Bush uses first veto to block stem cell bill
Bush uses first veto to block stem cell bill
By Holly Yeager in Washington
Published: July 19 2006 19:15 | Last updated: July 19 2006 20:17
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006
President George W. Bush’s veto on Wednesday of embryonic stem cell legislation marks a turning point for a president who has until now been able to dictate what the Republican-controlled Congress has sent to the White House for him to sign.
Mr Bush’s veto – the first in his five and half years in office – sends the bill to expand federal funding of the controversial research back to the House of Representatives, where backers of the measure were not expected to muster the two-thirds majority needed to override his decision.
The legislative flurry would leave intact an executive order Mr Bush signed in 2001 that limited federal funding to the stem cell lines that existed at the time.
But the episode offers clear evidence that the sensitive nature of the debate – and concerns among Republicans about the November midterm elections – have shifted the ground in Washington.
“This is the first time a Republican-controlled Congress has sent to the president a bill with a moral basis that is opposite of his,” said Michael Franc, a congressional expert at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank.
With Republicans in control at the White House and on Capitol Hill, there has been room for negotiation in past disputes over issues such as spending on highway or military projects.
“I have never believed it made any sense for a Republican Congress to send a bill to the president that he was going to veto, [so] he could look good, we could look bad, or vice versa,” said John Boehner, majority leader in the House of Representatives. “So on virtually hundreds of bills, their concerns were dealt with to put the bill in a position where he could sign it.”
But compromise on the morally charged research, which opponents equate with the taking of human life, was not possible.
Social conservatives are likely to be energised by Mr Bush’s veto.
But the decision by Republican leaders to let the legislation proceed – backed by most Democrats and many Republicans – reflected pressure from moderate Republicans, eager to assert their independence from Mr Bush and the conservative wing of the party.
“It’s a sign of an every-man-for-himself attitude, mostly among the moderates,” said Mr Franc.
“They are saying, ‘we have to vote the way we need to, to get re-elected in November’.”
But analysts said they did not expect the split on stem cells to launch a series of vetoes from Mr Bush.
“He really likes this notion of control and unity,” said Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, a political scientist at the University of Pennsylvania who studies presidential vetoes. “He likes to see the Republican party working in unison.”
The White House has issued 141 veto threats since Mr Bush was sworn in, Tony Snow, the White House press secretary, said this week. But not since Thomas Jefferson has a president spent so long in office without using his veto power.
Even presidents whose parties also controlled both houses of Congress have made frequent use of the authority, averaging two vetoes per year, according to Ms Tenpas.
“This is such a charged social issue, he couldn’t back down on his threat,” she said. “I’m sure they’d rather not have done it.”
By Holly Yeager in Washington
Published: July 19 2006 19:15 | Last updated: July 19 2006 20:17
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006
President George W. Bush’s veto on Wednesday of embryonic stem cell legislation marks a turning point for a president who has until now been able to dictate what the Republican-controlled Congress has sent to the White House for him to sign.
Mr Bush’s veto – the first in his five and half years in office – sends the bill to expand federal funding of the controversial research back to the House of Representatives, where backers of the measure were not expected to muster the two-thirds majority needed to override his decision.
The legislative flurry would leave intact an executive order Mr Bush signed in 2001 that limited federal funding to the stem cell lines that existed at the time.
But the episode offers clear evidence that the sensitive nature of the debate – and concerns among Republicans about the November midterm elections – have shifted the ground in Washington.
“This is the first time a Republican-controlled Congress has sent to the president a bill with a moral basis that is opposite of his,” said Michael Franc, a congressional expert at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank.
With Republicans in control at the White House and on Capitol Hill, there has been room for negotiation in past disputes over issues such as spending on highway or military projects.
“I have never believed it made any sense for a Republican Congress to send a bill to the president that he was going to veto, [so] he could look good, we could look bad, or vice versa,” said John Boehner, majority leader in the House of Representatives. “So on virtually hundreds of bills, their concerns were dealt with to put the bill in a position where he could sign it.”
But compromise on the morally charged research, which opponents equate with the taking of human life, was not possible.
Social conservatives are likely to be energised by Mr Bush’s veto.
But the decision by Republican leaders to let the legislation proceed – backed by most Democrats and many Republicans – reflected pressure from moderate Republicans, eager to assert their independence from Mr Bush and the conservative wing of the party.
“It’s a sign of an every-man-for-himself attitude, mostly among the moderates,” said Mr Franc.
“They are saying, ‘we have to vote the way we need to, to get re-elected in November’.”
But analysts said they did not expect the split on stem cells to launch a series of vetoes from Mr Bush.
“He really likes this notion of control and unity,” said Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, a political scientist at the University of Pennsylvania who studies presidential vetoes. “He likes to see the Republican party working in unison.”
The White House has issued 141 veto threats since Mr Bush was sworn in, Tony Snow, the White House press secretary, said this week. But not since Thomas Jefferson has a president spent so long in office without using his veto power.
Even presidents whose parties also controlled both houses of Congress have made frequent use of the authority, averaging two vetoes per year, according to Ms Tenpas.
“This is such a charged social issue, he couldn’t back down on his threat,” she said. “I’m sure they’d rather not have done it.”
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