Obama Uses 'Pocket Veto' on Foreclosure Bill

President Obama is refusing to sign a bill that critics say would make it easier for banks to rush foreclosures on homeowners, the Wall Street Journal reports. The bill zipped through both the House and Senate when it was deemed an uncontroversial measure on interstate commerce—it centers on out-of-state notarizations—but the national scandal over thousands of rushed foreclosures has changed things.

Obama has never vetoed a bill outright, and won't start with this one—he'll use the "pocket veto" process to send it back to Congress, though it's not clear what changes the president will require. A spokesman for Robert Aderholt, who sponsored the bill, said "there is absolutely no connection whatsoever between Congressman Aderholt's legislation and the recent foreclosure documentation problems." But opponents complained it would allow banks to cut even more corners in the foreclosure process, notes the Washington Post.