On the recordJune 9, 2010
I am pleased to join with the Senator from Delaware, Mr. Carper, and the Senator from Arizona, Mr. McCain, and others in introducing the Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act of 2010, a bill which effectively gives the President a line item veto to cancel wasteful spending. Based on President Obama's proposal, our measure would permit the President to get expedited consideration in both the House and Senate of a package of proposed spending cuts within larger spending bills Congress sends to the President. The President would have 45 days from when the initial spending measure was enacted to submit his proposed cuts, and once that package of cuts is sent to the Hill, Congress would have less than a month to act on them. Any savings produced if Congress enacts these spending cut packages would go directly to reduce the deficit. Just a few weeks ago, I chaired a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Constitution Subcommittee at which this proposal and similar proposals were reviewed, and I am pleased to say that the consensus of that hearing is that the bill we are introducing today is clearly constitutional.
