Factors Influencing the Use of Presidential Veto Essay Example for Free

Factors Influencing the Use of chairpersonial Veto strainThe democratic system of government relies mainly upon the meet functioning and the harmonious relationship between its tercet main branches The Executive Department which has the forcefulness to execute the justness b) the legislative Branch which has the power to propose, enact, repair and repeal the law c) the Judiciary which has the power to interpret the law. Our genius has divided these three most grievous functions to these three divisions which ar confacered co-equal and supreme authority within their own domain. The principle of insulation of powers has for its aim the ginmill of the over concentration of authority in one person or group of persons that might malarkey to an error or abuse to the prejudice of the whole state. The idea is that the separation of power will pull in greater action on the part of these three departments, prevent any of these three departments from over-extending their aut hority to the tip of march oning into the domains of the other department, to prevent the possibility of abuse by any department in the coif of its power and to obtain maximum efficiency in the deli rattling of public service.Austin Ranney (1995) once verbalise that any concentration of powers in a single branch is tyrannical and only true separation of powers will protect the liberties of the people against the aggressions of government. (Austin Ranney, p. 240) Checks and Balances The US Constitution has provided for the principle known as the checks and balances. Under this principle, the constitution has given each department certain powers by which it may restrain the other department from ill-considered action.This enables the whole state to maintain the right balance among them and preserve the will of the sovereign as show in the constitution. Thus, pursuant to the principle of Checks and Balances, one department is tout ensembleowed to resist encroachments made by one department against another or to rectify mistakes and errors committed by the other department. The principle of separation of powers should not up to now be interpreted to mean that there is a sibling rivalry of some sort in the exercise of the powers of these departments.The fact remains that even if one department may interpret, interfere with or encroach upon the acts done by another department pursuant to the constitution, it is still the policy that each department take over to interact with one another to achieve a unity of purpose. There is therefore no hem in of isolation or animosity among the three departments. Blending of Powers Corollary to the principle of separation of powers and the checks and balances is the principle of intermingle of powers which is very evident in the manner every democratic government runs.In the performance of a inherent task, one department acts in a manner complimentary to or supplementary to the other. The principles of separation of p owers, checks and balances and blending of powers shtup be adequately explained in the manner of enactment of laws and statutes. The principle of separation of powers provides that to the legislative belongs the power and authority to enact, amend and repeal a law. To the executive department belongs the power to implement the law. Thus scores atomic number 18 passed by intercourse and sent to the chairwoman for his approval.The principle of checks and balances is manifested in the way the chairman ostracisees the bills passed by the sexual intercourse. The power to ban bills passed by carnal knowledge is stated infra Article 1 atomic number 16tion 7 of the linked expresss Constitution, to wit Every Bill which shall subscribe passed the post of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the unite States If he approve he shall narrow it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that manse in which i t shall deplete originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. (Article 1, Section 7, coupled States Constitution)Though the social intercourse enacts the law, the president has the prerogative to reject the law through his exercise of the forestall power. In effect, the President, theoretically, can indirectly become a lawmaker by rejecting bills passed by Congress and by proposing to the Congress that certain bills be passed. The same is true for Congress which may greatly influence the exercise of the President of his authority to implement the law.It is clearly stated in the US Constitution that it has the power to override the veto power of the President provided it has the required numbers supporting it, to wit If later on such Reconsideration dickens thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approve by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law.But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had sign it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law. (Article 1, Sec 7, United States Constitution)In addition, to its power to override presidential veto, Congress may opt to exercise wedge to the president by not confirming certain presidential appointments which the constitution has delegated to the Legislative Branch. In addition, the Congress may overly exercise its power to commence and initiate its power of Impeachment. (Gary W. Copeland) In effect, the Congress if it rattling w ants to enact a bill into law may convince the President with the exercise of its power to sign the bills into law. Factors Why the President Veto LegislationThere are different views on the presidents exercise of his veto power. Some say that the more the president exercises his veto power the more stiff leader he is. (Jong R. Lee) The theory is that a president who can influence the Congress is more promising to veto a bill and once vetoed this bill will not be overridden by Congress. This appears to be conclusive considering the following statistics from the time of Washington to Nixon the veto was used 2,257 times. Out of these, only 75 vetoes or only 6% have been overridden by Congress.On the other hand, some say that the presidents exercise of veto is a sign of weakness on his part. The idea here is that if the president really had control and influence over the Congress then they would not have passed these bills that prompted the president to override them in the first pl ace. The veto power is one of the potent weapons which a president may exercise under our democratic system of government. It is even stated that it is the power of the President to veto legislations that make him a predominant American semipolitical figure. Copeland) The veto power of the president serves as a check to the power of the Legislative branch to make laws by exercising its veto power. One of the reasons cited for the exercise of the veto powers is because the bill is unconstitutional. The native function of the President is not to please his political party or to please the electorates. His main office is to protect the constitution and to ensure that the laws are passed in accordance with the United States Constitution.As its protector, the Constitution has expressly given the president the power to veto bills which are unconstitutional. Thus, several presidents have in the past vetoed bills on the ground of their unconstitutionality. Thus, consider President Andre w Jackson who vetoed bills that seek to extend the charter of the Second Bank of the United States because he insisted the Bank was beyond the power of Congress to create. (Bruce Fein) Aside from the bills unconstitutionality, the president has also in the past vetoed bills based on serious ethical and moral grounds.One particular eccentric is HR 810 or the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2006 which authorized the Secretary of State to conduct and support research that utilizes human embryonic cells. This bill was vetoed by the president. (Message to the House of Representatives) In his veto message dated July 19, 2006, President George W. Bush states that as though he is in upgrade of exploring the potentials of the research on stem cell, he however is apprehensive about the ethical repercussions of the said research. sign this bill will allow the deliberate destruction of human embryos for the purpose of research which is damaging to our nation. In addition, it is widely a cknowledged that the past president have used the veto power not however to protect the constitution. The president has in the past used the veto power not merely as a means for protecting the constitution but also for various political purposes. It bears stressing that not all presidents have the support of the Congress. Several presidents in the past have to contend with a hostile Congress to get the needed legislations they wanted.If the president would not be firm in his response, it is possible that certain definitive pieces of legislations may not be passed at all. To avoid this from happening some presidents in the past have resorted to the extreme method of vetoing more laws to remind that that he holds the power. Consider the case of Franklin D. Roosevelt who in the past at times vetoed a piece of legislation simply to remind Congress that he is still in control (Richard E. Neustadt 1976) Harry Truman and Gerald Ford used the veto power for the purpose of determining dif ferences in Congress to spend a penny a political base. (Neudstadt)It is the essence of democracy that the legislative and executive departments though they perform different tasks are co-equal. This may or may not be advantageous for the whole citizenry depending on the take aim of the nation. It may happen that the country may experience economic difficulties. During this time, laws must be swiftly passed so that the needs of the people will be addressed more quickly. The ideal reaction would be that the Congress should communicate with the President so that they will have an understanding of what kind of laws need to be passed that can help improve the lives of the people.However, the exact opposite happens during economic difficulties. It is at this point that everybody wants to go grandstanding thinking that it is his trump out time to point the blame to another politician. It is at this time when every politician wants to be accept for the littlest things he has done in th e past. It is because of this reason that during economic difficulties and hardships there are more bills that are world vetoed by the president. Research has also shown that the president who feels that more voters are in his favor are more probable to use the veto power.The idea here is that the more the president thinks that he has the electorate on his side the more that he will tend to exercise this power to veto legislation. This could be measured by analyzing the results of the election in the past, the higher the votes the president gets the more likely it is that he will exercise this power. The political party who sponsored the bill may also influence the decision of the president whether he will veto it or not. The theory is that the more votes the bill receives from the members of his own party in Congress, the more likely that the president will sign the bill into law.On the other hand, the less votes the bill receives from the members of his own party, the more likel y it is that the president will not sign the bill into law. Normally, when a bill is sponsored by a model from a political party different from that o the president, the best thing for him to do if he seeks to have the bill passed into law is to compromise with the president and the other political party. Compromise can be manifested by deleting some portions of the bill which is offensive on the part of the other political party.It bears stressing that if the sponsor of the bill refuses to kick the bucket these objectionable portions it is more likely that the president will likewise refuse to sing the bill into law and veto it. Conclusion The democratic system of government is indeed a complex system which requires the proper balance among its three branches. Based on the foregoing, there are many factors why a president may make use of his veto power. It could be because of the personality of the president. There are some presidents who are more inclined to veto legislations b ecause they feel they have support of the electorate.President may also veto legislation because of the person sponsoring the bill. It is possible if the sponsor of the bill is someone other than a party gibe of the president and the former does not make any compromises with the president such as deleting any objectionable portion of the bill then it is possible that the bill may be vetoed. Also, it could be because of the defects in the bill itself such as it is unconstitutional, unethical and immoral or may be because it is not yet timely.