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Question 43 of 128 · American Government · System of Government

Who signs bills to become laws?

Also question 33 on the 2008 test.

Accepted answer

  • The President (of the United States)

Why this is the answer

Signing is the President's job. Once a bill has passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate, it goes to the President, and the President's signature turns it into a federal law that everyone in the country has to follow. The path to that signature is longer than it looks. Every law starts as a proposal from a member of Congress, either a senator or a representative. The President cannot introduce a bill; a President with an idea for one has to find a member of Congress to put it forward. In the chamber where the bill begins, a committee studies it and sometimes changes it before the full chamber votes. Passing takes a majority in each chamber, which the study guide puts at 218 of the 435 voting members of the House and, for most bills, 51 of the 100 senators, or a majority of those present and voting. When the House and the Senate pass different versions, a conference committee with members from both works out a final text and sends it back to both houses. A bill they both approve is called "enrolled," and the enrolled bill is what reaches the President. Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution sets out the President's options. If the President approves, the President signs. If not, the bill goes back to Congress with the President's objections. There is also a clock: a bill the President keeps for ten days, Sundays excepted, becomes law without a signature, unless Congress has adjourned in the meantime and prevented its return, in which case it does not become law. In the interview, "the President" is the complete answer, and "of the United States" can be added or left off. The Speaker of the House, the Vice President and the Chief Justice are all wrong here, because none of them signs bills. Without the President's signature, a bill becomes law only through the ten-day rule or when Congress overrides a veto. Keep the order of events in mind and the answer follows: Congress writes and passes, the President signs.

Sources

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