David Price: “all this posturing about fiscal responsibility is nothing more than a side show. This legislation is not about fiscal…”

“all this posturing about fiscal responsibility is nothing more than a side show. This legislation is not about fiscal responsibility. Look no further than the Republican estate tax bill this House just passed. Putting us nearly $1 trillion further in debt over the next 15 years for the sake of a few of our country's wealthiest families is evidence enough of where the priorities of the Bush administration and the Republican congressional leadership lie. In fact, the line item veto has very little to do with budgeting at all. It has everything to do with power, Presidential power. The shift of constitutional power from Congress to the executive branch has greatly accelerated since the 1990s. As congressional scholars Tom Mann and Norm Ornstein observe, the Republican Congress, under the administration of George W. Bush, has featured ``a general obeisance to Presidential initiative, and passivity in the face of Presidential power.'' This bill would tilt the balance of power even further in the direction of the White House. Specific provisions of the bill would give the President inordinate control over the appropriations process. For example, the President could cherry-pick from among a wide range of provisions, authorizations or appropriations, discretionary or mandatory, and package them together in whatever way he saw fit, requiring Congress to vote up or down on the entire package.…”