ity to guide many of his legislative initiatives through Congress weakened his administration. Carter's successor, Ronald Reagan, who won two landslide election victories, was notably more successful in getting Congress to do his bidding, especially in the areas of increased military spending and tax reform. However, the Reagan administration stumbled into the Iran Contra Affair. In effect the appropriations process was bypassed, a grave violation of the Constitution. Congress became more assertive after Watergate, passing the War Powers act and other measures to control presidential abuses. It also created its own Budget Office to sharpen its annual review of the budget. Congress employed the appropriations power to constrain presidential initiatives in foreign affairs, with consequences that could be seen in the chief executive's limited responses to military crises in Angola and Zaire. Congress enlarged its own body of experts on committee staffs, in the General Accounting Office, in the Congressional Budget Office, and in the offices of individual legislators and committees, enhancing its ability to challenge the bureaucracies of the executive departments.The presidency was created with broad controls, the people in the position learned how to get around the controls. Presidents have enlarged their power in relations with Congress. Early presidents only used the veto when they felt legislation was unconstitutional. Since Nixon, the practice of the veto has been widely expanded. The powers of the president are relative, when dealing with certain policies s/he has little power, also the power allowed has to deal with the state of the nation. ...
