Government
Introduction
The President of the United States is known as the most powerful person in the world. However, the legislative powers bestowed on him by the constitution are keenly defined by the constitution and through checks and balances by the branches of the government. The paper will focus on the legislative powers o the president and varied limitations he has in passing a bill.
Approving Legislation
A bill is first introduced into the house, where it goes through varied committees. It is later scheduled for presentation to the house. The bill passes through debates that would see amendments made to it and a final vote on it. The bill goes through the Conference committee where by it is debated and voted on. It is later presented to the president who wither signs or allows it become law by simply doing nothing (Shafie, 167). He can veto a bill where the First and Second chamber can vote to override veto. The bill becomes law one a two thirds majority of override is reached.
Basically it is the work of the Congress to bring a bill to the house and pass it as legislation, however the president’s work is charged to either assenting or rejecting the bills. In a case where the president assents to a bill, it directly becomes law or at a stated time (Rottinghaus, 84). The law may however do away with the law by labelling it as unconstitutional. Additionally, the president may provide with the bill, a signing statement when assenting to a bill. The statement is meant to offer guidelines on the objective of the bill, direct the related executive bodies on how it should be implemented or issue an opinion about the law.
Vetoing Legislation
The president has the power to veto a bill. This powers bestowed to the president can be overruled through a majority Congress who are of two-thirds majority of the senate and the House (Shafie, 169). Be it the senate or the House that overrides a bill, it can rewrite the legislation after a veto and return it to the president for assent.
The president may similarly take a third option which is to not do anything. In such an instance, two process would be involved. If this happens when the Congress is in session, then ten days after the president receives it and does nothing, it then automatically takes into effect. This is a good example of the limitation of the president (Rottinghaus, 85). Another process involved is that if the Congress is not in session and the president does not assent to the bill in a period of ten days, the bill ceases to exist and the Congress cannot override it. This acquires the term pocket veto.
No Congressional Approval Needed
Considering the presidents limitation to make bills become law through congress interference, the bills can be made law without their involvement. The president may use proclamation process, mostly ceremonial, like naming a day in recognition of a person that has a played a major role in the society. Additionally, the president can direct the executive, as they have the full backing of the law and is applied by the federal agencies that are supposed to implement the order. A good example is Franklin D. Roosevelt’s order for internment that arose due to an attack on the Pearl Harbor, and Truman’s integration of the forces.
The Congress do not have the ability to override the arm of the government, the executive, as they are able to do when a veto is issued. However, the Congress have the ability to cancel a bill or alter an order issued by the president whichever way they find it appropriate (Rottinghaus, 103). The president will basically have to undertake a veto on the bill and the Congress undertake an override on the veto for the subsequent bill. Additionally, the president’s powers are curtailed through the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court can overturn an executive order issued by the president (Warber, 17). This can be done by stating that the bill is not in line with the constitution.
The President’s Legislative Objective
Annually, the president is supposed to issue an address to the State of the Union. It is at this point in time of the year that the president provides the Congress with his legislative program for the consecutive year. He states the areas that he offers as being vital for the government and the country as a whole.
The president has to get his legislative agenda accepted by the Congress. For this to happen, he will have to ask a member of the Congress to sponsor bills and get backing from other members to make the bill be in effect. The Members of the president’s staff like the vice president and other people with a strong connection with the Capitol Hill will take part in seeking support for the legislation. In this instances the public plays a major role in pushing the political class to pass a vote in support or to reject it. The background checks is one such example which received over 80 percent of American citizens backing. The bill however did not receive that needed backing of two thirds majority (Dudley, 75). The bill got a backing of 54 legislators to 46 who opposed it. This was six votes shy of what was required to reach sixty. Later, the Senate shot down a proposal to restrict the manufacture and sale of guns commonly the assault rifles and restrict ammunition magazines (Dudley, 76). This bill attracted 40 votes for it and 60 votes against it in the senate.
Conclusion
The Paper has been able to show the process that is applied in the passage of a bill in the US. The President of the US, seen as the most powerful person, has limited abilities to allow bills to pass considering the legislatures role in them. The president’s powers are limited through a call for two thirds majority of the bills or either cancellation of law through the Supreme Court that renders it unconstitutional. Additionally, the public through pressure groups and other bodies are able to enlist their support by convincing the law makers to support or reject a bill.
Works Cited
Dudley, S. Gun Control. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2004, p. 75-76. Print.
Rottinghaus, Brandon. “The Presidency and Congress.” In New Directions in the American Presidency, ed. Lori Cox Han. New York: Routledge, 2011, p. 83-102. Print.
Shafie, David. “The Presidency and Domestic Policy.” In New Directions in the American Presidency, ed. Lori Cox Han. New York: Routledge, 2011, p. 166-179. Print.
Warber, Adam L. Executive orders and the modern presidency: Legislating from the oval office. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc., 2006. Print.
