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1 (January 29, 2001)

handle is hein.crs/crsmthaagwe0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code 98-157 GOV Updated January 29, 2001 Congressional Overrides of Presidential Vetoes Gary L. Galemore Analyst in American National Government Government and Finance Division Summary The President's veto authority is among his most significant tools in legislative dealings with Congress. It is effective not only in preventing the passage of legislation undesirable to the President, but also as a threat, sometimes forcing Congress to modify legislation before it is presented to the President. Students of executive-legislative relations suggest that Congress's strength rests with passing statutes and the President's in vetoing them. Illustrative of this point is the fact that Presidents have vetoed 1,484 bills and Congress has overridden only 106 of them. President William Clinton has vetoed 37 bills. Congress has overridden two of these vetoes, one was pocket vetoed. As a veto threat is carried out, Congress is faced with choices: letting the veto stand, the difficult task of overriding the veto, meeting the President's objections and sending a new bill forward, or resubmitting the same provisions under a new bill number.1 In the case of vetoed appropriations bills, the result can be the closure of federal agencies and the furlough of hundreds of thousands of federal employees, with the inevitable disruption of federal programs and services, see CRS Report 98-156, The Presidential Veto and Congressional Procedure, CRS Report 98-148, Presidential Vetoes, 1789-Present: A Summary Overview, and CRS Report 98- 147, President Clinton's Vetoes. All veto reports are updated regularly. Background Historically, the veto power granted the President in the Constitution has proven to be an effective tool for the Chief Executive in his dealings with Congress. Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution provides, in effect, that a President needs the vote of only 1 H.R. 1854 was vetoed October 3, 1995. See: Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1996-Veto Message from the President of the United States (H.Doc.No. 104-122), in Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 141, Oct. 6, 1995, pp. H 9741-9742. H.R. 2492, the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1996, identical to H.R. 1854, passed the House October 31, passed the Senate November 2, and was signed into law on November 19 (P.L. 104-53). Congressional Research Service The Library of Congress CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web

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