--- title: Here are the 8 Bills Obama Has Threatened to Veto description: These are the specific bills Obama has threatened to veto, in order from most to least likely to actually reach his desk. canonical: https://time.com/3680573/obama-veto-threats/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-23T21:27:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T03:50:24.541Z article:section: Politics og:title: Here are the 8 Bills Obama Has Threatened to Veto og:description: The White House might want to buy some more pens. og:url: https://time.com/3680573/obama-veto-threats/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta52596e002f51645/69877abb3c16393007451428/barack-obama-india.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Barack Obama og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here are the 8 Bills Obama Has Threatened to Veto twitter:description: The White House might want to buy some more pens. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta52596e002f51645/69877abb3c16393007451428/barack-obama-india.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here Are the 8 Bills Obama Has Threatened to Veto > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jan 23, 2015 9:27 PM UTC  President Barack Obama in the White House in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 16, 2015. President Barack Obama in the White House in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 16, 2015. Carolyn Kaster—AP  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jan 23, 2015 9:27 PM UTC President Obama’s veto threats may end up being more like empty threats. Though he’s only vetoed two bills so far in office — [far fewer than most other presidents](http://www.senate.gov/reference/Legislation/Vetoes/vetoCounts.htm) — Obama has told the newly Republican-controlled Congress that he will veto more if they send him the wrong bills. Obama made four veto threats in his [State of the Union address](http://time.com/3675705/full-text-state-union-2015/) alone on stiffer Iran sanctions, the Affordable Care Act, Wall Street oversight and immigration. “If a bill comes to my desk that tries to do any of these things, I will veto it,” he said. But just because the President threatens a veto, that doesn’t mean he will. Nearly all of the bills he’s warned Congress about probably won’t make it out of the Senate anyway. Here’s a look at the eight veto threats Obama has made so far. **Keystone XL Pipeline Act** **What it would do:** Approve construction of an oil pipeline between Canada and the U.S. Gulf Coast. **Where it stands now:** The Senate is currently working out the final amendments to the bill, and it should go to a final passage vote before the end of January. It almost passed the Senate last year but [lost by one vote](http://time.com/3593219/senate-defeats-keystone-bill-landrieu/). **Regulatory Accountability Act of 2015** **What it would do:** Establish tougher requirements for writing federal regulations. **Where it stands now:** It passed the House and has some chance of passing in the Senate with the new Republican majority and support from moderate Democrats. **Save American Workers Act of 2015** **What it would do:** Increase the number of hours a week an employee has to work in order to get employer-provided health insurance, from 30 to 40. **Where it stands now:** It passed the House, but there’s a scramble to line up the 60 necessary votes to pass the Senate (which would have to include six Democrats). **No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act** **What it would do:** Ban taxpayer funding for abortion. **Where it stands now:** The act already passed the House, though it will be far less likely to pass the Senate because of the scarcity of pro-life Democrats. **Promoting Job Creation and Reducing Small Business Burdens Act** **What it would do:** Weaken almost a dozen provisions in the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial overhaul. **Where it stands now:** It passed the House, but likely won’t pass the Senate. However, Republicans could muscle portions of it into law by attaching them to critical spending bills. **Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Reform Act** **What it would do:** Require a decision on natural gas pipeline project applications within 12 months. **Where it stands now:** The act has passed the House. While some House Democrats voted for the bill, it will likely stall in the Senate. **Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act** **What it would do:** Overturn Obama’s 2014 executive action on immigration, which shielded millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation. **Where it stands now:** The bill in this form passed the House, but almost certainly won’t pass the Senate with the amendments about Obama’s executive action. However, some form of this bill needs to be passed by the end of February. **Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act** **What it would do:** Ban most abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy. **Where it stands now:** The bill got pulled from the House this week amid concerns from female GOP lawmakers that it would weaken the party’s appeal among women and millennial voters. 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