The

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

passed the Comprehensive Child Development Act in 1971 as part of the Economic Opportunity Amendments of 1971. The bill would have implemented a multibillion-dollar national

day care Child care, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from three months to 18 years old. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typica ...

system designed partially to make it easier for single parents to work and care for children simultaneously, thereby alleviating strain on the welfare system. It was vetoed by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

History

The bill passed the Senate on December 2, 1971, with a vote of 63 to 17, and the House on December 7, 1971, with a vote of 211 to 187. President

vetoed the bill on December 10, 1971. The veto was upheld when an attempted override gained 51 votes in favor and 36 opposed, short of the

supermajority A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fun ...

needed to override a presidential veto. Nixon's veto and his accompanying rationale reveal several staple thought processes of

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

politics in the United States. He said that the bill would implement a "communal approach to child-rearing," tying it to broad-based fears of Communism and labeling it the "most radical piece of legislation" to have ever crossed his desk. He also said it had "family-weakening implications." The idea that America was distinguished by strong traditional families was often used (by Nixon and other American leaders) to contrast it with the USSR and to resist feminist demands for greater equality for women. Nixon's famous "kitchen debates" with Soviet Premier

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

included prominent examples of this concept. The bill incited some political backlash from anti-welfare and anti-feminist activists who opposed the idea of

women in the workforce Since the Industrial Revolution, participation of women in the workforce outside the home has increased in industrialized nations, with particularly large growth seen in the 20th century. Largely seen as a boon for industrial society, women ...

and who were leery of allowing children to be partially raised outside of the home.

References

1971 in American law 92nd United States Congress United States federal welfare and public assistance legislation United States federal child welfare legislation United States vetoed federal legislation {{US-fed-statute-stub