Word: vetoes
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...bill on his desk, Ronald Reagan thundered, "would vastly and unjustifiably expand the power of the Federal Government" and could even strike a blow against religious liberty. It was the kind of veto message that in years past the President could almost always make stick. But last week nobody except the Moral Majority, some business groups and a handful of conservative Senators was listening, and the most they could do was put off a Senate vote overriding the veto of the Civil Rights Restoration Act until early this week. Few in Congress or the White House have much doubt that...
...years ago the outcome might have been different. From 1981 through 1986, Reagan vetoed 59 bills; only six of those vetoes were overridden. In addition, the mere threat of a veto caused Congress either to kill or to rewrite many bills. But since the Democrats gained control of the Senate in the 1986 elections, it has been Congress that has been imposing its will on the President. Reagan has swallowed many congressional actions of which he strongly disapproved -- the military-spending cuts forced by last year's budget compromise, for example -- rather than risk what he knew would be futile...
Earlier this week Congress rightly overturned Reagan's veto of the Civil Rights Restoration Act, the primary provision of which suspends federal funds from any institution that discriminates. This act strengthens the government's commitment and ability to ensure equality for its citizens. It is a reassuring sign at a time when racial tension has grown without check, in such incidences of white on Black violence as the Howard Beach murder or the conflicts at UMass-Amherst...
Increased registration has had a crucial impact in liberalizing the legislative process, as demonstrated by Congress' swift reversal of the Reagan veto of the Civil Rights Restoration Act. Every Democrat in the Senate voted to overturn the veto, and only 10 out of the 250 Democrats in the House who voted opposed the bill. Such nearunanimity among Democrats in opposition of the President is completely unprecedented in the Reagan years, since most Southern conservatives unquestioningly follow the President's wishes. Their willingness to buck the President on this issue is testament to the increased influence of Black constituents...
...hard times similar to those faced during Reconstruction, saying that Reagan "could end up putting Black folks in a worse position than if a racist were in the White House." This has turned out to be true, but the damage shouldn't be irrevocable. The reversal of Reagan's veto indicates that his wholesale neglect of minority concerns is no longer acceptable to this country...