Legislative and Judicial Powers
Legislative PowersAs chief of party, the President greatly influences Congress. He sends messages to Congress to suggest legislation. He sends 3 major messages a year:
1.) The State of the Union, delivered to a joint session of Congress. 2.) The President's budget message. 3.) The Annual Economic Report. Veto PowerEvery bill or measure that requires the consent of both the House and the Senate must be submitted through the President. Once an aspiring law confronts the President, he has a few options. He can sign the bill, making it into a law, or he can veto the bill. If he chooses to do neither of these, he can allow the bill to become a law by not acting upon it within 10 days. He can also exercise what is called a pocket veto, by not acting on a bill before Congress adjourns. Congress does have the power to override a veto with a two-thirds vote of both houses, but this rarely happens.
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Signing StatementsSigning statements describe how a new law should be enforced or point out problems that the President sees with the law. Presidents can issue these statements when they are signing a bill into a law. President George W. Bush issued a record number of signing statements. Critics of Bush saw this as an attempt to veto bills without exercising a formal veto.
Line-Item VetoThe President can either reject ALL of a bill or accept ALL of a bill. He cannot pick and choose parts of it. The proposed line-item veto would allow the President to cancel out some parts of a bill while approving others.
Judicial PowersThe President can grant pardons and reprieves in federal cases. A pardon is the legal forgiveness of a crime. The President can pardon people before they have even been tried for a crime, though it is very rare. A person must also accept a pardon in order for it to go into effect. The President can commute, or reduce a fine or prison sentence and he can also issue a blanket amnesty that pardons a group of people.
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