Pat Caldwell on all the bills that Obama will have to veto over the next two years: -Erika Barack Obama hasnt needed to wield his veto pen very often during the first six years of his presidency. With Democrats holding a majority in the Senate for that entire time, then-Majority Leader Harry Reid could hold up any bills that werent favored by Obama. So far, the president has expressly vetoed just two bills, the lowest number since Abraham Lincoln if you ignore James Garfields brief six-month stay in office. (Lincoln outright vetoed only two bills, but used the pocket veto several times, a tool Obama has not yet employed.) That will soon change now that Republicans control majorities in both the House and Senate. If Republicans get their act together and pass a budget resolution sometime this year, they could move legislation on issues like tax reform through the Senate without worrying about picking up any Democratic votes. But it will be tough to pass an overarching budget bill for the entire government through the House given the fractious divides between John Boehner and the tea partiers in his caucus. Instead, if Republicans want to get conservative legislation onto Obamas desk, theyll need to convince the moderate Democrats in the Senate to join their 54-seat majority and thwart any filibusters waged by other Democrats. For most issues, thats a no-go. Republicans arent going to find any Democrats willing to sign on to a complete repeal of the Affordable Care Act. A few Democrats objected to Obamas November executive action on immigration, though considering that the full caucus voted for immigration reform last year, it seems unlikely that enough Dems would break if it were put to a vote. But there are a host of policy issues on the margins that moderate Democrats have expressed support for in the past and that might be able to squeak through with their help. Those piece of legislation would force Obama to finally rebuke Congress with more vetoes—revealing rifts amidst his own party and, if Republicans can muster two-thirds majorities in both chambers necessary to override the veto, possibly putting laws into effect without Obamas approval. Heres a brief breakdown of where Obama might disagree with congressional majorities over the next two years:
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 18:55:00 +0000
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