Bill Presentment and the Pocket Veto at the Conclusion of a Congress

Bill Presentment and the Pocket Veto at the Conclusion of a Congress

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INSIGHTi
Bill Presentment and the Pocket Veto at the
Conclusion of a Congress
January 11, 2021
After the sine die adjournment of a Congress, Members and staff may inquire about the status of
legislation passed and sent to the President in the days immediately prior to adjournment. This Insight
provides information on the constitutional bil presentment period, options for presidential action and the
pocket veto, and the resolution of a bil ’s status during this circumstance. It does not discuss the
controversy over inter- or intra-session recesses and asserted pocket vetoes.
Bill Presentment
The U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 7) provides that, for a bil to become law, it must be approved by
both chambers of Congress and presented to the President for approval and signature. The President may
sign a bil into law within a10-day period (excluding Sundays), let the bil become law without signature,
or veto the bil . This time period is referred to as the bil presentment period.
Only Sundays are excluded from the 10-day period; holidays are treated as any other calendar day.
Additional y, as depicted in Figure 1, the day the bil is presented to the President is counted as day 0.
The legislative status of a bil in Congress.gov displays this action date as “Presented to President.”
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
IN11569
CRS INSIGHT
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress

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Figure 1. Bill Presentment Period

Source: Excerpt from CRS Infographic IG10007, Presentation of Legislation and the Veto Process, by Meghan M. Stuessy. The
asterisk in the excerpt above directs the reader to CRS Report R44539, Statements of Administration Policy, by Meghan M.
Stuessy, which discusses the Circular A-19 process.
Congressional Calendar
Questions may arise over whether the conclusion of a Congress and the beginning of a new Congress may
shorten the 10-day period. The 10-day bil presentment period is measured in calendar days and is
unaffected by the congressional calendar. For example, a bil presented to the President just prior to the
January 3 conclusion of a Congress wil stil be eligible for presidential action after January 3.
Options for Presidential Action and the Pocket Veto
While a President may sign a bil into law at any point during the 10-day bil presentment period, a bil
that the President has vetoed or taken no action on is impacted by the status of Congress. In such cases,
the Constitution prescribes whether or not the bil becomes law. Article I, Section 7, reads in part:
If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shal
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.
While observers have questioned what constitutes an appropriate adjournment preventing the return of a
bil , both the legislative and executive branches agree that the sine die adjournment prevents the bil ’s
return. If the President were to veto or take no action on the bil under such conditions, the bil would not
become law because the congressional adjournment prevents the bil ’s return, and Congress cannot
override either event. If the President takes no action on a bil during an appropriate adjournment of
Congress, the bil is considered “pocket vetoed.”
For example, if a bil were to be presented to the President in the 116th Congress, and the bil presentment
period extended beyond January 3, 2021, an unsigned bil could not be received by the since-concluded
116th Congress. A new bil and process to pass the measure would have to begin in the 117th Congress for
it to become law.

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Bill Status and Resources
Both the Congress and the White House maintain resources for checking the status of a bil . Searches may
be conducted on congress.gov to check the status of a bil throughout the legislative process. A
congress.gov search displaying bil s stil available for presidential action in 2021 may be located here.
Depending on the originating chamber of the bil , either the House or Senate Clerk may also be consulted
to ascertain the bil ’s status.
The White House currently notifies the public of a change in a bil ’s status in press releases located at
www.whitehouse.gov/news. Alternatively, staff may contact the White House Office of the Executive
Clerk regarding a bil ’s status.
Public Law Status
Bil s that have become law are sent to the Archivist, the head of the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA), for preparation and publication in the Federal Register. Questions regarding the
status of a public law may be directed to the Office of the Federal Register within NARA.

Author Information

Meghan M. Stuessy

Analyst in Government Organization and Management

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff
to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of
Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of
information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role.
CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United
States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However,
as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the
permission of the copyright holder if you wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

IN11569 · VERSION 2 · NEW