A bill is passed to the president for action while Congress is still in session. After ten days they have still not approved it. What happens to the bill?

A bill is passed to the president for action while Congress is still in session. After ten days they have still not approved it. What happens to the bill?

• A. It is returned to Congress
• B. It is vetoed
• C. It becomes law
• D. Nothing; the president has thirty days to act on a bill

Answer: (C)

The key idea is that when Congress is in session, a bill sent to the president must be acted on within ten days. If the president does nothing during those ten days, the bill automatically becomes law. Since Congress is still in session in this scenario and ten days have passed with no action, the bill becomes law. This isn’t a veto or a return to Congress, and it isn’t waiting for thirty days. A pocket veto could happen only if Congress had adjourned before the ten-day window, which isn’t the case here.

The key idea is that when Congress is in session, a bill sent to the president must be acted on within ten days. If the president does nothing during those ten days, the bill automatically becomes law. Since Congress is still in session in this scenario and ten days have passed with no action, the bill becomes law.

This isn’t a veto or a return to Congress, and it isn’t waiting for thirty days. A pocket veto could happen only if Congress had adjourned before the ten-day window, which isn’t the case here.