C. W. Bill Young: “I rise in support of H.R. 2, the Line-Item Veto Act, which I have cosponsored in this 104th Congress and in the six…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 2, the Line-Item Veto Act, which I have cosponsored in this 104th Congress and in the six previous Congresses. With the passage of this legislation, we fulfill our commitment made in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the first legislative item in our Contract With America. We completed the first half of this act last month with the passage of the balanced budget amendment. Tonight we send the Senate legislation giving current and future Presidents the line-item veto authority already available to 43 Governors. The American people have made clear their desire to eliminate wasteful Federal spending and this powerful tool gives the President a way to eliminate programs he deems wasteful without having to veto an entire appropriations bill or other major legislation that may also contain many important and timely programs. Under current law, wasteful or questionable projects or programs often find their way into law because the President cannot afford to veto the important overall legislation in which they are included. Today's line-item veto legislation will change that procedure by allowing the President to single out specific projects and force Congress to vote on each of them individually. This makes both Congress and the President more accountable to the American taxpayers for every dollar in the Federal budget, and injects greater honesty and openness into the budgetary process, another important goal of the Contract With America.”