Reading Room Document

Severability of Legislative Veto Provision

A legislative veto provision in the Selective Service Act, which would authorize either House of Congress to disapprove contracts in excess of $25,000,000, is unconstitutional under Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha, but is severable from the rest of the statute. This unconstitutional provision must be severed from the statute in its entirety, including its language calling for notification to Congress of proposed contracts. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/23296/download.

February 28, 1991