Franklin D. Roosevelt

Veto of the Soldiers' Bonus.

January 24, 1936

To the House of Representatives:

I return herewith, without my approval, H.R. bill 9870, entitled "An Act to provide for the immediate payment of World War adjusted service certificates, for the cancelation of unpaid interest accrued on loans secured by such certificates, and for other purposes."

On May 22, 1935, in disapproving a bill to pay the bonus in full immediately instead of in 1945, I gave in person to a Joint Session of the Congress complete and explicit reasons for my action.

The bill I now return differs from last year's bill in only two important respects: first, it eliminates the issuance of unsecured paper currency to make the payments required and substitutes interest-bearing bonds, which, however, may be converted into cash for face value at any time; second, it adds $263,000,000 to the total payments by forgiving interest after October 1, 1931, on amounts borrowed.

In all other respects, the circumstances, arguments and facts remain essentially the same as those fully covered and explained by me only eight months ago.

I respectfully refer the members of the Senate and of the House of Representatives to every word of what I said then.

My convictions are as impelling today as they were then. Therefore I cannot change them.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Veto of the Soldiers' Bonus. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/209028

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