Role of the President

Major Roles Head of State Chief Executive Chief Legislator Recommend measures to Congress Head of Party Fulfill Programme Chief Fundraiser Appoints its national Chairman Distributes favours to the party faithful Commander in Chief Chief Diplomat

The Presidential Veto After passing through both houses, a bill is sent to the White House If the President fails to act within 10 days the bill automatically becomes law But if it is in the last 10 days of a session, a failure to act is known as ‘pocket veto’ – i.e. the bill is killed off as Congress cannot fight back as not sitting

The Presidential veto cont….. When a President vetoes a decision, Congress can over-ride the decision if two thirds present, vote in favour As Congress very rarely raise the two thirds, Presidents are able to use the veto as a check and balance against Congress – A threat to their power

President # of Bills Vetoed # of vetoes overridden % Roosevelt 1933-45 635 9 1.4 Eisenhower 1953-61 181 2 1.1 Johnson 1963-69 30 Nixon 1969-74 43 7 16.3 Reagan 1980-88 78 11.5 Clinton 1991-95* 17 1 5.8

Those sneaky Congress types Presidents have to reject entire bills So Congressmen occasionally add extra provisions (riders) to a bill, which they know the President wants Line-item Veto (1996), President allowed to veto ‘objectionable’ parts of an appropriations (expenditure) bill

Those pesky Supreme Courtiers Line Item Veto tested in 1998 (Clinton vs New York) Judges asked to decide if Bill Clinton’s rejection of a tax bill was legitimate Concluded that the line item veto was unconstitutional as both houses must vote on a bill and then signed by the President. If the President is able to change the bill then in effect a new bill was being created

Impoundment Bizarrely (hey this is America), having signed a bill, a President can withold funds appropriated by Congress. President Nixon used it against the Democrat controlled Congress, to control spending and the behaviour of Congress. The Budget and impoundment Act (1974) now limits its use.

Foreign Policy role Crisis Management Appointing key staff to defence Promoting security interests of US Protecting foreign trade Negotiate and enforce treaties Appointing ambassadors Protecting US Citizens wherever they may be War powers Act (1973) Imposed a 60 day limit for which an American President can keep troops abroad Congress approves an extension

Executive office of the President “The principal instrument of Presidential Government” – McGrew Background info Detailed analysis Informed Policy recommedations An umbrella under which a number of key agencies work

Features of the Executive Office The White House office The Presidents closest aides Foreign and domestic affairs, speech writers, liaison officers (with congress) and the Press Secretary Ensures urgent issues are with the Pres. Authority comes from the President The Office of Management and Budget Prepare the Federal Budget for Congress All Federal expenditure travels through here

More features…… The National Security Council Informs the President of domestic, foreign and military matters The Council of Economic Advisers A 3 person panel of economic experts They plan trends for the President to include in his annual speech to congress The Office for Policy Development Advises on domestic policy issues

Others National Economic Council Council of Economic Advisors National Space Council Office of Science and Technology Office of the US Trade Rep. Office of the Vice-President Office of National drug control policy Office of administration National Critical Materials Policy

An Assessment of the Exec. Office As Presidential role has increased so has their need for advisors Now numbers 5000 personnel it has grown at a big rate Appointed by the President, so may have a series of ‘Yes Men’, President only receives one line of view – so concentrated on the President, they forget about the demands of the other strands of Govt. Key aides do appear as the lynchpin of the administration