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 Original wording is preserved; commentary explains historical and superseded provisions.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 2h

The pocket-veto exception

Current text
unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law

What it means

If congressional adjournment prevents the bill’s return during the review period, the unsigned bill does not become law. This is the constitutional basis of the pocket veto.

Historical setting

The ordinary veto process assumes Congress can receive objections and reconsider. The exception addresses a situation in which adjournment prevents that return process from operating.

What it does

Unlike a regular returned veto, this route supplies no returned measure for immediate override. A central legal question is whether the particular adjournment actually prevented return, not simply whether Congress briefly stopped ordinary floor work.

Debate & interpretation

The rule prevents automatic enactment when reconsideration is unavailable, but it can create disputes over scheduling and receipt of veto messages. Careful analysis must attend to institutional arrangements rather than treat every recess as identical.

A common misreading

Any congressional break does not automatically give the President a pocket veto; the text requires adjournment that prevents return.

Think it through

What facts would you need to decide whether an adjournment truly prevented the President from returning a bill?

Follow the connection

Sources & further reading

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

Sign in to save