Peter Blute: “the time has come to pass a real line-item veto for the President. Proposals for a line-item veto have been kicking…”

“the time has come to pass a real line-item veto for the President. Proposals for a line-item veto have been kicking around Capitol Hill for decades. Two years ago, the line-item veto lost by only 21 votes, last year by only 13 votes. This year, we have an opportunity to finally do what we should have done long ago. And I believe that we will win. Because Congress, along with people from all over America, has come to realize that in order to get our budget under control we need to give the President this fiscal tool. The line-item veto is an important step in the direction of positive change and fiscal sanity. We must do it, and we must do it now. Make no mistake about it, the real line-item veto is the only way to go. Do not be fooled by calls to pass a watered down version as the 103d Congress did--it did not work and it will not work now. Expedited rescission is not the line-item veto. The only real line-item veto bill on this floor today is H.R. 2. The Clinger bill is the only one which forces the House to override the President's veto by a two-thirds vote. And thus, it is the only way to prevent this House from spending taxpayer dollars on pork projects inserted into bills in the dark of night or during conference--times when Members know that a majority of this body will never have the opportunity to take a separate vote to strike questionable projects. Mr. Chairman, let us face it, sometimes we in Congress cannot help ourselves.…”