Political Quotes

“the statutory line-item veto proposed in H.R. 2 is broader and stronger, as we have heard in general debate, than a constitutional amendment. It fulfills the President's request that we give him the strongest possible bill, which is what we are attempting to do. Unlike a constitutional amendment, which simply permits the President to line out spending items from appropriations acts, H.R. 2 permits the President to reduce or eliminate spending from bills and accompanying bill reports. In addition, H.R. 2 permits the President to veto targeted tax benefits for 100 or fewer. The purpose of my amendment is to clarify an area of potential misunderstanding in H.R. 2. Our bill is intended to permit the President to eliminate or rescind congressional earmarks for wasteful spending. We all know that these earmarks can occasionally be found in bills but are more often hidden in report language to accompany those bills. I think probably all of us have been sort of victimized by finding things that we were not aware of at the time. My amendment simply clarifies the understanding of our committee, I think, that the President may look to both bills and accompanying reports or manager statements in specifying rescissions proposals.”