Cooperation and Conflict

1
Chapter 6

• Section 3

2
Cooperation and Conflict

• Constituents and Conflict
• -Large national electorate chooses
  presidents that are in the best interests of the
  nation
• -Individual states and congressional
  districts elect members of congress
• -Congress often has different ideas than the
  president about what constitutes desirable public
  policy
• Checks and Balances
• - Gives congress and the president the power to
  counteract each other
• -Designed for deadlock and inaction
  president vs congress
• Party Politics
• -Party political differences can affect the
  relationship between president and congress
• -Gridlock
• Organization as a Cause of Conflict
• -Conflicts occur when a president wants a mojor
  proposal approved and a committee tries to delay,
  revise, or defeat it
• Differing Political Timetables
• -Presidents have about 3 years to develop,
  present, and move their programs through congress
• -Senator have more time because of 6 yr terms

3
For the first 150 years of the republic, congress
dominated policy makingThe system of checks and
balances makes it likely that the president and
congress will always compete for power
Struggle for Power

• Curbing the Presidents Emergency Powers
• -congress can give the president more power in
  times of crisis
• -National Emergencies Act president no longer
  posses automatic emergency powers.

4
National Budget Impoundment Control Act

• National Budget- the yearly financial plan for
  the national government
• In 1974 congress passed the Congressional Budget
  and Impoundment Control Act in an effort to
  increase its role in planning the budget
• The act est. a permanent budget committee for
  each house and created a CBO to provide financial
  experts to help congress
• It limited the presidents ability to impound
  funds
• -Impoundment the presidents refusal to spend
  money congress has voted to fund a program
• -The law requires that appropriated funds be
  spent unless the president requests and both
  houses of congress agree that monies be spent

5
Use of Legislative Veto

• At first declared unconstitutional
• Not used until congress reasserted its authority
  in the 1970s
• Congress wants to use it because its an effective
  check on the executive branch
• Presidents consider it a challenge to their
  authority and think its excessive or a
  violation of separation of powers

6
Line-Item Veto

• President can veto entire bills and governors can
  veto parts of bills and the rest becoming a law
• A line-item veto is allowing presidents to veto
  only certain lines or items in a bill
• To do this would require a constitutional
  amendment
• House and senate republicans passed the line-item
  veto bill calling it enhanced rescission bill
• Now the president can veto spending items and
  certain limited tax breaks