Pocket Vetoes Essay

Submitted By samanthale82
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Pages: 2

Pocket Vetoes
When a bill reaches the President, he can sign and pass the bill and it will become a law. However, if it sits unsigned for more than 10 days, it becomes law whether he signed it or not. The exception to the 10-day rule is called a pocket veto. In a pocket veto, the President can kill a bill if it goes unsigned and Congress adjourns prior to the 10-day time limit. The term "pocket veto" comes from the fact that if the President knows an adjournment is coming, he can place the bill in his pocket and forget about it.
Since the American Government was formed, thirty-seven of our forty-four presidents have exercised their veto authority. Franklin D. Roosevelt has the highest amount of vetoes totaling six-hundred thirty-five (635). Three-hundred seventy-two (372) were regular vetoes and two-hundred sixty-three (263) were pocket vetoes, (Kosar 2014)1.
“Bands of the State of Washington v. United States and Okanogan, Methow, San Poelis, Nespelem, Colville, and Lake Indian Tribes v. US) 279 U.S. 655 (1929) was a 1929 United States Supreme Court decision which interpreted the Constitutional provisions regarding the pocket veto,” 2 (Wikipedia Contributors 2013). In 1926, the United States Congress passed a Senate Bill allowing American Indians in the state of Washington to sue for the loss of their lands. The bill was sent to President Calvin Coolidge for him to either sign or veto. Congress adjourned for the summer and the tenth day the bill passed without a