Question 43System of Government

Who signs bills to become laws?

Answers USCIS accepts

  • The President (of the United States)

What does this answer mean?

The President of the United States signs bills to make them laws. A bill is a proposed law that has passed both the House and the Senate.

Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution explains what happens next. The bill goes to the president, who can sign it, making it law, or veto it and send it back to Congress with objections. Congress can then override the veto with a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate.

There's a third possibility. If the president doesn't act on a bill within ten days, not counting Sundays, it becomes law without a signature, unless Congress has adjourned in the meantime. In that case the bill doesn't become law, which is often called a pocket veto.

Signing bills is one of the president's powers and one of the accepted answers to "Name one power of the president."

At the interview, say "the President."

Memory tip

Congress passes bills; the president signs them into law.

Sources2

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