Government in the United States, National, State and Local

by James Wilford Garner

The President's Share in Legislation.—While the chief duty of the President is to execute the laws, he is at the same time given a share in their making. This share is both positive and negative in character.

Presidential Messages.—The Constitution makes it his duty to give Congress from time to time information of the state of the Union and to recommend for its consideration such measures as he may judge necessary and proper. This requirement rests upon the obvious fact that he possesses more extensive sources of knowledge in regard to the state of public affairs than any one else, and is also familiar with the workings of the laws, and hence is in a position to recommend legislation for their improvement.

The information required to be furnished Congress is contained in an annual message communicated at the beginning of each session, and in special messages communicated from time to time during the session.

Early Practice.—It was the custom at the beginning of our national history for the President to deliver an address at the opening of Congress, in the presence of both houses assembled in the senate chamber, and for each house thereafter to draw up a suitable reply, in accordance with the English custom. This plan was followed by both Washington and Adams, but Jefferson inaugurated the practice of communicating what he had to say in the form of a written message. From that time down till 1913 all the presidential messages to Congress were in written form only; but in the latter year President Wilson revived the practice of addressing Congress in person.

Character of the Annual Messages.—The annual message contains a review of the operations of the government during the preceding year, together with such recommendations for additional legislation as the President thinks the interests of the country require. It also usually contains a summary of the reports of the several heads of departments, and is accompanied by the full reports of the departments. Sometimes one or the other of the houses adopts resolutions calling on the President for information on particular subjects, and if in his judgment the communication of the information is not incompatible with the public interests, the request is complied with.

The message is printed in full in nearly all the daily newspapers of the country on the day on which it is communicated to Congress, and it is widely read by the people and commented on by editors. When the message has been received by the Congress, it is ordered to be printed, and the various recommendations which it contains are distributed among the appropriate committees of each house. The consideration which the recommendations receive at the hands of Congress depends upon the influence which the President wields with the two houses. If he belongs to a different political party from that which is in control of Congress, or if for other reasons Congress is out of sympathy with his policies, his recommendations count for little.

Power to Call Extraordinary Sessions.—The President has power to call extraordinary sessions of Congress for the consideration of special matters of an urgent character. Of course the President cannot compel Congress to adopt his recommendations at a special session any more than at a regular session, but he can sometimes hasten action and if he is backed by a strong public opinion he may be able to accomplish even more. The authority to call extraordinary sessions has been exercised by Presidents Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Van Buren, Harrison, Pierce, Lincoln, Hayes, Cleveland, McKinley, Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson. In all these cases Congress was called together to deal with extraordinary situations such as foreign difficulties, financial panics, rebellion, the enactment of appropriation bills which had failed at the regular session, the enactment of tariff bills for which there was an urgent demand, the approval of reciprocity treaties, and the like. The senate has often been convened in extraordinary session at the beginning of a new administration for the purpose of approving the nominations of the President, but the house of representatives has never been called alone.

Power to Adjourn Congress.—The President is also authorized to adjourn the two houses in case of disagreement between them as to the time for adjourning the session. Only one such case of disagreement has ever occurred, namely, in the special session of November, 1903, when the senate proposed to adjourn and the house of representatives refused. President Roosevelt did not, however, exercise his power in this case, so the special session continued about two weeks longer, until it was ended by the beginning of the regular session.

Power to Issue Ordinances.—Under the legislative functions of the President may also be included what is known as the ordinance power, that is, the power to issue certain orders and regulations having the force of law. Such are the regulations for the government of the army and navy, and those relating to the postal service, patents, pensions, public lands, Indian affairs, the customs service, internal revenue service, marine hospital service, the consular service, the civil service, and many other branches of administration. Some of these regulations are issued by the President under express authority conferred upon him by acts of Congress; others are issued as a result of the necessity of prescribing means for carrying into effect the laws of Congress and sometimes of interpreting them;[82] while still others are issued in pursuance of the constitutional powers of the President. Such are the regulations issued for the government of the army and navy, in pursuance of the authority of the President as commander in chief.

The Veto Power.—Finally, the President is given an important share in legislation through the constitutional requirement which requires that all bills and resolutions passed by Congress shall be submitted for his approval.[83] The power to withhold his approval of the acts passed by Congress is popularly known as the veto power. It was called by the framers of the Constitution the President's "qualified negative." This prerogative constitutes an exception to the principle of the separation of governmental powers, and was conferred upon the executive as a means of enabling him to defend his constitutional powers and privileges against the encroachments of the legislative department, as well as to provide a check upon hasty and careless legislation by Congress. The conditions under which the right of veto may be exercised, the forms which it may take, and the procedure by which it may be overridden by Congress are discussed in chapter xi. The President may veto a bill because he believes it to be unconstitutional, or because he believes it is unwise or inexpedient, though in both cases a wise executive will be slow to set his judgment against the combined judgment of the members of Congress.