Complex sentence: He lost his first few legislative battles with new President Ronald Reagan in 1981 but, in 1983, he successfully piloted a complex overhaul of the Social Security System (NY Times Sep 22,1985).
Split into simpler sentences: He lost his first few legislative battles, first to new President Ronald Reagan in 1981. But in 1983 he successfully piloted a complex overhaul of the Social Security System (NY Times Sep 22,1985).