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Enactment of a Law
Signatures of Speaker and Vice President
Upon receipt of an enrolled bill from the Government Printing Office,
either the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House endorses it,
certifying where the bill originated. If, after examination by the Enrolling
Clerk of that House, the bill is found to be in the form agreed upon by
both Houses, a slip is attached thereto stating that the bill, identified
by number and title, has been examined and found truly enrolled. It is
then presented to the Speaker of the House for his signature, which is
announced in open session. Usually, enrolled bills are signed first by
the Speaker. The bill is then transmitted by messenger to the Senate, where
it is signed by the Vice President.
Under the rules of the House, the Committee on House Oversight is
charged, when an enrolled bill has been duly signed by the Speaker and
the Vice President, to present the same, when the bill has originated in
the House, to the President of the United States for his signature "and
report the fact and date of such presentation to the House." If it
is a Senate bill, this responsibility of presenting the bill to the President
falls on the Secretary of the Senate.
An error discovered in a bill after the legislative steps in its
passage have been completed may be corrected by authority of a concurrent
resolution, provided the bill has not yet been approved by the President.
If the bill has not been enrolled, the error may be corrected in the enrollment;
if it has been enrolled and signed by the Presiding Officers of the two
Houses, or by the Speaker, such action may be rescinded by a concurrent
resolution agreed to by the two Houses, and the bill correctly re-enrolled.
If it has been presented to the President, but not acted upon by him, he
may be requested by a concurrent resolution to return it to the Senate
or the House for correction. If, however, the President has approved the
bill, and it has thereby become a law, any amendment thereof can only be
made by the passage of another bill, which must take the same course as
the original.
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