History for Chron

President Jimmy Carter announced that he would veto the $9.1 billion spending bill that would have funded several key department, because the bill contained a provision that would prevent government attorneys from arguing in favor of forced busing used to desegregate schools.

The bill included funding for the U.S. Departments of State, Justice and Commerce. Congressional leaders would not commit to any effort to override the veto.

“We should not turn back the clock to an era when the Department of Justice stood passive,” Carter said.

He noted that forced busing should only be used as a last resort in communities that have refused to desegregate.

“The real issue,” Carter said, “is whether it is proper for the Congress to prevent the president from carrying out his constitutional responsibility … to enforce the Constitution and other laws of the United States.”

The bill would also fund federal courts and several other governmental agencies.

A stopgap measure providing money without imposing the busing ban was approved by a House-Senate conference committee and had been sent to the House floor for consideration.