Jane Harman: “over my years in the House, I have supported budget reforms to make the process more transparent and to eliminate…”

“over my years in the House, I have supported budget reforms to make the process more transparent and to eliminate excessive congressional spending. I joined many of my colleagues--on both sides of the aisle--in making the hard-fought and difficult deficit-cutting votes of the 1990s. Now, sadly, in this new decade and century, Congress must again take steps to impose fiscal discipline and balance the federal budget. In theory, the line-item veto seems to be a sensible idea, although fraught with constitutional questions, and I have voted in favor of similar legislation in the past. At times, I have also voted in favor of cutting or eliminating the Estate Tax. In eras of government surpluses, we could afford such tax cuts. However, times have changed. The Line-Item Veto bill is little more than a hand-over of Congressional authority to a White House that has already elevated overreaching to an art form. At the same time, this new decade has seen a distinct lack of congressional oversight. In the current climate, a line-item veto is a step in the wrong direction, and cedes even more Legislative Branch power to a President accustomed to invoking extraordinary constitutional authority as needed. To be truly effective, a line-item veto should be considered along with other measures to help restore some fiscal sanity, such as ``pay- go'' budget rules and earmark reform. But this transparent transfer of power to the Executive Branch is no the answer.…”