President Bush's Rare Veto
It's only the fourth time that Pres. Bush has used his veto power to block a bill. Though the children's health insurance measure passed by a veto-proof margin in the Senate, Republican leaders in the House assure him the veto will be sustained there. It would bring Mr. Bush's record on the veto scoreboard to 4 vetoes cast, none overridden.
He has far fewer vetoes to his name that any of his recent predecessors. In fact you have to go back to James Garfield in 1881 to find a president who cast fewer.
And all of Mr. Bush's vetoes have come in his second term. He cast none during his first five years in office. During all of that time, republicans were in control of Congress.
Only 7 U.S. presidents never cast any vetoes:
- John AdamsThe record for most vetoes belongs hands down to Franklin Roosevelt. During his twelve years in the White House he cast 635. Just nine were overridden.
- Thomas Jefferson
- John Q. Adams
- William Harrison
- Zachary Taylor
- Millard Fillmore
- James Garfield.
Some critics say Mr. Bush's reluctance to use the veto is one of the reasons federal spending has soared on his watch. The National Debt now stands at $9.062-trillion. It has increased over $3-trillion since the day Mr. Bush took office – the biggest jump during any presidency.
But there could be some more vetoes coming. The White House has issued veto threats for 11 of the 12 appropriations bills now making their way through Congress.
