What is the difference between a President allowing a bill to become law and a pocket veto?

By Mark Strand

The President is allowing the bipartisan housing bill to become law without his signature. Under Article I, Section 7, Clause 2 of the Constitution, if ten days (Sundays excepted) pass after a bill is presented and the President has not signed or returned it, the bill “shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it,” so long as Congress has not adjourned in a way that prevents its return. In that circumstance, presidential inaction results in the bill becoming law.

There is another circumstance, however, where a President can effectively veto legislation without signing it, known as a “pocket veto.” A pocket veto can occur only when Congress has adjourned such that the President cannot return the bill with his objections within the ten‑day period. For example, if Congress sends the President a bill with only five days left before final adjournment of a session and then adjourns sine die, the legislation will die if the President neither signs it nor returns it, because Congress is no longer in session and thus cannot receive the veto message or attempt an override.

The Constitution gives the President ten days (excluding Sundays) to act on legislation passed by Congress. If he vetoes it during that time, the bill is returned to Congress, which has the opportunity to override the veto by a two‑thirds vote in each chamber. If he does nothing and Congress remains in session, the bill becomes law, as described earlier. But if Congress adjourns in a way that prevents the bill’s return before the ten days are up, the bill is considered dead unless the President proactively signs it; if he does not, the legislation is effectively pocket‑vetoed and Congress would have to repass the bill in a subsequent session.