Pete Domenici: “the second point is, for as long as we have had this provision that he is now telling the President he is going to lose…”

“the second point is, for as long as we have had this provision that he is now telling the President he is going to lose, which provision I invented, we have never used it because it can't be interpreted. We have never been able to interpret what these words mean, which is now the real reason the President should come down on us because we are getting rid of it. It never was used. It will never be used. It is not interpretable. I knew that one year after it was passed, and I considered getting rid of it because it isn't necessary. It wouldn't be used. My last point is a very simple one. Fellow Senators, writing a budget resolution is essentially the work of the Congress. The President is not bound by it. He loses no authority. He can veto every bill that comes through here if it doesn't meet what he wants. But I will tell you, fellow Senators, if you think you can live within the President's budget with no problems, then I suggest to you that you had better look at what is eliminated from the budget: $1.2 billion for veterans' medical care, $1.2 billion for the violent crime trust fund, and $1.7 billion for State and local enforcement. They are not in his budget. We will have to decide whether we are going to put them in and cut something else. Nonetheless, this will not change the President's prerogative to veto every single bill.”