MADISONCENTER FOR AMERICAN LEADERSHIP
Support our mission

An invitation to understand

The Constitution,
connected.

Start with a question. Follow a connection.
Discover the ideas that hold a republic together.

YOUR DOCUMENT. YOUR STARTING POINT.

There’s no right place to begin.
Choose something you’re curious about.
We’ll help you take the next step.

Begin with “We the People”
Save your learning

The constitutional text

Article I · Section 7

Select any highlighted phrase to understand what it means.

All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills

Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively, If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall 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

Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.

Source: National Constitution Center edition. Original wording is preserved; commentary explains historical and superseded provisions.

Sign in to save progress
Go at your own pace

You don’t have to understand everything at once. One connection is a good beginning.

LOOK A LITTLE CLOSER

Article I, Section 7, Clause 2g

Inaction can allow a bill to become law

Current text
If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it,

What it means

If the President does not return a bill within ten days, excluding Sundays, it becomes law as though signed, unless the adjournment exception applies. The deadline prevents indefinite executive withholding.

Historical setting

A qualified veto would become effectively absolute if the President could avoid both signature and return forever. The Constitution therefore assigns a legal consequence to inaction.

What it does

The clause creates a route to enactment without an affirmative signature. Counting the period and determining whether return remained possible require attention to the surrounding procedural circumstances.

Debate & interpretation

The rule places responsibility on the executive to act promptly while preserving time for review. Its interaction with adjournment produces the distinct pocket-veto problem in the next passage.

A common misreading

Every enacted federal bill does not necessarily bear a presidential signature; constitutional inaction can also result in law.

Think it through

Why is a deadline with a specified consequence more effective than simply requiring an official to act promptly?

Follow the connection

Sources & further reading

Original Madison Center commentary. Explanations distinguish the text, historical context, and interpretive disagreements.

Sign in to save