Comprehensive Child Development Act Explained

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]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Rosenberg, Rosalind. Divided Lives: American Women in the Twentieth Century. Hill & Wang. 1992. 978-0-8090-1631-0. New York.
  2. Web site: William. Roth. December 1976. The Politics of Daycare: The Comprehensive Child Development Act of 1971. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210709170414/https://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/dps/pdfs/dp36976.pdf. July 9, 2021. September 20, 2021. Institute for Research on Poverty. University of Wisconsin–Madison.
  3. Web site: TO ADOPT THE CONFERENCE REPORT ON S. 2007. -- Senate Vote #399 -- Dec 2, 1971. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210122004016/https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/92-1971/s399. January 22, 2021. September 20, 2021. GovTrack.
  4. Web site: Collins. Gail. February 13, 2013. Opinion: The State of the 4-Year-Olds. live. The New York Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20210320220340/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/opinion/collins-the-state-of-the-4-year-olds.html. March 20, 2021.
  5. Web site: TO ADOPT THE CONFERENCE REPORT ON S. 2007, ECONOMIC OPPOR- TUNITY AMENDMENTS OF 1971 (CLEARING THE MEASURE FOR THE PRESIDENT.).. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210121231744/https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/92-1971/h297. January 21, 2021. September 20, 2021. GovTrack.
  6. Web site: December 10, 1976. Nixon, Richard Veto Message-Economic Opportunity Amendments of 1971. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210429161025/https://www.senate.gov/legislative/vetoes/messages/NixonR/S2007-Sdoc-92-48.pdf. April 29, 2021. September 20, 2021. Senate.gov. United States Senate.
  7. Web site: U.S. Senate: Vetoes by President Richard Nixon. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210318050412/https://www.senate.gov/legislative/vetoes/NixonR.htm. March 18, 2021. September 20, 2021. United States Senate.
  8. Web site: TO OVERRIDE PRESIDENTIAL VETO OF S. 2007. (TWO-THIRDS NOT HAVING ... -- Senate Vote #418 -- Dec 10, 1971. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210121212340/https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/92-1971/s418. January 21, 2021. September 20, 2021. GovTrack.
  9. Web site: Onion. Rebecca. June 14, 2017. Your Child Care Conundrum Is an Anti-Communist Plot. live. Slate. https://web.archive.org/web/20210411190546/https://slate.com/human-interest/2017/06/anti-communism-and-its-role-in-america-s-lack-of-affordable-day-care.html. April 11, 2021.
  10. News: September 18, 2021. How America Should Spend on Childcare. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210918114141/https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2021/09/18/how-america-should-spend-on-child-care. September 18, 2021. September 20, 2021. The Economist.
  11. Book: Michel. Sonya. Engendering America: A Documentary History, 1865 to the Present. Muncy. Robyn. McGraw-Hill. 1998. 978-0-07-044361-7. Boston.

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