What is "joint resolution"

Joint \Joint\ (joint), a. [F., p. p. of joindre. See Join.]

1. Joined; united; combined; concerted; as, joint action.

2. Involving the united activity of two or more; done or produced by two or more working together.

   I read this joint effusion twice over.
   --T. Hook.

3. United, joined, or sharing with another or with others; not solitary in interest or action; holding in common with an associate, or with associates; acting together; as, joint heir; joint creditor; a joint bank account; joint debtor, etc. ``Joint tenants of the world.''
   --Donne.

4. Shared by, or affecting two or more; held in common; as, joint property; a joint bond.

   A joint burden laid upon us all.
   --Shak.

   Joint committee (Parliamentary Practice), a committee composed of members of the two houses of a legislative body, for the appointment of which concurrent resolutions of the two houses are necessary.
   --Cushing.

   Joint meeting, or Joint session, the meeting or session of two distinct bodies as one; as, a joint meeting of committees representing different corporations; a joint session of both branches of a State legislature to chose a United States senator. ``Such joint meeting shall not be dissolved until the electoral votes are all counted and the result declared.''
   --Joint Rules of Congress, U. S.

   Joint resolution (Parliamentary Practice), a resolution adopted concurrently by the two branches of a legislative body. ``By the constitution of the United States and the rules of the two houses, no absolute distinction is made between bills and joint resolutions.''
   --Barclay (Digest).

   Joint rule (Parliamentary Practice), a rule of proceeding adopted by the concurrent action of both branches of a legislative assembly. ``Resolved, by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), that the sixteenth and seventeenth joint rules be suspended for the remainder of the session.''
   --Journal H. of R., U. S.

   Joint and several (Law), a phrase signifying that the debt, credit, obligation, etc., to which it is applied is held in such a way that the parties in interest are engaged both together and individually thus a joint and several debt is one for which all the debtors may be sued together or either of them individually; used especially in the phrase joint and several liability.

   Joint stock, stock held in company.

   Joint-stock company (Law), a species of partnership, consisting generally of a large number of members, having a capital divided, or agreed to be divided, into shares, the shares owned by any member being usually transferable without the consent of the rest.

   Joint tenancy (Law), a tenure by two or more persons of estate by unity of interest, title, time, and possession, under which the survivor takes the whole.
   --Blackstone.

   Joint tenant (Law), one who holds an estate by joint tenancy. Contrassted with tenant in common.

Resolution \Res`o*lu"tion\ (-l?"sh?n), n. [F. r['e]solution. L. resolutio a loosening, solution. See Resolve.]

1. The act, operation, or process of resolving. Specifically:

   1. The act of separating a compound into its elements or component parts.

   2. The act of analyzing a complex notion, or solving a vexed question or difficult problem.

      The unraveling and resolution of the difficulties that are met with in the execution of the design are the end of an action.
      --Dryden.

2. The state of being relaxed; relaxation. [Obs.]

3. The state of being resolved, settled, or determined; firmness; steadiness; constancy; determination.

   Be it with resolution then to fight.
   --Shak.

4. That which is resolved or determined; a settled purpose; determination. Specifically: A formal expression of the opinion or will of an official body or a public assembly, adopted by vote; as, a legislative resolution; the resolutions of a public meeting.

5. The state of being resolved or firm in opinion or thought; conviction; assurance. [Obs.]

   Little resolution and certainty there is as touching the islands of Mauritania.
   --Holland.

6. (Math.) The act or process of solving; solution; as, the resolution of an equation or problem.

7. (Med.) A breaking up, disappearance; or termination, as of a fever, a tumor, or the like.

8. (Mus.) The passing of a dissonant into a consonant chord by the rising or falling of the note which makes the discord.

9. (Technical) The act of distinguishing between two close but not identical objects, or, when taking a measurement, bbetween two close values of the property measured.

10. (Technical) a measure of the ability to distinguish between two close but not identical values of the property being measured; it is expressed as the difference in values of a property necessary to make such a distinction; as, a microscope with a resolution of one micron; a thermometer with a resolution of one-tenth of a degree. Also called resolving power.

    Joint resolution. See under Joint, a.

    Resolution of a force or Resolution of a motion (Mech.), the separation of a single force or motion into two or more which have different directions, and, taken together, are an equivalent for the single one; -- the opposite of composition of a force.

    Resolution of a nebula (Astron.), the exhibition of it to the eye by a telescope of such power as to show it to be composed of small stars.

    Syn: Decision; analysis; separation; disentanglement; dissolution; resolvedness; resoluteness; firmness; constancy; perseverance; steadfastness; fortitude; boldness; purpose; resolve. See Decision.

n. a resolution passed by both houses of Congress which becomes legally binding when signed by the chief executive (or passed over the executive's veto)

In the United States Congress, a joint resolution is a legislative measure that requires approval by the Senate and the House and is presented to the President for his approval or disapproval. However, joint resolutions used to propose amendments to the United States Constitution do not require the approval of the President.

Generally, there is no legal difference between a joint resolution and a bill. Both must be passed, in exactly the same form, by both chambers of Congress, and then must — with one exception — be presented to the President and signed by him/her (or, re-passed in override of a presidential veto; or, remain unsigned for ten days while Congress is in session) to become a law. Laws enacted by virtue of a joint resolution are not distinguished from laws enacted by a bill, except that they are designated as resolutions as opposed to acts (see for example War Powers Resolution).

While either a bill or joint resolution can be used to create a law, they are used differently in current usage. Bills are generally used to add, repeal, or amend laws codified in the United States Code or Public Laws of the United States (Statutes at Large), provide policy and program authorizations and twelve annual appropriations bills. Joint resolutions are generally used for, among other things, the following:

• To authorize small appropriations;
• For continuing resolutions, which extend appropriation levels adopted in a prior fiscal year, when one or more of the twelve annual appropriations acts have been temporarily delayed from becoming law on time;
• To create temporary commissions or other ad hoc bodies (e.g., the 9/11 Commission);
• To create temporary exceptions to existing law, such as joint resolutions providing a day other than January 6 for counting electoral votes or providing for a Saxbe fix reducing the pay of an office so that a member of Congress may avoid the Ineligibility Clause;
• To declare war.

Additionally, only joint resolutions may be used to propose amendments to the Constitution.