Tony Thurmond: “I rise today with the distinguished Majority Leader, Senator Dole, to introduce a proposed constitutional amendment…”

“I rise today with the distinguished Majority Leader, Senator Dole, to introduce a proposed constitutional amendment which would give authority to the President to disapprove specific items of appropriation on any Act or joint resolution submitted to him. This authority is commonly referred to as line item veto. The Congress must address runaway spending if we are truly going to establish a sound fiscal policy for this Nation. As of November 16, 1994, the Federal debt stood at $4.6 trillion and payment of interest on the debt is the second largest item in the budget. The budget deficit for fiscal year 1993 was over $250 billion. Recently, Majority Leader Dole and Speaker Gingrich met with President Clinton concerning legislative priorities in the 104th Congress. I am pleased to note that granting Presidential authority for line item was favorably discussed. Also, the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Hatch, who once opposed a constitutional amendment on line item veto authority, now has come to appreciate the merit of this worthy proposal. I believe the Judiciary Committee should quickly act on this important measure and send it to the Senate.”