Veto

The word veto comes from Latin and literally means I forbid. It is used to denote that a certain party has the right to unilaterally stop a certain piece of legislation. A veto thus gives unlimited power to stop changes, but not to adopt them.

United States

Article One of the United States Constitution requires that all bills or other items of legislation passed by both houses of Congress be presented to the President for his approval. If he returns a bill to Congress within ten days (excluding Sundays) of its presentment to him, the bill does not become law. A two-thirds majority of both houses can adopt a law despite a presidential veto. Likewise, if the President takes no action during this period and Congress remains in session it becomes a law as if he had signed it. However, if Congress has adjourned for the session prior to the expiration of the ten-day period and the President does not wish to sign the bill, he may take no action and the bill will be considered vetoed without possibility of override and without the President having to list his objections. This latter practice is called a pocket veto.

Related Topics:
Article One of the United States Constitution - Congress - President - Pocket veto

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The legislative veto, by which Congress had nullified certain exercises of powers the body had delegated to the executive branch, was ruled unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in INS v. Chadha.

Related Topics:
Legislative veto - United States Supreme Court - INS v. Chadha

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The veto power in the United States Constitution was derived from the British method of Royal Assent. On April 5, 1792 President George Washington vetoed a bill designed to apportion representatives among the several states. This is the first time the presidential veto was used in the United States. The Congress first overrode a presidential veto on March 3, 1845.

Related Topics:
Royal Assent - April 5 - 1792 - George Washington - State - United States - March 3 - 1845

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See also: List of U.S. presidential vetoes.

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Line-item veto

Typically, a veto applies to an entire piece of legislation. Some states in the United States have granted their governors the additional power of a line-item veto. This allows them to veto or "cross out" only certain parts of the legislation, while allowing the rest to pass. Although details vary, it is not uncommon for a piece of legislation that has undergone a line item veto to be returned to the legislative body for final approval; they can either accept the amended legislation or decide not to pass it at all in its new form. The line item veto power has been controversial. Perhaps its most famous abuse was when Governor of Wisconsin, Tommy Thompson, crossed out individual letters in a bill so that the remaining words comprised entirely different sentences, effectively introducing a new provision into the bill. Some states permit line item vetoes only in "appropriation bills," or bills granting money for the various government departments. The United States Congress passed a law authorizing the President to strike out up to three items of appropriation in a single bill, but the Supreme Court ruled this procedure unconstitutional in Clinton v. City of New York {{ussc|524|417|1998}}.

Related Topics:
Line-item veto - Governor of Wisconsin - Tommy Thompson - Clinton v. City of New York

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