Patty Murray: “I take the floor to oppose the so-called line-item veto legislation before us today. I regret I cannot support this…”

“I take the floor to oppose the so-called line-item veto legislation before us today. I regret I cannot support this conference report, but unfortunately this report is careless, highly questionable and possibly unconstitutional. Mr. President, I support the line-item veto proposal submitted by Senator Byrd. His expedited rescission proposal was well-written and made good common sense, but unfortunately, it was not accepted by the Senate. I know all too well the abuse that can arise through broad, sweeping line-item veto authority. Mr. President, I served in the Washington State Senate prior to coming to the U.S. Senate. My home State arms its executive with line-item veto authority, and while serving in the State legislature I witnessed, first hand, the horse trading that results by giving the State's executive this authority. In my home State, the line-item veto does not deter spending. Rather, it encourages more spending. It puts legislators in the position of having to accept the Governor's priorities in order to make sure their legislative priorities are not vetoed by the Governor. As you know, Mr. President, this debate essentially was spawned out of our desire to reduce Government waste and balance our Nation's budget deficit.”