What happens if the House and Senate versions of a bill are different?
What happens if the House and Senate versions of a bill are different? Each version is voted on in a joint session with all members of the House and Senate. The Senate can pass its version by majority vote, and the bill then goes to the president.
Can the President refuse to execute a law because he thinks it is unconstitutional?
The opinion concluded that the Constitution authorizes the President to refuse to enforce a law that he believes is unconstitutional.
Can Congress can pass any law it wants to true or false?
All legislative power in the government is vested in Congress, meaning that it is the only part of the government that can make new laws or change existing laws. The President may veto bills Congress passes, but Congress may also override a veto by a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
What is required for Congress to override a presidential veto?
To override a veto, two-thirds of the Members voting, a quorum being present, must agree to repass the bill over the President’s objections.
What power does the Senate have that the House doesn t?
The Senate shares full legislative power with the House of Representatives. In addition, the Senate has exclusive authority to approve–or reject–presidential nominations to executive and judicial offices, and to provide–or withhold–its “advice and consent” to treaties negotiated by the executive.
Do Senate bills have to pass the House?
A bill must pass both houses of Congress before it goes to the President for consideration. Though the Constitution requires that the two bills have the exact same wording, this rarely happens in practice. To bring the bills into alignment, a Conference Committee is convened, consisting of members from both chambers.
Can the president ignore federal law?
Some scholars argue that Presidents must enforce all congressional laws, without regard to his or her own constitutional opinions. Yet modern Presidents occasionally exercise a power to ignore such enactments on the grounds they are not true “laws” subject to the faithful execution duty.
Can the president overturn a Supreme Court ruling?
When the Supreme Court rules on a constitutional issue, that judgment is virtually final; its decisions can be altered only by the rarely used procedure of constitutional amendment or by a new ruling of the Court.
What comes first the Senate or the House?
All laws in the United States begin as bills. Before a bill can become a law, it must be approved by the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and the President.
Are filibusters allowed in the house?
At the time, both the Senate and the House of Representatives allowed filibusters as a way to prevent a vote from taking place. Subsequent revisions to House rules limited filibuster privileges in that chamber, but the Senate continued to allow the tactic.
Can Congress and Senate override presidential veto?
The power of the President to refuse to approve a bill or joint resolution and thus prevent its enactment into law is the veto. This veto can be overridden only by a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House. If this occurs, the bill becomes law over the President’s objections.
Can the House of Representatives override the Senate?
COMMITTEE ACTION Most often, the actual referral decision is made by the House or Senate parliamentarian. Bills may be referred to more than one committee and it may be split so that parts are sent to different committees. The Speaker of the House may set time limits on committees.
Why does the Senate have its own rules?
The Senate has the constitutional authority to set its own rules, just as the House does. The Senate website quotes George Washington as explaining to Thomas Jefferson that the framers intended the Senate to “cool” legislation passed by the House “just as a saucer is used to cool hot tea.”
What are the operating rules of the House of Representatives?
The Library of Congress summarizes the operating rules of the House of Representatives: Only a numerical majority is required to pass legislation in the House, which allows bills to be processed quickly. By contrast, Senate votes typically require a three-fifths majority, or 60 votes in favor.
When can the presiding officer lay a bill before the Senate?
At any time the Presiding Officer may lay, or a Senator may move to lay, before the Senate any bill or other matter sent to the Senate by the President or the House of Representatives, and any pending question or business at that time shall be suspended, but not displaced.
How can Senators slow down the progress of a bill?
In the Senate, individual senators have more options to slow the progress of a bill by making procedural requests, such as keeping floor debate open on the matter at hand. This is intended to encourage deliberation, or the careful discussion and consideration, of issues.