"We have not held a hearing on this matter since 2006, and I think it is worth our time to take another look at this issue before we consider legislation to ensure it does not harm consumers," the Michigan Democrat said.
The bill passed the House in April on a voice vote, and passed the Senate without a single senator objecting on Sept. 27. It was considered so noncontroversial that it received no debate in the Senate, and only the most abbreviated consideration in the House.
Soon after the Senate vote, Congress left town to campaign for November's elections.
Under the Constitution, the president can block a bill from taking effect if Congress has gone out of session by simply refusing to sign it — a so-called pocket veto.
But while the House is adjourned until mid-November, the Senate is actually still meeting every few days in pro forma session. When Mr. Bush used a pocket veto under similar circumstances in 2007, Democratic leaders in Congress protested, saying it was unconstitutional. Republicans yesterday reprised those comments, challenging Democrats to take on their party's leader over the issue.
The veto wasn't the only thumb to Congress' eye Thursday.
For good measure, the president also issued a "signing statement" on the annual intelligence policy bill, despite having harshly criticized Mr. Bush for his use of signing statements — typically detailing presidential reservations about parts of the law — during his eight-year tenure.
Mr. Obama has now notched two vetoes in his first two years. The first, also a pocket veto, came on a stop-gap spending bill Mr. Obama said was unnecessary because Congress had already passed another bill containing the same funding.
Mr. Bush didn't veto his first bill until well into his sixth year in office. He ended his two terms with just 12 vetoes, tied with President Kennedy, who served less than three years before he was assassinated in 1963.
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