| Chapter 1: | The Veto and Presidential Influence |
Under the threat of a veto, Congress may craft legislation that is more consistent with the policy preferences of the president; in this case, Congress accepts half a loaf. If, however, Congress “calls the president’s bluff” by passing legislation in the face of the veto threat, there are two possible outcomes. First, the president may tacitly acknowledge the bluff and sign the legislation—in this case, Congress is better off for ignoring the president’s veto threat and passing legislation that is advantageous to its members. The cost to the president in this situation is to his future bargaining position; future veto threats may not be taken as seriously based on past unwillingness to carry through on a previous veto threat. Second, the president may choose to veto the legislation; however, vetoes impose costs on presidents: faced with the possibility of an override, a president must often dedicate many staff members and make his own efforts to avoid a successful override—resources that might be useful for influencing or passing legislation in which the president has an interest.
Considered from the point of view of Congress, a veto threat may be met with compromise legislation (i.e., legislation that is the product of compromise between actors) or by a failure to compromise the congressional position. Should the president exercise the veto, Congress may be faced with the difficult and costly task of securing an override. A successful override requires an extraordinary two-thirds majority in both chambers. Those familiar with the legislative process know that crafting a simple majority in favor of substantive legislation in both chambers is difficult; a two-thirds majority, then, is extraordinarily difficult. Furthermore, in attempting to override a veto, members of Congress and its leadership must invest their resources in lobbying on both sides of the override issue. Some members of Congress will need to invest their time and efforts in the override at the cost of pursuing other legislative goals; Congress will have to invest some significant time resources in debating and voting on the override, precious floor time that could be used for other legislative business.