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ColinHowell (Offline)
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Posts: 79
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Mountain View, California
11-03-2010, 08:17 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by x2cool View Post
They have a majority in the House but not the Senate. Don't know how much of an effect this will have since things go from congress to senate to president. So just because republicans pass something in congress it will be harder to pass through the senate, and if it does Obama can veto it. So it seems like republicans and democrats are going to have to work together right?
Where you said "congress" you mean the House. "Congress" is made up of the House and the Senate.

Bills don't have to pass from the House to the Senate; either the House or the Senate can draft a bill. If the bill passes in that body, it is sent to the other body, where it may be passed, amended, or rejected. If amended, the two bodies must then come to agreement on the bill's final contents before it can reach the President for his approval.

If the President vetoes the bill, it can still pass if both the House and the Senate can get enough votes (a 2/3 majority) to override the veto.

But your basic point is correct. Since the U.S. now has a split Congress (a Republican majority in the House, and apparently a slim Democratic majority in the Senate), it will be more difficult for bills to make it to the President, and it will be much more difficult for Congress to override a veto.
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