, referred a vetoed bill to
committee instead. If either chamber fails to vote on the question, then the measure dies.
Both chambers will not necessarily even have a chance to take up the question. If two-
thirds of the Members of the chamber of origin do not agree to override a veto, then the
measure dies and the other chamber does not have an opportunity to vote on the question
of repassing the bill.
The Constitution does not otherwise address how Congress should consider a vetoed
bill, and it is therefore House and Senate rules and practices that additionally govern the
treatment of bills vetoed and returned by the President.
House Procedure
Overview. The consideration of a vetoed bill is a matter of high privilege in the
House, and the chamber generally votes to override or sustain the veto shortly after the
message is received from the President or the Senate. Time for debate on the question is
usually controlled and allocated by members of the committee of jurisdiction, and a
majority of the House can vote to bring consideration to a close. To repass the bill over
the veto of the President requires the support of two-thirds of the Members voting, a
quorum being present.
Beginning Reconsideration of a Vetoed Bill in the House. On the day a
vetoed bill and accompanying presidential message are received, the Speaker lays the
message before the House. The veto message is read and entered in the House Journal.
It is not necessary for a Member to make a motion to reconsider the vetoed bill. If no
Member seeks recognition after the message is read, the Speaker will put the question of
overriding the veto before the House by stating:
The pending question is whether the House will, on reconsideration, pass the bill, the
objections of the President to the contrary notwithstanding.
If Members do not wish immediately to debate the question, several preferential
motions can be made before the Speaker states it. The House can agree by motion (or
unanimous consent) to postpone the consideration of a veto message to a named day or
to refer it to committee.3 The House may also agree to a nondebatable motion to lay the
vetoed bill on the table. While the motion to table usually permanently and adversely
3 The motion to postpone consideration of a veto message and the motion to refer a veto message
are debatable under the hour rule. Both motions can be adversely disposed of with little or no
debate by a nondebatable motion to table.

---

CRS-3
disposes of a matter, that is not true in the case of a vetoed bill; a motion to remove the
bill from the table could be made at any time.
House Debate on Veto Override. Debate on the question of overriding a veto
takes place under the hour rule. In practice, the Speaker recognizes the chair of the
committee with jurisdiction over the vetoed bill for an hour of debate, and the chair in
turn yields 30 minutes to the ranking minority member for purposes of the debate only.4
The chair and ranking member of the committee serve as floor managers of the debate,
yielding portions of time to other Members who wish to speak. Typically, after the hour
is consumed or yielded back, the majority floor manager moves the previous question.
If a majority of the House votes to order the previous question, the vote immediately
occurs on the question of overriding the veto.
Voting in the House. To override a veto, two-thirds of the Members voting, a
quorum being present, must agree to repass the bill over the President’s objections. The
Constitution requires that the vote be by the “yeas and nays,”which in the modern House
means that Members’ votes will be recorded through the electronic voting system. The
vote on the veto override is final because, in contrast to votes on most other questions in
the House, a motion to reconsider the vote on the question of overriding a veto is not in
order.
If the override vote on a House or Senate bill is unsuccessful, then the House informs
the Senate of this fact and typically refers the bill and veto message to committee. If the
House votes to override a veto of a bill that originated in the House (H.R. or H.J. Res.),
the bill and veto message are sent to the Senate for action. If the House successfully
overrides a veto of a bill that originated in the Senate (S. or S.J. Res.), then the bill
becomes law because two-thirds of both chambers have agreed to override the veto.5
Senate Procedure
Overview. If the Senate wishes to reconsider a vetoed bill, Senators generally enter
into a unanimous consent agreement that the message be considered as read, printed in
the Congressional Record, and, as required by the Constitution, entered in the Senate
Journal. Senators often also agree, by unanimous consent, to limit time for debate on the
question of overriding the veto. When the Senate receives a vetoed measure from the
President or the House, it is quite common for it to be “held at the desk” for several days
and considered only after unanimous consent has been reached on the terms of its
consideration. When the vote on the question occurs, it must be taken by rollcall vote and
receive support from two-thirds of the Senators voting, a quorum being present.
4 Because time on the question is controlled by the majority floor manager, other motions are
typically not in order unless the majority floor manager makes the motions or yields to someone
else for that purpose.
5 For additional information on the House action on vetoed bills, see (1) William Holmes Brown
and Charles W. Johnson, House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents, and Procedures of
the House (Washington: GPO, 2003), chapter 57, pp. 901-907; and (2) U.S. Congress, House,
Constitution, Jefferson’s Manual, and Rules of the House of Representatives of the United States,
109th Congress, H.Doc. 108-241, 108th Cong., 2nd sess. (Washington: GPO, 2005), sec. 104-110a.

---

CRS-4
Beginning Reconsideration of a Vetoed Bill in the Senate Without a
Unanimous Consent Agreement. Although generally the Senate reconsiders a
vetoed bill under the terms of a unanimous consent agreement, it is not necessary to
secure the support of all 100 Senators to consider a vetoed bill in the Senate. Absent an
arrangement to hold the veto message at the desk, it would be read and then entered into
the Journal after its receipt from the President or the House.6 The presiding officer
would then state:
Shall the bill pass, the objections of the President of the United States to the contrary
notwithstanding?
Several debatable motions are in order, however, that could displace consideration
of the veto message. The message could be referred to committee, for example, or
postponed to a specific time. Alternatively, the majority leader might make a motion to
proceed to another matter. If the Senate takes any of these actions, then the question of
overriding the veto can only be brought before the Senate by unanimous consent or a
nondebatable motion to proceed.
Finally, once the veto message has been laid before the Senate, it could also be tabled
or indefinitely postponed, which would normally preclude any further action on the
matter.
Senate Debate on Veto Override. The question of overriding a veto is
debatable under the regular rules of the Senate. The question could be debated as long
as any Senator sought recognition to discuss it.
Debate on the question of overriding a veto can be limited by unanimous consent or
by invoking cloture. To end debate through a cloture motion requires the support of
three-fifths of Senators duly chosen and sworn, or 60 Senators if there are no vacancies.7
Cloture is rarely used to end debate on overriding a Presidential veto. The number of
Senators required to end debate is less than the number required to override a veto
(assuming that there are no vacancies and more than 90 Senators vote on the override
question).
Voting in the Senate. Two-thirds of the Senators voting, a quorum being
present, must agree to pass the bill to override the veto. The vote must be a rollcall vote,
and not a voice vote, due to the constitutional requirement that the vote be by the “yeas
and nays.” A motion to reconsider the vote on the question of overriding a veto is in
order only if the Senate fails to override the veto. In other words, if two-thirds of the
Senators agree to override the veto, a motion to reconsider that vote is not in order.
6 Except by unanimous consent, consideration of a veto message would not interrupt
consideration of a measure being considered under the terms of a unanimous consent agreement
(Floyd M. Riddick and Alan S. Frumin, Riddick’s Senate Procedure, 101st Cong., 2nd sess., S.
Doc. 101-28 (Washington: GPO, 1992) (hereafter Riddick’s Senate Procedure), p. 1384.
7 For more information on ending debate in the Senate, see CRS Report RL30360, Filibusters and
Cloture in the Senate, by Richard S. Beth and Stanley Bach.

---

CRS-5
If the Senate fails to override a veto of a Senate-originated bill (S. or S.J. Res.), then
the question of override never reaches the House. The Senate simply informs the House
that the override vote on a House or Senate bill was unsuccessful. If the override vote on
a Senate-originated measure (S. or S.J. Res.) is successful in the Senate, the bill and veto
message are sent to the House for action. If the override vote on a House-originated
measure (H.R. or H.J. Res.) is successful, then the bill becomes law because two-thirds
of both chambers have agreed to override the veto.8

8 For additional information on Senate action on vetoed bills, see U.S. Congress, Senate,
Riddick’s Senate Procedure, pp. 1381-1389.

---