Barbara Vucanovich: “H.R. 2 gives the President true line-item veto authority, empowering him to disallow specific items in spending bills…”

“H.R. 2 gives the President true line-item veto authority, empowering him to disallow specific items in spending bills without having to veto the entire legislation--which may contain worthwhile and necessary programs. Perhaps more importantly, H.R. 2 places the burden on Congress to act initially to reject a President's rescission message. Too often, spending bills passed by Congress contain items, especially pork-barrel projects, that would not stand up to the test of an individual vote. If used in a conscientious manner, the authority that H.R. 2 confers on the President could indeed help effectively cut wasteful spending out of the Federal budget. I support H.R. 2 and urge my colleagues to likewise support this important measure.”