GED Social Studies Practice Test 20 — Flashcards

Use the following information for Questions below.    

Every bill that is intended to become part of the law in the United States must be presented to the president for approval. When the president receives the bill, he can sign it into law or return the unsigned bill to Congress with his objections to the bill. The latter case is known as a presidential veto. Congress can overturn a presidential veto with a two-thirds vote of both houses, whereupon the bill becomes law.    

Alternatively, if the president doesn’t want the bill to become law but doesn’t want to be seen as vetoing the law directly, he can use a pocket veto. Whenever Congress is not in session, the president can simply decide not to sign the bill and say that he was unable to return the bill to Congress within 10 days because Congress was ‘on vacation.’ At that point, the bill is automatically rejected without the president having to do anything.