Word: vetoes
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Surprise! Congress overrides a Reagan veto...
When the ayes and the nays were totted up, it appeared at first to be a devastating defeat for Ronald Reagan. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate voted to override the President's veto last month of a $14.2 billion supplemental spending bill. It marked the first time that Congress had overturned a Reagan veto of an economic measure,* and it did so in impressive numbers: the vote in the House was 301 to 117-22 more than the two-thirds needed for an override; in the Republican-controlled Senate the tally was 60 to 30, exactly...
...million for student grants and $175 million for educational aid for disadvantaged children and the handicapped. During his August vacation at the ranch in California, Reagan received a memo from White House aides recommending he turn down the appropriations bill. The study also warned that it was unlikely his veto could be sustained, at least in the House. Despite similar forecasts from G.O.P. leaders on Capitol Hill, Reagan decided to reject the measure. "This bill would bust the budget by nearly a billion dollars," contended the President in a toughly worded message to Congress, alluding to the outlays...
When Congress returned from its Labor Day recess, the stage was set for a showdown. Early last week leaders of both parties were predicting privately that the House would sustain the veto, but support for the President slowly began to erode. Many members were convinced by the argument that the bill was not a "budget buster," as Reagan had charged; indeed, the $14.2 billion measure actually costs $2 billion less than the original Reagan proposal. Contended House Democratic Floor Leader Jim Wright of Texas: "The claim that the bill is over budget is as phony as a three-dollar bill...
...immediate consequence of the veto is that funding for military personnel runs out on Aug. 31. "It would be unfortunate in the extreme not to be able to pay the Marines we just sent to Beirut," deadpanned a senior presidential aide. In fact, however, the payroll will be met by a clever but controversial juggling of the books that will postpone the Pentagon's payment of income withholding and Social Security taxes. The White House hopes that when Congress reconvenes, it will pass a revised bill authorizing the requested funds for the military and for Caribbean...