Why Does Congress offer Legislation That They Know Will Be Vetoed?

Why Does Congress Offer Legislation That They Know Will Be Vetoed?

The way that the United States Congress sends there legislation to the President, can sometimes be very difficult to understand. In most cases Congress will pass legislation that they know the president will sign into law. There are also times in which Congress will send legislation that they know the president will veto. Congress will sometimes do this because they have a certain agenda, that they want people to see. Even though, this way of passing legislation is used at certain times, it can be an effective way to get a certain view out to the public.

There are three sides to the way that the veto works. First is to bring legislation forth to make the President look badly in the eyes of the public. Then there is the way that the President receives his advice, whether to use the veto on a bill. Last is the threat that the President can make against Congress, that informs them not to send forth a certain bill, because he will veto that bill.

Since World War Two there has been a great deal of presidential vetoes that have been used. Since WWII there has been 463 pieces of legislation that has met their end to the presidential veto. Also since WWII there have been less then ten percent of presidential vetoes that have been overturned by Congress. This shows the great power of the presidential veto, in that it is quite hard to have a three fourths majority, to overturn the presidential veto.

Congress can use certain legislation as a weapon against the president. "They attempt to appeal to an outside audience." (McCarthy, 100) By doing this, Congress can make the president look bad. This type of way of using the veto can also be a way for one political party to maybe take over the White House in the next election. This type of ideology was used in the early 90s, during the first president Bush's term in office. The democratic congress wanted to send a bill to the president that they knew would be vetoed. The bill was to pass a family leave bill. The Democratic lead Congress wanted George Bush Sr. to look like a "far right ideologue, so that voters would not elect him in the next election." (McCarthy, 100)

The way that this works is that there are the two different sides, the Congress and the President. They must agree on a certain policy. "The first side would give a take it or leave it offer to the second, who would accept it or would rather keep the status quo. (McCarthy, 100) Also both sides want to appear on the moderate side, because that is the tendency of the public to agree with. Both sides of the legislation wants the other side to appear extreme.

As stated earlier, there certain times in witch this type of legislation would be sent to the President. First would be when there is an election coming up. Either Presidential or Midterm. This is because Congress wants the public to perceive the President in a certain light. Either to make the President look like an extremist, or other people that are in his party as well. Congress sending forth legislation that they know will be vetoed would not happen when the White House and also the Congress are controlled by the same political party. This is because there is usually no reason for the president to veto a bill, because they are more likely to agree on the legislation. Another reason why this would not be done when both the Presidency and Congress are controlled by the same party, is that there is not a need to make the president look bad. And the Congress would want the President to stay in power.

Excessive compromise to avoid the issue is a tactic that has been used by Presidents over the years. An example of this both Presidents Regan and Bush signed protectionist trade legislation despite the fact that there ideological opposition to the policies. Both Presidents Regan and Bush did this because they did not want to give the Democrats an issue for the upcoming elections.

"Where Congress proposes a bill that it knows the president will veto, has been dubbed blame game politics". (McCarthy, 101) Congress has engaged in these types of tactics many times in United States history. It is used also during a time before an election, to make the President look bad to the country. An example of this is when in 1999 Congress sent President Clinton an appropriation bill. And the New York Times reported "House sends Clinton another spending bill he's sure to veto". In which the Republican Congress wanted to blame the President for the problems in spending. Congress often uses the blame game politics, even when there is a viable compromise on the table. It is also known that when the president actually decides to veto a bill, their approval ratings go down two points. This show that sometimes people will see what the President may be extreme. It also shows that the people who were for the legislation are upset because of the Presidential veto.

Another side of the issue of the Presidential veto, are the people who are advising the President on whether or not he should veto a bill. "The decision to approve or disapprove bills and resolution passed by Congress is an important presidential function, one that brings the President into the final stages of the legislative process". (Wayne, 303) Even though the President has his own views on every bill that comes across his desk. He also listens to his advisers, and other agencies. Sometimes those agencies will reflect on their own interests , when they are giving advise to the President. Many of them enjoy autonomy when they give advise. "however where agencies do not view their interests as being directly affected by the legislation, they may voice no objection, defer to another agency, or simply take no position". (Wayne, 304) The Legislative Reference Division then would collect the recommendations and prepares a cover memo for the president. The memo describes the purpose of the bill, lists the department and agency positions. It also will tell what the recommendation of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to the President. The OMB is the department that is affected the most by a proposed bill, because it is the lead agency. "The cover memo and the accompanying statements of the departments and agencies are then forwarded to the White House no later than the fifth day of the ten day period within which the president must act". (Wayne, 305)

During the 1960s major decision making process between the White House, and the Bureau of the Budget evolved. The White House has been on a trend toward an enlarged, and a more formal policy staff that started during the Johnson administration, that was very advanced by the early 1970s. The assistant to the president reviews and signs off on