Congressman Fred Upton is renewing his call for the power of the line item veto to be restored to the President of the United States. Last year, the Congressional Accountability and Line-Item Veto Act was introduced to provide the president with the ability to reject specific spending provisions in a bill. If he singles out a particular line item, it could be sent back to Congress for a simple up-or-down vote on whether to override the veto. Additionally, he would be able to request the removal of certain tax breaks. Congressman Upton says that giving the president such authority could help Congress get pork spending under control:
Upton notes that the line item veto belonged to previous presidents until a court found it unconstitutional during the Clinton Administration. However, he thinks this new version of the power could survive court challenges:
Upton says that the line item veto has bi-partisan support, but the House Democratic leadership has failed to grant the bill a committee hearing.
He hopes that recent statements from the president could motivate Speaker Nancy Pelosi to give the legislation a chance.
WebReadyTM
Powered by WireReady® NSI
E-Mail
Print
