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Conversation 030-006

TapeTape 30StartTuesday, September 19, 1972 at 2:01 PMEndTuesday, September 19, 1972 at 2:02 PMParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Ehrlichman, John D.Recording deviceWhite House Telephone
AI Summary

President Nixon and John Ehrlichman discussed the precarious vote count required to sustain a potential presidential veto of the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) legislation currently before Congress. Ehrlichman relayed input from William Timmons, who expressed uncertainty regarding the vote count for the conference report compared to previous versions of the bill. The two decided to investigate whether the administration could delay the veto decision until the following day to better assess their legislative standing.

Office of Economic OpportunityPresidential vetoLegislative strategyWilliam TimmonsCongressional vote counts
AudioNARA Description

On September 19, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 2:01 pm to 2:02 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 030-006 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 30-6

Date: September 19, 1972
Time: 2:01 pm - 2:02 pm
Location: White House Telephone

John D. Ehrlichman talked with the President.

[See Conversation No. 357-5B]

       Office of Economic Opportunity [OEO] veto
              - William E. Timmons’s view
                      -Bill before Congress
                              -Legal services
                              -Vote count
                      -Conference report
                              -Vote count
              -Timing

                                        (rev. Oct-06)
Transcript (AI-Generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.

Bill's estimate is as I gave it to you, but here's what goes into it.
He says there's no guarantee in this.
The big bill that had legal services in it and was a bad bill had 147 votes against it in the House.
Of course, we need 145 to sustain a veto.
On the other hand, the conference report had only 98 votes against it on this bill that we're looking at here.
And the reason for that was that most people thought that it was in shape that would be satisfactory to the administration.
So he said under those kind of peculiar circumstances, he wouldn't be in a position to warrant to you that he could sustain it, but he has a pretty good feel about it.
Can we hold this for tomorrow?
I don't know.
Let me find out.
Find out what you write.
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