Work in progress — cycles are added one at a time. Every quote is machine-verified against an archived source; follow the links to read it.
1932 › Herbert Hoover (Republican) › Veterans' bonus and benefits
Oppose cash prepayment of the veterans' bonus, especially by fiat money
pledge_forwardspecific_pledgecandidate_directevidence A Federal Budget & SpendingMoney, Currency & CreditVeterans⚡ Bonus Army march and eviction similar solutions · similar reasoning
Solution
Continue to oppose the Patman bill's $2.3 billion cash payment of adjusted-service certificates, passed by the Democratic House and killed in the Senate, and any payment financed by greenbacks.
Rationale
Prepayment would unbalance the budget and, funded by paper money, 'would have made our currency a football to every speculator'; the Democratic nominee has 'refused to renounce or disavow' it.
Hoover never mentions the July 1932 eviction of the Bonus Army in these speeches.
Statements (5)
They produced the cash bonus bill. They passed that through the House of Representatives by their leadership. I opposed it. It failed in the Senate. Under that bill it was proposed to expend $2,300 million. Worse still, the bill that they passed provided the bonus should be paid through the creation of sheer fiat money.
The Democratic candidate for President has refused to renounce or disavow these destructive measures, or to give the country the assurance it deserves that he will not be a party to them, including the prepayment of the bonus.
But with all of my regard and my feeling I cannot endanger the stability of this country in this special demand of a part of the veterans or any other special group.
But of one thing I will assure the veterans, and that is, when they are paid, they will be paid in real American money.
I assure the veterans of the World War that so long as there is a Democratic Congress there never will be a surplus of $2,300 million.
Follow-through
not_applicable
Hoover lost the election; the pledge could not be tested in office. Roosevelt held the same position and vetoed the bonus twice; Congress overrode him in January 1936.
Enacted by others
| 1936-01-27 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | veto Bonus vetoes of 1935 and 1936 (overridden) | source |
Other positions on this issue
- No early payment of the veterans' bonus until the budget is balanced with a cash surplus — Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932 specific_pledge
- The Patman cash bonus and $2.3 billion of greenbacks, passed by the House under his speakership — John Nance Garner, 1932 specific_pledge
1932-hoover-oppose-bonus-prepayment · created by claude-fable-5-1 · review: unreviewed