FDR set a precedent by appearing before a joint session of Congress to deliver his veto message in person. He rejected the Patman Greenback Bonus Bill, which proposed awarding veterans benefits that were due to be paid in 1945 early in order to those most affected by the Great Depression. Within an hour, the House voted 322 to 98 to pass it over his objections. The next day, on May 23, 1935, the Senate, with a vote of 54 to 40, failed to override the veto.