Kagro X rules. H.R. 1585 seems to be well and truly vetoed, nevertheless.
The House and Senate both are adjourned or recessed according to the provisions of S.CON.RES.61.ENR.
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That when the Senate recesses or adjourns on any day from Tuesday, December 18, 2007, through Monday, December 31, 2007, on a motion offered pursuant to this concurrent resolution by its Majority Leader or his designee, it stand adjourned sine die, or until such day and time as may be specified in the motion to recess or adjourn, or until the time of any reassembly pursuant to section 3 of this concurrent resolution, whichever occurs first; and that when the House adjourns on any legislative day from Tuesday, December 18, 2007, through Saturday, December 22, 2007, on a motion offered pursuant to this concurrent resolution by its Majority Leader or his designee, it stand adjourned sine die, or until the time of any reassembly pursuant to section 3 of this concurrent resolution.
Sec. 2. When the Senate recesses or adjourns on Thursday, January 3, 2008, on a motion offered pursuant to this concurrent resolution by its Majority Leader or his designee, it shall stand recessed or adjourned until noon on Tuesday, January 22, 2008, or such other time on that day as may be specified in the motion to recess or adjourn, or until the time of any reassembly pursuant to section 3 of this concurrent resolution, whichever occurs first; and when the House adjourns on the legislative day of Thursday, January 3, 2008, on a motion offered pursuant to this concurrent resolution by its Majority Leader or his designee, it shall stand recessed or adjourned until noon on Tuesday, January 15, 2008, or until the time of any reassembly pursuant to section 3 of this concurrent resolution, whichever occurs first.
Sec. 3. The Majority Leader of the Senate and the Speaker of the House, or their respective designees, acting jointly after consultation with the Minority Leader of the Senate and the Minority Leader of the House, shall notify Members of the Senate and the House, respectively, to reassemble at such a place and time as they may designate if, in their opinion, the public interest shall warrant it.
The House and Senate both are adjourned sine die.
adjournment sine die - The end of a legislative session "without day." These adjournments are used to indicate the final adjournment of an annual or the two-year session of a Congress.
In S.CON.RES.61.ENR (text above) the Senate gave the House permission to adjourn for more than 3 days.
adjourn for more than 3 days - Under the Constitution, neither chamber may adjourn for more than three days without the approval of the other. Such approval is obtained in a concurrent resolution approved by both chambers.
The House adjourned December 19, the same day H.R. 1585 was sent to prez. The House has not reconvened.
The Senate adjourned December 19, the same day H.R. 1585 was sent to prez, and has been holding pro forma sessions since then.
From the White House Memorandum of Disapproval,
The adjournment of the Congress has prevented my return of H.R. 1585 within the meaning of Article I, section 7, clause 2 of the Constitution. Accordingly, my withholding of approval from the bill precludes its becoming law. The Pocket Veto Case, 279 U.S. 655 (1929).
The remainder of the paragraph:
In addition to withholding my signature and thereby invoking my constitutional power to "pocket veto" bills during an adjournment of the Congress, I am also sending H.R. 1585 to the Clerk of the House of Representatives, along with this memorandum setting forth my objections, to avoid unnecessary litigation about the non-enactment of the bill that results from my withholding approval and to leave no doubt that the bill is being vetoed.
United States Constitution, Article I, section 7, clause 2:
Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each House respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law.
From the wiki,
What exactly constitutes an adjournment for the purposes of the pocket veto has been unclear. In the Pocket Veto Case (1929), the Supreme Court held that "the determinative question in reference to an 'adjournment' is not whether it is a final adjournment of Congress or an interim adjournment, such as an adjournment of the first session, but whether it is one that 'prevents' the President from returning the bill to the House in which it originated within the time allowed." Since neither House of Congress was in session, the President could not return the bill to one of them, thereby permitting the use of the pocket veto. In Wright v. United States (1938), however, the Court ruled that adjournments of one House only did not constitute an adjournment of Congress required for a pocket veto. In such cases, the Secretary or Clerk of the House in question was ruled competent to receive the bill.
What a fine mess.
It seems to me that the bill is vetoed, however. This seems to be the view of Reid and Pelosi also.
Reid-Pelosi press release The date is December 28. The date of the White House Memorandum of Disapproval also is December 28.
UPDATE: Pursuant to comments, the Senate is not adjourned sine die. The Senate is meeting and recessing, according to the Congressional Record.
Hat tip and thanks to Kagro X.