Also known as: legislative vetoes · congressional veto
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A statutory mechanism by which one or both houses of Congress may nullify an action taken by the executive branch or an administrative agency pursuant to delegated authority. The mechanism operates without requiring passage by both houses and presentment to the President. Any such provision violates the bicameralism and presentment requirements of Article I when it alters the legal rights or duties of persons outside the legislative branch.
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The Federal Trade Commission approved a national nonprofit's application to administer a refugee resettlement program. One house of Congress passed a resolution voiding the grant under a statutory provision allowing unilateral cancellation. The resolution has no legal effect because it altered the nonprofit's rights without bicameral passage or presentment to the President.
A federal statute transferred control of two airports to a local authority while reserving veto power over the authority's decisions to a review board composed of members of Congress. The board attempted to block a local decision on runway expansion. The veto attempt fails because it either constitutes an invalid legislative veto or improperly assigns executive power to legislators.
The Federal Workplace Safety Agency issued Metro Scaffold, Inc. a permit for experimental scaffolding designs. The Senate adopted a resolution cancelling the permit without House concurrence or presentment to the President. The cancellation is invalid because it changes Metro Scaffold's legal rights through unilateral legislative action.
The Department of Health and Human Services approved a merger between Oak Mall and Republic Goods. The House passed a resolution blocking the merger under a statutory one-house veto clause. The resolution cannot halt the merger because it bypasses bicameralism and presentment requirements.
The Federal Banking Commission granted NovaPay a special-purpose bank charter. The House passed a resolution cancelling the charter pursuant to a statute permitting unilateral congressional action. The resolution is unconstitutional because it alters NovaPay's legal status without satisfying bicameralism and presentment.
A statute transferred airport authority to a local body but gave a congressional review board power to veto the body's decisions. The board attempted to halt a noise-abatement plan. The veto is invalid because it either creates an unconstitutional legislative veto or assigns executive power to members of Congress.
A legislative veto is unconstitutional because it permits one or both houses of Congress to alter the legal rights or duties of persons outside the legislative branch without bicameral passage and presentment to the President. The Constitution requires that any exercise of legislative power conform to those procedures. A one-house resolution nullifying an executive decision bypasses those requirements.
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…to Chadha, it exceeded the scope of its constitutionally prescribed authority. I would not reach the broader question whether legislative vetoes are invalid under the Presentment Clauses. JUSTICE WHITE, dissenting. Today the Court not only invalidates § 244(c)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, but also sounds the death…
…in our case law. See, e. g. , Alaska Airlines, Inc. v. Brock , 480 U.S. 678, 684-697 (1987) (severing unconstitutional legislative veto provision from other provisions). However, severability questions arise from unconstitutional applications of statutes as well. Congress often expressly provides for severance of…
…that the proper interpretation of the Clause falls within the province of the Judiciary. Addressing the constitutionality of the legislative veto, for example, the Court found it necessary and proper to interpret Art. I, § 1, as one of the "[e]xplicit and unambiguous provisions of the Constitution [that] prescribe and define the…
No. The original enactment of the statute does not validate later use of the veto provision. The veto itself constitutes a separate exercise of legislative power that must independently satisfy bicameralism and presentment. Prior statutory inclusion cannot waive the constitutional requirements.
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Ordinary oversight includes hearings, investigations, and nonbinding expressions of opinion. A legislative veto binds outside parties by nullifying an executive action through a resolution that lacks bicameral passage and presentment. Only the latter alters legal rights and therefore triggers the constitutional requirements.
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Yes. Congress may overturn or modify an agency decision by passing a new bill that satisfies bicameralism and presentment. That process complies with Article I. A one-house resolution cannot substitute for that process.
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