Bill Bennett: “I have enjoyed this debate on this amendment. At the risk of sounding like wishy-washy Charlie Brown, I agree with both…”

“I have enjoyed this debate on this amendment. At the risk of sounding like wishy-washy Charlie Brown, I agree with both sides; that is, I agree with Senator Conrad absolutely on the line-item veto. I came to the Congress supporting the line-item veto. I voted for the line-item veto. Then I watched how President Clinton used the line-item veto. What Senator Conrad had to say is exactly right. When the Supreme Court struck it down and Senator Byrd and Senator Moynihan both talked about how glorious a day it was for the Congress that the line-item veto had been stricken, I took the floor and said: I am converted. I agree with you. I will never vote for the line-item veto again. I remember Senator Moynihan saying, If Lyndon Johnson had the line-item veto he would have turned into an emperor. We must preserve the rights of the legislature against that kind of thing. What Senator Gregg has proposed is not a line-item veto. I know the press described it as such, but this will not be the first time the press has inaccurately described something that is going on here. Under the terms of Senator Gregg's amendment, the President is limited in the number of things he can send back to us. They can be overturned with a simple majority vote rather than the standard veto two-thirds. And it is not an abrogation of congressional authority. It simply gives the President the right to say, on selected issues: Do you really want to do this? I have looked this over.…”