Legislative Functions

♤ No presence in legislature

♤ The President doesn’t address the legislature

♤ He cannot dissolve the legislature

♤ He can send messages to the legislature (the system of sending messages exists in USA because there is Separation of Power. So this is the way that the President can interact. The system of sending messages is found in India also, but the logic of the provision is not clear because the President has no discretionary power and he has to act on the advice of the P.M.)

Veto Power

Under the Constitution, the President may respond to a bill passed by the Congress in one of the three ways. He may sign it, veto the bill by returning it to Congress, or do nothing. If he does nothing, the bill becomes a law after the passage of ten days, excluding Sundays. However, if the Congress adjourns sooner than ten days, the bill dies, under the “pocket veto” provision. If the President vetoes a bill, the Congress can still enact it into a law bypassing the measure again with two-thirds majority in both the houses. This is known as “qualified veto”.