David Skaggs: “Mr. Speaker, this is one of those occasions when every Member of this body should be mindful of the undertaking that we…”

“Mr. Speaker, this is one of those occasions when every Member of this body should be mindful of the undertaking that we make at the beginning of every Congress to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, because the line-item veto provision in this proposed bill runs absolutely in the face of that obligation. The first words of the Constitution are, ``All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States.'' A few pages later, dealing with the President's responsibility with regard to legislation, the Constitution states as follows: ``If he approves, he shall sign it,''--the bill--``but, if not, he shall return it with his objections.'' Those are the basic parameters of the legislative responsibilities that we have under the Constitution and that the President has under the Constitution, and it is not in our power to change them. It is our responsibility in fact to respect and preserve them. While the friends that we have across the ocean in Britain are having second thoughts these days about their monarchy, this line-item veto provision and its effect will be to start the gradual accretion of power in an American monarchy.”