It is the duty of the President to propose and it is the privilege of the Congress to dispose.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the roles and responsibilities of the President and Congress in the legislative process.
Franklin D. Roosevelt's quote highlights the distinct but complementary roles in the United States government, where the President has the responsibility to propose policies and initiatives, while Congress holds the authority to accept, reject, or modify those proposals. This reflects the balance of power inherent in the democratic system, underscoring the collaboration necessary between the executive and legislative branches to govern effectively.
In practice
In a speech about government accountability, one might reference this quote to illustrate the necessity of checks and balances.
There has been one persistent theme through all Axis propaganda. This theme has been that Americans are admittedly rich, that Americans have considerable industrial power - but that Americans are soft and decadent, that they cannot and will not unite and work and fight. ... Let them tell that to the Marines!
The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.
A war of ideas can no more be won without books than a naval war can be won without ships. Books, like ships, have the toughest armor, the longest cruising range, and mount the most powerful guns.
Better the occasional faults of a government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a government frozen in the ice of its own indifference.
Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.
A world turned into a stereotype, a society converted into a regiment, a life translated into a routine, make it difficult for either art or artists to survive. Crush individuality in society and you crush art as well. Nourish the conditions of a free life and you nourish the arts, too.
I think whether you're having setbacks or not, the role of a leader is to always display a winning attitude.
I can make brigadier generals, but i can't make horses.
The distance between number one and number two is always a constant. If you want to improve the organization, you have to improve yourself and the organization gets pulled up with you. That is a big lesson. I cannot just expect the organization to improve if I don't improve myself and lift the organization, because that distance is a constant.
When you're female working in a male-dominated industry, there are unfortunately extra things you need to do - for example, couch opinions in a way that sounds palatable and not threatening. That's a skill I developed.
Clearly, the qualities Poles admire in a secretary of state - foreign languages, diplomatic experience, even sense of humor - are emphatically not those desired in a head of state: So be it.
No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition and both are necessary.
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