Clause 3.—Joint Resolutions.
Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of adjournment), shall be presented to the president of the United States; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or, being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill.
The purpose of this provision is to prevent congress from passing a law under some other name.
The resolution to adjourn is excepted, because, as we have seen, the time for adjournment is generally a matter of agreement between the houses.
A resolution passed by the two houses, but not intended to have the force of law, such as an agreement to do something, is called a concurrent resolution, and does not require the president's signature.
Pertinent Questions.
What is a "bill?" What is meant by entering the objections "at large?" Why is there no committee of ways and means in the Senate?
How many members in each house does it take for the first passage of a bill? How many after the president's veto? Does the expression two-thirds refer to the entire number in a house, or to the number voting?
State three ways in which a bill may become a law. Five ways in which it may fail.
During what time has the president the equivalent of an absolute veto?