Jay Rockefeller: “I am a proponent of responsibly reducing the deficit, as are many of my colleagues. I, too, want to eliminate wasteful…”

“I am a proponent of responsibly reducing the deficit, as are many of my colleagues. I, too, want to eliminate wasteful spending. But this conference report on the line-item veto bill is not the right way to ensure deficit reduction or responsible fiscal management in my view. As articulated so poignantly by my colleague from West Virginia, Senator Byrd, the line-item veto legislation raises many constitutional problems and it substantially alters the balance of power devised by the Framers of our Constitution. Before supporting such a dramatic change in the balance of powers, we need to examine it in light of what it really offers our country. Giving a President broad power to cut discretionary spending concerns me in theory, but it troubles me even more to think about its potential effects in practice. A President may hastily veto substantive provisions of a spending bill, which he considers wasteful, but which really are essential programs for States or regions. One person's perception of waste or pork may be another person's funding for roads, schools, needed housing, or rural hospitals. Or a President could even wield a line-item veto as a political tool to intimidate a particular Member or groups of Members.”