Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Is the terrorist trial bill really law now?

Or did Bush bungle it by trying to hold on to it and use for grandstanding purposes?

Here's a quick chronology:
That's 15 days (not counting Sundays or the day on which the bill was passed) from when the bill was passed until when it was signed.

So what's the problem? Article I, Section 7 of the U.S. Constitution, which states:
If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.
That's inconvenient.

Update: The problem is in the bit about presented to him. I thought that passing the bill and sending it out of the committee counted as that. Instead, there's a formal parliamentary action for presenting the bill and this bill was presented to the President on October 10. Crap.

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