The House is expected to again pass the Child Custody Protection Act, but the measure faces stiff opposition from the Senate. The first time this bill was introduced in 1998 it was blocked in the Senate by the Clinton administration.I'm a little embarrassed about the possibility that this question has a really simple answer that I ought to know, but how does a Presidential administration block Senate action on a bill? The Executive check is the veto, which happens after the bill passes both chambers. The only way I can think of in which the Clinton administration could have "blocked" the CCPA in the Senate was if Al Gore had cast a tie-breaker vote in his faculty as President of the Senate. I don't *think* that happened, but I haven't been able to find records online. If it was merely a case of Presidential lobbying against the bill, it's disingenuous to say they "blocked" it.
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Sitting here on Capitol Hill
I read via Focus on the Family the following about the Child Custody Protection Act, a bill proposed to criminalize the transport of minors across state lines to avoid parental notification requirements for abortions:
It would also be strange to describe Al Gore's tie-breaking vote as the administration blocking something. That's the vice-president's role as president of the Senate, not as representative of the administration. It's a legislative and not an executive function.
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