Terms in this set (5) What happens if a president refuses to sign a bill? It becomes law if Congress is still in session after 10 days; otherwise it does not become law.

A bill becomes law if signed by the President or if not signed within 10 days and Congress is in session. If Congress adjourns before the 10 days and the President has not signed the bill then it does not become law (“Pocket Veto.”) If the veto of the bill is overridden in both chambers then it becomes law.

If the president doesn’t sign a bill within 10 days and congress is in session it automatically becomes a law. If the bill is not signed and congress is not in session, then the bill dies. It is then sent to the President to either be signed or vetoed. If signed the bill becomes a law.

Once the bill is passed by the House of Representatives and by the Senate the bill is given to the President to review and approve of. The President then has ten days to sign or veto the bill. If the President does not sign or veto the bill within the ten days the bill is automatically a law.

United States. Normally if a president does not sign a bill, it becomes law after ten days as if he had signed it. A pocket veto occurs when a bill fails to become law because the president does not sign it within the ten-day period and cannot return the bill to Congress because Congress is no longer in session.

pocket veto – The Constitution grants the president 10 days to review a measure passed by the Congress. If the president has not signed the bill after 10 days, it becomes law without his signature.

Let’s follow a bill’s journey to become law.

1. The Bill Begins. Laws begin as ideas.
2. The Bill Is Proposed. When a Representative has written a bill, the bill needs a sponsor.
3. The Bill Is Introduced.
4. The Bill Goes to Committee.
5. The Bill Is Reported.
6. The Bill Is Debated.
7. The Bill Is Voted On.
8. The Bill Is Referred to the Senate.