Text 7 the President as legislator

With considerable validity one may term the President chief legislator as well as Chief Executive of the United States. His role in lawmaking is derived in part from a constitutional grant of authority and in part from the evolution of the American political system. Under the latter heading would be placed the vast expansion of governmental activity and the resulting burden on Congress. The national legislature not only is in session for longer periods than in the early days of the Republic, but individual members are more involved in committee work and are subject to increasing pressure as their constituents grow in number and become more demanding. Confronted as he is with the necessity of legislating on numerous highly complicated subjects, the senator or representative tends to become a specialist in some area, leaving to others the task of integrating the entire legislative program.

No one is better fitted for this role than the President. He has a national constituency, having been elected by all the people of the nation, and his sources of information afford him an understanding of national and international problems not granted the most eminent legislator. For these reasons Congress has turned to the President for direction. This is nowhere better illustrated than in the national budget that the President submits to Congress for its guidance. Before this monumental document is presented to the legislature, the appropriations requested by the various governmental agencies have been scrutinized, weighed against the demands of other agencies, and compared with expected revenue. The budget finally presented to Congress represents the economic philosophy of the President, as illustrated in his judgment of the nation's needs and of the best method of meeting them.

In his State of the Union message the President provides Congress with another legislative blueprint. The statement may cite past accomplishments, present activities, and future needs, and it usually is followed by other messages dealing with specific problems, many of them economic. The President may not be content to offer a mere outline of needed legislation: frequently, individual measures are drafted in some executive department and then introduced by senators or representatives friendly to the proposals. To facilitate the passage of these administration bills, the President may confer with key legislators, particularly his spokesmen on the floor of the Senate or the House. He may bring pressure by appealing to the American people through his press conferences, which are widely publicized, or by means of radio and television. Citizens aroused by a persuasive President have great influence over the legislators whom they elect. And when Congress adjourns without enacting legislation desired by the President, he may call a special session in an effort to achieve his goal.

The President may urge a course of action on Congress, may have bills prepared for submission to that body, and may sign into law measures passed by both houses. These positive legislative powers are reinforced by negative ones, including the President's power of veto.

In vetoing a bill, the President returns it to Congress without his signature, generally accompanied by a statement of his objections. Presidents have made increasing use of the veto. Washington, for example, vetoed only two measures and Jefferson none, but Franklin D. Roosevelt vetoed more than 600. Few presidential vetoes are overridden, since a two-thirds vote in each house is required. When the President is of one party and Congress of an­other, however, vetoes are more likely to be overridden. A notable example was the manner in which a Republican Congress overrode Democratic President Truman's veto of the Labor-Management Relations (Taft-Hartley) Act of 1947.

Sometimes the President disapproves of a measure but does not return it within ten days, Sundays excepted while Congress is in session. In that case the measure becomes law without his signature.-On the other hand, if Congress should adjourn during that ten-day period, a disapproved measure dies for want of the presidential signature. This is known as a pocket veto, and is final because Congress is not in session and cannot override it.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-30