The United States Congress 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[1] national day care system designed partially to make it easier for single parents to work and care for children simultaneously, thereby alleviating strain on the welfare system.[2] It was vetoed by President Richard Nixon.

History

The bill passed the Senate on December 2, 1971, with a vote of 63 to 17,[3][4] and the House on December 7, 1971, with a vote of 211 to 187.[5] President Richard Nixon vetoed the bill on December 10, 1971.[6] The veto was upheld when an attempted override gained 51 votes in favor and 36 opposed, short of the supermajority needed to override a presidential veto.[7][8]

Nixon's veto and his accompanying rationale reveal several staple thought processes of Cold War politics in the United States.[9] 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.[10] He also said it had "family-weakening implications."[6][1] 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 included prominent examples of this concept.[11]

The bill incited some political backlash from anti-welfare and anti-feminist activists who opposed the idea of women in the workforce and who were leery of allowing children to be partially raised outside of the home.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Rosenberg, Rosalind (1992). Divided Lives: American Women in the Twentieth Century. New York: Hill & Wang. ISBN 978-0-8090-1631-0.
  2. ^ William, Roth (December 1976). "The Politics of Daycare: The Comprehensive Child Development Act of 1971" (PDF). Institute for Research on Poverty. University of Wisconsin–Madison. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  3. ^ "TO ADOPT THE CONFERENCE REPORT ON S. 2007. -- Senate Vote #399 -- Dec 2, 1971". GovTrack. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  4. ^ Collins, Gail (February 13, 2013). "Opinion: The State of the 4-Year-Olds". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 20, 2021.
  5. ^ "TO ADOPT THE CONFERENCE REPORT ON S. 2007, ECONOMIC OPPOR- TUNITY AMENDMENTS OF 1971 (CLEARING THE MEASURE FOR THE PRESIDENT.)". GovTrack. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Nixon, Richard Veto Message-Economic Opportunity Amendments of 1971" (PDF). Senate.gov. United States Senate. December 10, 1976. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  7. ^ "U.S. Senate: Vetoes by President Richard Nixon". United States Senate. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  8. ^ "TO OVERRIDE PRESIDENTIAL VETO OF S. 2007. (TWO-THIRDS NOT HAVING ... -- Senate Vote #418 -- Dec 10, 1971". GovTrack. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  9. ^ Onion, Rebecca (June 14, 2017). "Your Child Care Conundrum Is an Anti-Communist Plot". Slate. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021.
  10. ^ "How America Should Spend on Childcare". The Economist. September 18, 2021. Archived from the original on September 18, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  11. ^ Michel, Sonya; Muncy, Robyn (1998). Engendering America: A Documentary History, 1865 to the Present. Boston: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-044361-7.
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