MADISONCENTER FOR AMERICAN LEADERSHIP
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connected.

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 Original wording is preserved; commentary explains historical and superseded provisions.

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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 3a

Changing a measure’s name does not avoid presentment

Current text
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;

What it means

Orders, resolutions, and votes requiring both chambers’ concurrence generally must also be presented to the President. The text excepts decisions about adjournment.

Historical setting

Without this provision, Congress could try to evade the veto simply by calling legislation a resolution instead of a bill. The Constitution follows the substance of joint legislative action rather than relying only on its label.

What it does

A measure’s constitutional process depends on what it does and the authority under which it acts. Particular constitutional functions, such as proposing amendments, require their own analysis rather than being mechanically treated as ordinary legislation.

Debate & interpretation

The principle discourages procedural evasion while leaving room for the distinct functions the Constitution assigns Congress. The important interpretive task is identifying whether a purported alternative procedure is genuinely authorized or merely a relabeled law.

A common misreading

Calling a binding legislative measure a resolution does not automatically remove the President from the process.

Think it through

How can a constitution prevent officials from escaping a restriction by changing the name of their action?

Follow the connection

Sources & further reading

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

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