Veto

Congratulations to Mayor Goode for announcing his intention to veto the pension bill approved by City Council on Dec. 18. Here's hoping Council will produce a responsible document in which fair treatment for all rises above self-interest. Mary Jane Baker Philadelphia.

City Councilman David Cohen today was to introduce a proposal calling on Philadelphia's two SEPTA board members to veto the agency's fiscal 1997 operating budget. "As a result of major reductions in state and federal subsidies, SEPTA management has proposed to the SEPTA board a budget which would cause cutbacks so sharp as to amount to a dismantling of the mass transit system," he warned. The SEPTA budget threatens to "engender administrative chaos from layoffs, and force a completely counter-productive fare increase," he said.

Funny thing about the $300 billion defense bill that President Reagan vetoed Wednesday - you know, the bill that snapped his patience with liberals trying "to erode our military strength. " Among those urging him to sign the bill was one Colin Powell, who serves as Mr. Reagan's national security adviser. Other closet peaceniks opposing a veto were Frank C. Carlucci, who runs the Pentagon, and Republican Sens. Strom Thurmond and John Warner. Clearly, Mr. Reagan's veto was motivated not so much by the bill's contents - its do's and don'ts on "Star Wars" and the like - as by campaign politics.

A couple of weeks ago, City Council snubbed the reasonable demands of Philadelphia's under-represented Latino community for a Council redistricting plan that would give it more voice. What Council did instead was protect its incumbents - essentially rubberstamping the status quo. It was a petty, self- indulgent performance. Mayor Goode can do the city a favor by calling Council's bluff. He should veto the plan and press Council to draw a new political map that accommodates the vast growth of Philadelphia's Latino population.

The Gibbsboro Council voted 5-0 Tuesday night to override Mayor John White's veto and pass an ordinance that would establish conservation districts in the borough. The ordinance places tight restrictions on the use of any property near a waterway in the community and prohibits cutting down trees or riding trail bikes in those areas. White vetoed the ordinance when it was originally passed on April 15 and did not attend Tuesday's council meeting. White said the ordinance designates any property adjacent to a waterway as a conservation area.

On behalf of the citizens of Philadelphia, I thank the six members of City Council who displayed extraordinary courage in sustaining my veto of the ill-conceived and potentially disastrous Bill No. 980708, better known as the pension COLA bill. All of us agree on a need to increase the benefits of the city's 30,000 retirees, especially those older pensioners and their beneficiaries and survivors whose benefits have been eroded by inflation. But we as elected officials also have an obligation to the citizens to ensure that any plan to increase benefits must be fiscally responsible, addressing the need for affordable increases while protecting the city's General Fund and preserving the integrity of the pension fund.

Mayor Nutter on Thursday vetoed City Council legislation that would preserve the DROP pension program. Nutter conceded that Council could have the last word. Council passed the bill last week by a 14-3 vote, enough to comfortably override a veto. He exercised his veto even though the legislation would reduce DROP's cost. The program has cost the city pension fund at least $100 million since its 1999 creation. Council claims its new version would cost the equivalent of a one-time payment of $15 million to $20 million.

A coalition of six local civil rights organizations yesterday blasted President Bush for his "misleading and unfortunate" veto Monday of the 1990 Civil Rights Act. "It is a tremendous blow to the progress that we have made in this country," said the Rev. William B. Moore, of the Tenth Memorial Baptist Church and immediate past president of the Black Clergy of Philadelphia & Vicinity, which represents approximately 400 black congregations....

After an emotional and politically charged debate, the House yesterday failed to override President Bush's veto on using federal funds for abortions for poor women victimized by rape or incest. But the President's victory could be a costly one: Some Republicans predicted that Bush's position could damage both his party and his own political future. "I fear, as a Republican, that President Bush may have stumbled on the one issue that could cost him re-election in 1992," said Rep. Bill Green (R., N.Y.)

Gov. Christie rejected a key provision of President Obama's health care plan on Thursday, becoming the second governor in the country to veto a bill that would have set up a state-run exchange to allow consumers to collectively shop for health insurance. The decision was immediately panned as political by Democrats but welcomed by tea party conservatives, who had expressed alarm in recent days that the Republican governor would allow "Christiecare" in New Jersey. The 2010 federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - now called Obamacare by conservative opponents and the president himself - requires most Americans to get health coverage by 2014.

KABUL, Afghanistan - More than 3,000 detainees held by the U.S. military will be transferred to Afghan control within six months under an agreement signed Friday between the United States and Afghanistan. Though the United States will retain the power to veto any detainee's release, the prisoner agreement meets a key demand of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government as the two sides try to work out the details of U.S. engagement in Afghanistan after the expected end of American combat operations by 2014.

Christopher R. Hill is a former U.S. assistant secretary of state, and the dean of the University of Denver's Korbel School of International Studies Forty years ago, in February 1972, President Richard M. Nixon journeyed to China. On the seventh day of "the week that changed the world," as Nixon called it, he and Chinese Premier Chou En-lai signed the Shanghai Communiqué, which began the normalization of bilateral relations and bound the United States, a principal supporter of Taiwan, to the People's Republic's "One China" doctrine.

PALISADES PARK, N.J. - A month before his controversial order to honor the late Whitney Houston by flying flags at half-staff, Gov. Christie rejected a bill that would have required the deaths of active New Jersey service members to be reported to local and county leaders to ensure a similar show of respect. Despite unanimous support from Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature, the Republican governor let the measure die by not signing it. That's known as a pocket veto. The bill is of renewed interest because of outrage that followed Christie's order to fly flags in the state at half-staff last Friday, the day before the New Jersey pop star's funeral.

Gov. Christie followed through on his promise to veto a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, but did it with a twist Friday: He offered to appoint an ombudsman who would ensure that civil-union licenses are recognized and respected as equal to marriage licenses, as required by state law. "Same-sex couples in a civil union deserve the very same rights and benefits enjoyed by married couples - as well as the strict enforcement of those rights and benefits,"...

With no GOP help, the Democratic-led New Jersey Assembly narrowly approved legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in the state, a measure that now goes to Republican Gov. Christie, who has vowed to "swiftly" veto it and instead wants a referendum on the issue. The 42-33 Assembly vote Thursday followed similar approval Monday in the Senate, which voted, 24-16, in favor of the measure. Neither majority is large enough to override a veto. Unlike in the Senate, no Republicans crossed over to vote for the bill in the Assembly.