William C. Baker: “if it is one thing the American people have had their fill of, it is seeing their hard-earned tax dollars squandered on…”

“if it is one thing the American people have had their fill of, it is seeing their hard-earned tax dollars squandered on frivolous special interest projects. Whether it is a $500 toilet seat for the military or $100 million interstate to nowhere, the American people have had it with paying for someone else's pork. Up until now America's real pork producers, referring, of course, to Congress, has buried their pet pork projects in important legislation. That is why our line-item veto is such an important part of the Contract With America. It gives the President the power to search out and destroy wasteful spending before it starts. With the line-item veto, the buck isn't all that stops at the President's desk. The pork stops there too. Several minutes ago the President delivered to Congress his budget, which is out of balance by over $210 billion, the 27th year in a row. It is time the President and Congress worked together to reduce Federal spending. When Mr. Clinton ran for President, he said he wanted a line-item veto. Our Contract With America gives him just that. Happy birthday, Ronald Reagan.”